It’s vital to include fruits and vegetables in your diet. In fact, a doctor’s recommendation is five portions a day. This might seem difficult when you’re running a household, however. Your kids might turn their noses up or complain about the green peas on their plate. Husbands can sometimes be tricky too. Here are some tips to make fruits and veggies a little more appealing, and easier to prepare.
Make them more convenient
There are plenty of ways to make fruits and vegetables more convenient. You could try making salads and fruit salads for the week so all your kids need to do is help themselves to a ladle out of the fridge. Choose fruits that can be eaten without peeling of chopping so they can just grab them on the run. Dried fruits and nuts are a great option for a quick snack and have many nutritional benefits.
Try something new
Draw your families interest by bringing home something exotic once in a while. Dragon fruit or persimmon for example, are items that can be found at your local grocer. Make it fun for the kids with a taste test.
Try out some new recipes and creative ways to eat more vegetables. It’s quite easy to hide plenty of vegetables in things like chillis and ragu.
If you’re into gardening, why not try growing your own? Get the kids helping and hopefully they’ll be more excited to try their own produce. Set up a vegetable patch in your yard. Things like greens, spinach, peas, and beans are quick growers for the summer.
Frozen options
Frozen packs of fruits and veggies are actually are a very convenient option without compromising on goodness. Frozen vegetables maintain their vitamins and fiber content, but last in your kitchen for longer. They’re easy to cook with and can be defrosted in minutes. You can add frozen vegetables to stews and casseroles, and they even come pre-chopped.
Frozen fruits are perfect for things like smoothies and quick desserts. You can make strudels with not much more than prepared pastry and some frozen raspberries, or fruit crumble. It’s a lot easier than trying to use up fresh fruit before it passes its expiration date.
Healthy snacks and sides
Serve your meals at home with a healthy side, like this simple tomato and cucumber salad. Fill half your plate with salad instead of that extra mountain of mac n cheese. You can make big salads for meals a couple of times a week as well, and include several of your portions of fruits and veggies in one sitting. Foods like this are also great for your teeth, especially if you wear clear braces or aligners.
There are plenty of healthy snack options as well which can be delicious for the whole family. Try making fruit smoothies, and frozen desserts. You can try and make veggies more fun by preparing crudites and various dips. For a sweet snack, you can make oatmeal cookies with raisins and banana. Put them in the kids’ lunchboxes and take them to work to keep yourselves from emptying the vending machine. Check out these refreshing recipes for more ideas.
As you can see, with a little bit of planning, eating several portions of fruits and veggies a day needn’t be a chore. There are fun and creative ways to get your family loving and enjoying the foods their bodies need. Sweet potaoe pancakes anyone?
