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Fruit and vegetables: set a good example and make it fun

Lead by example. If you want your child to eat fruit and vegetables, make sure they see you enjoying fruit and vegetables every day too.

Make mealtimes fun. Pretend that mashed potato is ‘potato glue’ that other vegetables love sticking to. Let kids dip spoons of mash into piles of peas, corn, diced carrot and other vegies.

Turn a simple pita bread pizza into a fun Mr Vegie face by arranging pizza toppings to make eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

Vegetables: get them in wherever you can

Add more goodness to your child’s diet by adding vegies to favourite foods. For example, add grated carrot and zucchini to bolognaise sauce.

Kids love burgers, so ‘beef up’ the patty with vegetables like peas, corn, diced celery, finely chopped broccoli, or grated pumpkin or carrot.

Homemade pumpkin or tomato soup is popular with kids and full of goodness. Serve in a favourite fun mug with toast ‘soldiers’ for dunking.

Make fruit and vegetables kid friendly

Diced fruit and vegetables are easy for kids to manage. Check bananas to make sure you can easily break off their tops. Choose small mandarins with loose skin – these are easier to peel.

Make a fruit rainbow using strawberries, pineapple, watermelon, kiwifruit, red grapes, oranges or rockmelon, and blueberries. Encourage kids to try each fruit on the rainbow.

On special occasions when you’re serving lollies, try to combine them with healthy foods. For example, include a marshmallow on a skewer of fruit rather than offering sweets on their own.

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