Hello parents! It seems that school is around the corner. While some of you may be extremely organized and have everything under control, others may be a little stressed and even anxious about lunch ideas. Some parents may even be worried that their children are not consuming enough fruits and vegetables. Let’s face reality: many children are picky eaters, and parents often have a hard time encouraging children to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Recent statistics by the Center for Disease and Control and Prevention show that the consumption of whole fruits increased by 67 percent from 2003 to 2010 among children aged 2-18 years old, while vegetable intake remains unchanged. Nine in ten children did not eat enough vegetables in 2007 to 2010. Unfortunately, it seems that children still not meeting recommendations for both fruits and vegetables. These recommendations vary depending on the child’s age, gender and physical activity. General recommendations range from 1-2 cups for fruits and 1-3 cups for vegetables. A good guideline to use is to fill at least half your child’s plate with varied fruits and vegetables For more specific details visit MyPlate.org.
Is your child refusing to eat anything but pizza and chicken nuggets for lunch? How can you encourage your children to consume more fruits and vegetables? Here are three easy ideas that can help you incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your child’s lunch:
1. Make Food Look Attractive:
Simply creating and displaying fun shapes can make fruits and vegetables more appealing to your child. Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of fruits and vegetables. You can also purchase some vegetable cutters for less than $10.00. Pay attention to food color: bright yellow peppers, red strawberries, or orange carrots look inviting.
According to a study by the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and physical Activity, sensory and physical aspects of food, variety, and visibility influence the consumption of fruits and vegetables among children and adolescents. are.In other words, how food looks can influence whether children will eat it. Pack fruits and vegetables in colorful containers to attract your child’s attention and make food look more appealing and fun. Many stores have fantastic containers for school lunches.
2. Get Your Children Involved:
Bring your child to the grocery store or farmer’s markets. Let them touch and chose some of the fruits and vegetables. By preparing and cooking food with your children, you can help stimulate their senses. Let your child see, smell, taste, feel and even hear the food they are going to eat. Remember that supervision is necessary at all times when cooking with children.
3. Explore Fun and New Recipes:
There are many fun recipes that call for fruits and vegetables as their main ingredients. Here are some of our favorites for school lunches:
- Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
- Pear Penguins
- Carrot Fries
- Tomato Mamas
- Alfredo Bagel Mini Bites
- Apple and Cheese Quesadilla
- Apple Sandwich with Granola and Peanut Butter
For more great healthy lunch ideas, try these resources:
- The 2015 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Cookbook has 55 recipes, created by American junior chefs, which are affordable and follow the nutritional guidelines of MyPlate.
- Fruits and Veggies: More Matters is a great website that focuses on the importance of consuming more fruits and vegetables. This site has great resources for parents such as creative and unique recipes.
References:
Krolener R, Rasmussen M, Brug J, Klepp KI, Wind M and Due P. Determinants of fruits and vegetables consumption among children and adolescents: a revew of the literature. Part II: qualitative studies. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2011;8:112. doi:10.1186/1497-5868-8-112
