by: Susanne Myers
We all know by now that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. But knowing and doing are two different things, aren?t they? Sometimes it is just 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?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 in your family?s diet.
1. Start the day with a breakfast smoothie. All you have to do is throw some fruits, low-fat yogurt 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 you have the perfect breakfast ready to go. I like to sip mine in a thermal cup on the way to work. To make it even more appealing for your kids, use some frozen yogurt or a scoop of ice cream in the smoothie. They won?t believe that you are letting them have ice cream for breakfast.
2. Dried fruit makes an excellent snack any time of the day. Add some small cartons of raisins to your child?s lunch box, pack some yogurt-covered raisins in your husband?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 in their breakfast cereal.
3. Add some fruits and vegetables to your family?s sandwiches. You can add some banana, 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 mayonnaise and cheese 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.
5. Let them drink their fruits and vegetables. Keep an assortment 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 or her favorite juice over ice. Add some straws, cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about how everybody?s day went.
6. 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.
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 up some fresh veggies and serve them with ranch dip. And of course there?s 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, fruit and vegetable in one snack).
8. Try some new fruits and vegetables. Pick something exotic to get your family?s curiosity. With a little luck their curiosity will outweigh their initial apprehension to 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.
9. Make a pot of vegetable soup or a stew that?s heavy on veggies and easy on the meat. Both of these make some great comfort food when the weather gets cold.
10. Start ?My Veggie Day?. Each family member gets to pick a vegetable one day of the week. They qualify to pick a vegetable as long as they tried each vegetable the week before, otherwise they loose a turn and Mom gets to pick.
Incorporate a few of these ideas and you will have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables in no time.
Here is another tip:
Now that 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.
About The Author
Susanne Myers together with Christine Steendahl, owns and publishes the Healthy Menu Mailer. Each week, we provide you with 7 dinner recipes. Sign up for a free sample menu at http://www.healthymenumailer.com/sample-newsletter-signup.html.
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How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
by: Peta DSilva
Fruit Bouquets are quite interesting to make, and look delicious. They can be made out of real fruit or fake fruit- in this article I am using real fruit. If you decide to use real fruit then be aware that the bouquet will have to be eaten in a few days... otherwise the fruit will rot.
You can use all sorts of different fruits, from apples to apricots, to peaches. There are certain fruits that make it easier to learn how to make a fruit bouquet, and I will use them in this article. Once you know what you are doing, you might want to try different fruits.
You will need:
- 7 Large Plums
- 11 Strawberries
- 15 Large Leaves
- 5 Small Rosebud Heads
- Cellophane
- 4 Feet of Ribbon
- Thick, semi-thick, and thin gauge wire
- Stem tape
Step 1- Prepare the fruit.
Remove any stems or stickers from the fruit, and clean if needed.
Step...
How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
Fruit > How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
Save On Food - Ten Ways
Save On Food - Ten Ways
by: Steve Gillman
To save on food, be an opportunist. Buy what you like, but buy on sale. Do you need oranges every day? Buy them when they're cheap, then buy grapefruit or orange juice when it's on sale. Opportunism is the key to low-cost living in general. You get everything you like, and lots of variety, because everything goes on sale once in a while. Here are ten more ways to get cheap food.
1. Stock up during sales. We recently bought 20 or 30 cans of tomato paste on sale for 10 cents per can. That's cheap food. You can do this with all non-perishables.
2. Try store brands. Some are as good as name brands and some aren't, but all are cheaper. Test them, maybe without telling the kids.
3. Buy fruits and vegetables in season. They are at their highest quality at the point where the price is the lowest.
4. Garden. Gardening can be a great way to stay in shape, and can help you save on food as well.
5....
Save On Food - Ten Ways
Fruit > Save On Food - Ten Ways
How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
by: Peta DSilva
Fruit Bouquets are quite interesting to make, and look delicious. They can be made out of real fruit or fake fruit- in this article I am using real fruit. If you decide to use real fruit then be aware that the bouquet will have to be eaten in a few days... otherwise the fruit will rot.
You can use all sorts of different fruits, from apples to apricots, to peaches. There are certain fruits that make it easier to learn how to make a fruit bouquet, and I will use them in this article. Once you know what you are doing, you might want to try different fruits.
You will need:
- 7 Large Plums
- 11 Strawberries
- 15 Large Leaves
- 5 Small Rosebud Heads
- Cellophane
- 4 Feet of Ribbon
- Thick, semi-thick, and thin gauge wire
- Stem tape
Step 1- Prepare the fruit.
Remove any stems or stickers from the fruit, and clean if needed.
Step...
How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
Fruit > How To Make A Fruit Bouquet
How To Help Your Overweight Child
How To Help Your Overweight Child
by: Kim Beardsmore
With the rise of obesity and the increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes occurring in children, many parents are now faced with helping an overweight child. This may not be a daunting as first seems and here are some simple, but effective steps to take to help your child develop eating habits and active lifestyle that will assist improve their health.
Be supportive
? Tell your child that he or she is loved, is special, and is important. Children's feelings about themselves often are based on their parents' feelings about them.
? Accept your child at any weight. Children will be more likely to accept and feel good about themselves when their parents accept them.
? Listen to your child's concerns about his or her weight. Overweight children probably know better than anyone else that they have a weight problem. They need support, understanding, and encouragement from parents.
Encourage...
How To Help Your Overweight Child
Fruit > How To Help Your Overweight Child
What Wine Really Is (Just In Case You Thought You Knew)
What Wine Really Is (Just In Case You Thought You Knew)
by: Neil Best
Although millions of people across the globe enjoy wine, very few of them know exactly what it is about a particular wine that they enjoy. By understanding each of the different components of wine, you can quickly establish the parts you prefer, and therefore choose your next bottle with more confidence.
Sugar
Sweeter wines have more sugar than dry wines. During the fermentation process a lot of the natural fruit sugar is fermented. However, in some wines, residual (remaining) sugar may be higher and therefore a sweeter wine is produced.
Alcohol
Most people know that one of the key components of wine is alcohol! Alcohol is fundamental to the taste of wine. The alcohol volume most wines range between nine and fifteen per cent. Fortified wine can be as high as twenty per cent alcohol.
Tannin
Tannin comes from the skin of grapes. Therefore, tannin...
What Wine Really Is (Just In Case You Thought You Knew)
Fruit > What Wine Really Is (Just In Case You Thought You Knew)
Fruit 10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family?s Diet razr phone
Fruit 10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family?s Diet razr phone