How to help kids eat more fruit and vegetables

Almost every parent knows this moment: the plate comes back with the vegetables still on it. Here are a few simple habits that the NHS suggests.

Keep offering

The NHS says it can take 10 tries or more before a young child accepts a new food. So if your child refuses a food, offer it again on another day.

Try it another way

A child who will not eat a food one way may like it another way. The NHS gives an example: a child might refuse cooked carrots but enjoy raw grated carrot.

Small portions and praise

Give small portions, and praise your child for eating, even if they only eat a little. The NHS also suggests looking at what they eat over a week, not over one day.

Eat together, and stay calm

Eat with your children as often as you can, so they see you eating fruit and vegetables too. Try to stay calm at the table, even when it is hard. The NHS says to make mealtimes enjoyable, not only about eating.

Smoothies can help, but not replace

A smoothie can be a friendly way to try new fruit, or even spinach, because the taste is softer when it is blended with banana. But the NHS counts juice and smoothies as one portion a day at most, so they add to the fruit and vegetables on the plate. They do not replace them.

Why this matters to us

GetJuicy was started by a family. One parent is a doctor who trusts what studies show. The other trusts what works on an ordinary day at home. Feeding a child brought the two views together: a drink has to be good for you, and a child has to want to finish it. That is still the first test for everything on our menu.

Sources: NHS, Fussy eaters; NHS, Your baby's first solid foods; NHS, 5 A Day: what counts.