How2Day: Five Servings of Fruits & Vegetables for Growing Children

Ensure your child eats his fruits and veggies. Hiroshi Watanabe/Stockbyte/Getty Images
According to the Centers for Disease Control, fruits and vegetables are naturally low in calories, full of essential nutrients our bodies need -- and eating them may prevent chronic diseases. It is for these reasons that the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, advises eating five servings of fruits or veggies every day, according to the dietchannel.com. While this may seem like a difficult task, with so many advertisements for unhealthy foods aimed at attracting a child's attention, there are ways to ensure your kid gets his five servings a day.

Kids may be more likely to enjoy eating fruits and vegetables if they help in the preparation, says dietchannel.com. When grocery shopping, have your child pick out a fruit or vegetable. When you get home, allow her to help you prepare the item she has chosen. You can stick to your normal process of preparing and serving the food -- or you can come up with new and exciting means of serving. Create fruit smoothies, for example. Another encouraging idea, according to dietchannel.com, is to freeze 100 percent fruit juice into popsicles that kids can enjoy for a treat, as opposed to ice cream or another type of non-nutritious snack food.

Inspire kids to eat fruits and vegetables with a game. On poster board, make a chart that lists the days of the week at the top and the members of your family along the side. Next to each person's name and under each day of the week, create five boxes. Each time a person eats a fruit or veggie, she writes down what she ate in one of the boxes. At the end of the week, see who ate the most fruits and veggies. A prize needn't be awarded -- however, if your children are less than enthusiastic, you can award a small prize at the end of the week to the winner.

An effective way to influence a reluctant fruit and veggie eater is to add them to other types of foods. For instance, serve chopped up veggies in a lasagna, casseroles, eggs or pizza. Make a pineapple pizza or place chunks of fruit in yogurt or pudding. Offer raw vegetables with a favorite salad dressing for dipping. Your child may not like the taste of plain fruits or veggies, but he can enjoy them when the taste is disguised.

How2Day