Healthy Families Eating More Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are truly amazing. Every bite makes a difference to your family’s health!

Adults and children who eat enough fruits and vegetables:

• Are sick less often.

• Have a lower risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

• Feel full on fewer calories. This supports a healthy weight. Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and water, both of which are filling.

Your family might not eat many (or any) fruits and vegetables now. That is OK. Take small steps. For example, you could eat one fruit or vegetable at one meal or snack tomorrow. Build up from there when you are ready.

Move slowly in the direction of filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal and eating them for snacks, too. Over the course of a day, aim for:

• 1 to 1½ cups of fruit and 1½ to 2½ cups of vegetables for your child (ages 6 to 12).

• 1½ to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables for yourself.

You are your child’s most important role model. Do you want him or her to eat more fruits and vegetables? Let them see you doing it.

Make a rainbow on your plate!

The colors of fruits and vegetables are clues to the healthy substances in them. The more colors you include on your plate, the better.

• Red: Red apples, cherries, strawberries, tomatoes, red peppers, radishes

• Yellow, orange: Oranges, peaches, cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash

• White, tan, brown: Bananas, raisins, chickpeas, lentils, mushrooms, onions, white potatoes

• Green: Green apples, green grapes, broccoli, leafy salad greens, spinach, green beans

• Blue, purple: Blueberries, purple grapes, eggplant, purple cabbage

Note:• Limit dried fruit. Serve it with meals, not as a

snack. Dried fruit can stick to your teeth and cause cavities.

• Eat whole fruits more often than you drink fruit juice. When you drink fruit juice, choose 100-percent juice and limit it to 6 ounces per day (the size of a small juice glass or juice box). Fruit juice contains as much natural sugar as the added sugar in soft drinks, and juice has none of the fiber found in whole fruit.

Ways to eat more fruits and vegetables

Fruits can be a delicious part of any meal or snack. Circle a few of the ideas below that you would like to try with your family.

• Breakfast: Sliced fruit on cereal or pancakes, fruit smoothies, 100-percent fruit juice (limit to 6 ounces per day, the size of a juice box)

• Lunch: Piece of fruit or single-serving cans of fruit, chopped fruit with low-fat ricotta cheese

• Dinner: Sliced fruit or berries with nonfat yogurt, microwaved sliced apples or pears

• Snacks: Fruit slices with peanut butter, chunks of fruit on a skewer

Make vegetables a colorful part of your meals and snacks. Circle a few of the ideas below that you would like to try with your family

• Breakfast: Onions, bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, or salsa in or on an omelet or scrambled eggs

• Lunch: Vegetable soup, tossed salad, raw veggie sticks, lettuce and tomato on a sandwich

• Dinner: Tossed salad, frozen mixed veggies added to pasta sauce, veggie soups or stews

• Eating out: Veggie soup or salad instead of french fries

• Snacks: Raw carrots, celery, and bell pepper sticks with hummus

Getting around what gets in the way

Many things can get in the way of eating fruits and veggies. Below are some tips that can help.

• “Fruits and vegetables cost too much and they spoil easily.” Check newspapers, the internet, and stores’ weekly ads for sales, coupons, and specials. Plan to buy store brands when you can. Try discount stores. Stock up on frozen and canned fruits and veggies (choose brands with no added sugar or salt).

• “My child refuses to eat vegetables.” Encourage your child to take a tiny bite, but never force it. Be patient and persistent. You may need to offer a vegetable 10 or more times before your child will eat it. Let your child see you eating vegetables.

• “We don’t like the taste of many vegetables.” Try serving them with a dip or seasoning them with herbs. Avoid overcooking vegetables. They should be tender but still crisp and bright in color. Try browning vegetables. Doing so will bring out their sweetness. Roast, sauté, or stir-fry them in a little oil. Limit fried vegetables to only now and then.

Boost the ‘fun factor’

The ideas below can make eating fruits and vegetables more fun for your child.

• Let your child decide if, when, and how much to eat. Never force or bribe them. Doing so will only make fruits and vegetables less appealing.

• When you are at the grocery store, let your child choose a new fruit or vegetable to try.

• Serve chopped fruit in pretty bowls or in mugs. Add it to nonfat/low-fat (1-percent) milk or nonfat yogurt with cinnamon.

• Make shapes on a plate with fruits and vegetables. For example, you can make a blueberry smile on a slice of peach. Make “ants on a log” by filling a celery stick with peanut butter and dotting it with raisins.

• Put chunks of fruit or steamed vegetables on a bamboo skewer or toothpicks.

The key to eating more fruits and vegetables is to find some that you and your child truly enjoy. Keep trying different kinds, colors, cooking methods, and ways to serve them raw. Offer them to your child often and without any pressure.

Take action• Set a goal with your health coach for eating more fruits and vegetables during the coming week.

Write your goal here:

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• Help your child set his or her goal. Write it here: ___________________________________________

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The information in this tip sheet is for educational purposes only. It is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Before making changes, talk to your doctor about what is right for you.

Sources• How to Get Your Child to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables. American Academy of Pediatrics. Available

at www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/How-to-Get-Your-Child-to-Eat-More-Fruits-and-Veggies.aspx. Accessed February 13, 2018.

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