How many times have you gone to the grocery store, stacked your cart sky-high full of fresh, yummy produce, ready to conquer a week full of temptation, only to end up letting those apples rot or that lettuce wilt?
Well, you’re not alone! I get requests almost DAILY, especially from moms, for help on how to eat more fruits and veggies. I mean, we’ve all been there, right? Not to mention how to get our kiddos to eat more too! Getting our kids to eat something other than snacks can prove to be the biggest battle of all. So, I figured I’d equip you with a few of my FAIL-PROOF TIPS to get your babes to gobble their greens.
Top Tips to Adding Fruits + Veggies to Your Diet
Eating more fruits and veggies doesn’t have to be hard. To start, wash them as soon as you get home and set them in a visible, easily accessible bowl. Leaving those crunchy greens beneath all of your other refrigerator clutter is a surefire way to let them wither away! The more visible those healthy choices are, the more likely you are to choose them over their fatty, processed counterparts. From making your kids part of the grocery shopping/meal prep experience to prepping your vegetables as soon as you get home, these tips are certain to make sure you eat more fruits and veggies.
1. Take Your Kids Grocery Shopping
😳 What?! Yes…while most moms stress over grabby kids in their cart (“Mom, can I have this and this and this and this?!” 👧🏼👦🏼👱🏼♀️👱🏼♂️ “NOOO!!”), we can use this grabby-ness to our advantage by taking them down the produce aisle and letting them EACH choose a fruit and veggie of their choice to buy for the family. Once you make it home, allow them to help you wash the produce, ? chop if necessary, ?? and then store on an easy-to-access shelf.
2. Meal Prep (And Include the Kiddos)
If grocery shopping doesn’t do the trick, you can also include your kids in your weekly meal planning. 📝 Let them have some say over what they’ll be eating over the course of the week, allowing each child to take turns choosing a healthy meal for each day. Helping them feel more a part of the process, whether it?s their chosen healthy meal or not, will encourage them to enjoy the healthy meals that are prepared.
Curious if meal prep is worth it? Hint: It is, and here’s how it will also save you money →
The great thing about meal prep is you only buy what you need, so skip the extras like those Oreos and other snacks that sometimes mysteriously sneak their way into the cart! Keep your shopping list short and sweet, just like your kiddos. 😉
3. Organize Your Produce for Grab + Go Snacks
Click here to shop my favorite meal containers and these reusable baggies are also genius →
Just like the old saying out of sight, out of mind, the same applies to your fruits and veggies. Take an extra 10 minutes after washing your produce to pre-proportion out those fruit and veggies into containers to have on hand. Having easy grab + go snacks will you keep you out of the drive-thru and on track with your healthy living goals! A little preparation sure goes a long way!
4. Hide Fruits + Vegetables in Your Favorite Foods
We’ve all done it: zoodles as our pasta and cauliflower rice as our “regular” rice. Being a mom means getting creative. But just because you’re eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to feel like you’re eating cardboard. Veggies are colorful and fun, and they can be super flavorful, too, especially if you’re taking advantage of my secret weapon: seasonings. Grab your favorite spices, rubs, and seasonings and don’t be shy when it comes to covering those veggies! You can even add a little salt, just be mindful about how much you’re sprinkling!
Get more tips for hiding veggies here →
Each of these simple tips will subconsciously encourage your kiddos to grab and eat MORE of the foods you want them to eat WITHOUT any of the nagging and complaining that usually comes with it. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work like a magic trick. It takes time, and consistency is key. You’re doing great, Mamas!
What’s your favorite way to make sure you stick to your healthy eating goals? Tell me what you do to prep for the week and how you make sure you’re getting all of your servings of fruits and veggies!
xo,
Related reading:
Pantry Refresh || How to Organize Your Pantry for Healthy Eating
Fun with Food: A Powell Pack Guide to Healthy Habits
Healthy Meal Prepping: Tips to Eating Healthy on a Budget
Eat Your Veggies: Fun Facts + Fave Recipes
Fit on a Budget: Does Meal Prepping Save You Money?
35 Responses
Hello
i saw you videos and motivated to reduce my weight since 1 of july i am doing yoga in morning time and gym and swimming in evening time also i skip lunch and dinner but even then my weight is not reducing.
morning breakfast- 1 glass milk and 1 bowl oatmeal
lunch- mung beans 100gm sprout and 1 bowl broccoli.
dinner – any fruit.
day time 2 cups of green tea.
all this work i am doing from 1 st of july but my weight is not reducing
please help me in the regards
thank you
Hi Guarav: It sounds like your exercise is on the right track, but I don’t think you’re eating enough calories. When we don’t get enough calories, our bodies go into survival mode and hold back anything they can. Here’s a post that talks about Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program, and I’d pay special attention to the nutrition part: https://heidipowell.net/9060. Everything you need to know and do is outlined in the program, and be sure and follow all the links within the post too. You can do this!
Hi, thank you for the ideas/challenge. I have been watching your show each week to get inspiration and to help me to recharge myself with my endeavor to get healthier. I’m 57 and have been a call center manager for the last 18 years. Needless to say, the long hours sitting at my desk has really taken a beating on my body. The last 3 yrs I have been doing this same job from my home, as the gas, clothes, & food expenses were too much for my salary vs living expenses. We live in a rural part of East Texas, so everything but WalMart is a 35 mile drive one way. With moving to a work at home position my little walks across the call floor to agents desks, bathroom, break room, and car were eliminated. Thusly I now cannot stand up more than 5 -10 mins at a time or walk far at all as my legs and back are shot. All standing and walking is only on a cane. I know at 5’6″ & 237.8 lbs. if I don’t get it together, I will soon be bedridden or die, so I while watching one ofypurshows in May decided to get started. I’m drinking water instead of coke and not getting seconds, eating smaller portions and getting myself on my recumbent bike twice daily for at least 3 mile rides at 10 mph. Today I went outside in the yard early before the days heat hit and walked for 10 mins. I know I’m not getting enough exercise, as I only dropped one pound this past week, but I can now feel a muscle forming above my kneecap and I have found my endurance to seem better this week than last, but cannot manage to stay on longer yet, but I will! My partner says my butt and thighs look smaller so I guess maybe it is muscle mass causing my weight to plateau. (Plus I gained weight two weeks in late June that set me backwards, so far have only lost 9.2 lbs total) I have been reading on both of your websites any and all information I can to educate myself and get better. I also know I can’t afford your shakes, but am working on eating the veggies more. I just wanted to thank you for all the encouragement and information you guys put out. Please keep doing it and I will be continuing to work on my part.
Hi Bobbie: This is amazing! You are doing an awesome job on your own transformation journey. And you don’t have to buy the Vemma shakes, you can get any whey-based protein powder that has between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of carbs per serving. One serving of this can count as the protein part of any meal. You got this!
Heidi, I am just starting out in carb cycling. I read Choose to Lose (the new one) a couple of times and am trying to come up with menus for the week, but am having such a difficult time! I am so confused and have so many questions!! are the measurements of ounces for meats raw or cooked? when can I have fruits? they don’t seem to factor in at all anywhere. and what about milk, is milk not allowed? and some of the recipes in the book call for 1 cup of veggies, sometimes even less, but that is nowhere near the amount we are supposed to be eating-2 cups right? and are we supposed to eat veggies at breakfast first thing in the morning? I feel like I don’t have a grasp on this diet and way of eating at all and feel like I’m failing already! Help!
Let’s get you some answers to all your questions! 1. The measurements for meats are raw. 2. Fruits are considered carbs, so you can have them as the carb portion of any high carb meal. 3. Milk is not on the approved foods list because of the carb count and fat content (in some types). 4. If a recipe calls for less than 2 fist fulls of veggies, then you’d eat additional veggies to equal the 2 fist fulls/meal. 5. You can have veggies (the non-root/non-starchy type) with any meal – both low and high carb. If you’re full with a high carb meal, then they can be optional. Here’s a post that might help too: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. Happy carb cycling!