9 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family’s Diet

During the summer months, we all enjoy lots of sweet and sticky treats. We end up eating fast foods at fairs, carnivals, amusement parks, and sporting events – and healthy foods get pushed to the wayside. With the end of summer arriving in the Northern hemisphere, most families are now preparing to send their kids back to school. Why not use this time to get back on track? So, how to include more fruits and vegetables in your family’s daily diet? Here I explain various ways from a breakfast smoothie to a dried fruit snack, fruit sandwich, salad bar, getting a juice machine, apple with peanut butter, trying star fruit or other unique fruits, having meatless Mondays, and more. 

We all know by now that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily (1). But knowing and doing are two different things, aren’t they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get da all in there. We are constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk food. If your family is anything like mine, they’d much 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’ll have to get creative. Here are a few ideas to “sneak” some extra vegetables and fruits into your family’s diet.

How To Include More Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family’s Diet?

1. Breakfast Smoothie

Start the day with a breakfast smoothie! (2). All you do is throw some fruits (berries are best – you can use frozen as well), low-fat yogurt, a little milk (nut milk, oat milk included), and ice in a blender. You may also want to add a scoop of protein powder in there for good measure. Just blend for a few seconds and have the perfect breakfast ready! Here are some other healthy protein snacks for kids.  

I like to sip mine in a thermal cup on the way to work. Use flavored protein powders to make it even more appealing for your kids. Many of these come in delicious flavors (like chocolate– just in case you have a picky eater) in the smoothie. They’ll think that you are letting them have ice cream for breakfast!

2. Dried Fruit As Snacks

Dried fruit makes excellent snacks any time of the day. Add some small cartons of raisins to your child’s lunch box, pack some yogurt-covered raisins in your partner’s briefcase and keep some trail mix sitting around for snacking. You can also add dried fruit to oatmeal and cereal in the morning. My family loves banana chips or even dried strawberries in their breakfast cereal.

3. Add Fruits & Veggies

One of the easy ways how to include more fruits and vegetables in your diet is by adding them to your family’s sandwiches. You can add some bananas, sliced apples, or strawberry slices to a peanut butter sandwich. Top a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and anything else they will eat. You can even make a sub-shop-style vegetable sandwich by combining several different vegetables with some lite mayonnaise and cheese (not too much) on bread.

4. Have a Salad Bar at Dinner

Set out 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. This is also great for “Taco Tuesdays”. Allow your family to get creative with how they make their salads. You can even make it a game. “Who made the best salad/taco”. Have fun!

5. Let Them Drink Their Fruits and Vegetables

Get a juice machine (3). Get creative. You could start “family cocktail hour” by pouring everybody a glass of his or her favorite juice over ice. Add some straws, and cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about how everybody’s day went. 

Try this for dessert. Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top it with lots of fresh or frozen fruit.

6. 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 up some fresh veggies 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 stick of celery and sprinkle raisins on it. Wow! A fruit, and veggie in one snack!

7. Try Some New Fruits and Vegetables

Hop in the car with your family to your local grocery store or even the farmer’s market and pick something exotic to get your family’s curiosity. With a little luck, their curiosity will outweigh their initial apprehension about trying something new. 

You could try artichokes, plantains, papaya, mango, star fruit, or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store. Cooking together (4) is a great way to keep the family bonding alive and make some new family traditions as well.

8. Have “Meatless Mondays”

One of the ways how to include more vegetables and fruits in your diet is by following meatless Mondays. So, what are meatless Mondays? Make a Pot of vegetable soup or a stew that’s heavy on veggies and easy on the meat on meatless Mondays. Both make some great comfort food when the weather gets cold. Get a good crockpot and let that dinner cook, while you play some cards or a board game with the family. The smell will entice them and get them ready to eat (5). We all can try these meatless Mondays!

9. Start a “My Veggie Day”

Each family member gets to pick a vegetable one day of the week. They qualify to pick a vegetable if they have tried each vegetable the week before, otherwise, they lose a turn and Mom gets to pick. They can even choose a special recipe for that vegetable and create that dish (with parental help, if appropriate).

By incorporating a few of these ideas, you will not only have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables (6), but you’ll also be able to set aside some family bonding time; maybe even create some new traditions! Once everyone in the family has gotten a taste for it, make sure you always have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies available and ready to snack on. Not only can these foods be medicine for the whole family – but they’re also a great way to start building immunity as the winter months start moving in.