If you go to the grocery store with a child, they are often drawn to the fun, brightly coloured packaging of candy/sweets/insert-any-sweet-treat-name. But are they interested in the basket of apples or box of carrots? Probably not but we can try and find ways to make fruit and vegetables more appealing.
- You could try a ‘fruit and vegetable’ hunt with a shopping list of items that can be ticked off once your child finds each one. This is a simple way to start talking about the different types of fruit and vegetables that you will use in your meals that week. If you are cooking spaghetti bologense, you could explain that you will need one carrot, one onion, a bag of celery and a bulb of garlic. Can your child then identify these items in the store?
- You could also explore different types of vegetables and thus, differentiate between the groups, for example, root vegetables and leafy greens. What makes them different?
- Ask your child to identify a fruit or vegetable that they haven’t seen before as this will encourage further discussion on what it looks like and what it may taste like. It will also open their eyes to new, exciting fruits. For example, a dragon fruit or a passion fruit. What country do they come from? Does the fruit have a label? If so, what does it say? How is it packaged?
- You could ask your child to find two citrus fruits and talk about what makes them part of the citrus family.
- Focus on the sensory enjoyment of fruit and vegetables; touch, smell, taste and appearance. Once you are home, your child could draw the fruits, learn to open them (a banana), or slice them (where age appropriate).
- Lastly, instead of telling them to eat that apple or to pick up that banana, give them reasons to want to eat fruit and vegetables. Make a fun snack or let them be involved in preparing a healthy dish. Why not try Organic Ollie’s watermelon pizza as an afternoon snack?
Organic Ollie is a fun children’s book with a gentle introduction to healthy eating. Click here to order from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, or visit a different Amazon marketplace and simply search ‘Organic Ollie book’.