8 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family's Diet

We all know now that we should eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day . But knowing and doing are two different things , right? Sometimes it is not easy to get them all in there . We are constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk food . If your family is anything like mine , they would rather fill up on a bag of chips or a bowl of rice or pasta instead of trying an apple or a plate of steamed broccoli . So we have to get creative . Here are some ideas to " sneak " some vegetables and fruits in the diet of your family extra . 1 . Make a pot of vegetable soup or soup heavy on veggies and easy on the meat . Both of these make some great comfort food when the weather gets cold . 2 . Start " My Veggie Day " . Each family member will pick a vegetable one day a week . They are eligible to vote for their vegetable tried each vegetable the week before , otherwise they lose their turn and Mom to choose . 3 . Add some fruits and vegetables for your family sandwich . You can add some banana , sliced ​​apples or strawberry slices to a peanut butter sandwich . Top turkey sandwich with lettuce , tomatoes , cucumbers , and other things that they will eat . You can even make a veggie sub sandwich shop style by combining several different vegetables with some mayonnaise and cheese on bread . 4 . Have a salad bar at dinner . Establish a variety of chopped vegetables , some cheese and croutons as well as several choices of salad dressing along with the lettuce and let everybody create their own perfect salad . 5 . Let them drink their fruits and vegetables . Keep a wide variety of fruit and vegetable juices in the fridge and encourage everyone to drink them as a snack . Get creative . You could start " family cocktail hour " by pouring everybody a glass of his favorite juice over ice . Add some straws , cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about how everyone's day went . 6 . Try it for dessert . Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top with fresh or frozen fruit . 7 . Offer fruits and vegetables as snacks . You can cut apples into slices and top them with peanut butter or cheese . Cube cheese and serve with grapes . Cut some fresh vegetables and serve them with ranch dip . And of course there are ants on a log . Spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on the inside of a celery and sprinkle raisins on it ( wow , fruit and vegetable in one snack ) . 8 . Try some fruits and vegetables new . Pick something exotic to get your family 's curiosity . With a little luck their curiosity will outweigh their initial fears to try something new . You could try artichokes , bananas , papaya , mango , star fruit , or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store . Combining some of these ideas and you will have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables in no time . Here is another tip : Now everyone in the family has got the taste for it , make sure you always have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables are available and ready to snack .