More Fruits And Vegetables, Please (NAPSA)—Making sure children eat a healthy amount of fruits and vegetables may require some creativity. Nutritional rec- ommendations suggest children eat three to five servings a day, but many finicky eaters may refuse to cooperate. Here are a few tips to make these nutritious foods look more attractive: * Mix it in. Add fruits to smoothies or yogurt. Mix fruits like bananasor vegetables such as zucchini into muffins and breads. Add vegetables to pasta sauces, lasagna, meat loaf, omelets and casseroles. Order your pizza with vegetable toppings. Put bananas and raisins in your pancakes. * Drink it up. Serve fruit juice instead of soda. Better yet, try serving an all-natural juice that’s packed with fruits and vegetables. For example, 8 ounces of Apple & Eve Fruitables™ provide one of the recommended servings from the 5-A-Day Fruits and Vegetables program. The drink offers 100 percent of a child’s daily requirementfor vitamin C and is a good sourceof the antioxidant vitamin A, essential for good vision. It’s made from allnatural ingredients and has no added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Take a new approach. Try new ways to introduce fruits and vegetables. Mix fruit with yogurt or serve with a dip. Serve fruit salad or gelatin with fruit for dessert or add fruit to the morningcereal. Offer veggies with a dip or serve a vegetable stir-fry. Grilling some vegetables can make them sweeter and encourage children to Spe a ie To help finicky eaters get enough fruits and vegetables,try serving vitamin-rich fruit and vegetable juice blends. try them. Or you can arrange raw vegetables in a fun way: broccoli for hair, cherry tomatoes for eyes and carrotsfor lips. Don’t force kids to eat foods they don’t want. As children grow older, their taste buds often become more sophisticated and they may find it easier to experiment with flavors they previously found overwhelming. Set a good example.If you don’t eat a healthy amountof vegetables and fruit, your child will assumeit is not important. Also, start them early. Exposing children to a variety of fruits and vegetables when they are young can get them on the right track. With any luck, you may besurprised to hear your children asking for more fruits and vegetables, please. For more information, visit www.appleandeve.com.
