How can I help my children eat more fruit?

    • Involve children in shopping, cleaning, peeling, and preparing fruits. Children are more likely to eat foods that they select and help prepare.
    • Allow children to pick out a new fruit to try at home.
    • Use fruits as an edible decoration for plates orserving dishes.
    • Top off a bowl of cereal with some berries,bananas, or peaches.
    • Add banana slices to a peanut butter sandwich.
    • Offer raisins or other dried fruits instead of candy.
    • Make fruit kabobs using pineapple chunks,bananas, and berries.
    • Serve fruit side dishes and sauces such as mango salsa or berry compote with chicken, fish, or meat.
    • Keep cut fruit readily available for children.
    • Whole fruits can be difficult for children to handle.
    • Bake fruits such as apples or pears for dessert.
    • Make healthy frozen fruit bars using 100% juice as alternatives to high-fat snacks.
    • Make a fruit smoothie with fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt and fresh, canned, or frozen fruit. Try bananas, peaches, strawberries, or other berries.
    • Try fruits with different textures – crunchy apples,nsmooth and creamy bananas, and juicy oranges.

 

Resource

National Food Service Management Institute

The University of Mississippi