Fruit Bowl’s #5in5Challenge and Sneaky Vegetable Recipes

How do you deal with getting your kids to eat vegetables?

An easy life or forever a struggle?

Mine is the latter, so I was intrigued when we got an invitation to the Bird’s Eye First Plates Restaurant.

Here little ones were encouraged to #eatinfullcolour with a range of veg based dishes which included pea cake (yep, and it was actually quite nice!).

It was interesting to see the dynamic as all the kids sat together happily – mostly – trying out lots of different vegetables.

Us parents were lucky enough to get tips on how to get more veg in their tummies from TV child psychologist, Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, as seen on Channel 4’s The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds.

She told me: ‘Don’t be deterred by them saying ‘I don’t like that’.

‘If they like particular colours try pairing them up, association helps.’

And even, gasp, making eating veggies fun!

For example, Dr Kilbey added: ‘Can we have a snack of every single colour today? Can we build a rainbow of the food we eat today?’

Research by Bird’s Eye to mark their Eat in Full Colour campaign shows that children are actually becoming more adventurous with their food, with 4-9 year olds naming sprouts and spinach as their favourite vegetables.

Almost a third (32 per cent) of parents say their children would eat just about ANY type of vegetable served – and only 29 per cent struggle to get their kids to eat their greens. Unfortunately I’m in that 29 percent!

But I was given some hope to keep trying after the event, adding more colour to ALL of our plates and trying new vegetables.

Click to see footage from the event (my daughter even has a speaking part!).

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So how’s everyone holding up?

Lockdown life is certainly trying but it seems many of us are turning to the art of making food to get us through it.

I’m not much of a baker to be honest but I can proudly say I’ve officially become a member of the FAB Flour Easy Peasy Baking Campaign 😂

I used their simple recipe to make flatbread and a tzatziki dip with the toddler – yes I could have done it faster by myself and yes he made a mess, but it kept him occupied for like, um, 20 minutes or so 🤣🙈

Bonus points were achieved when both kids actually ate it and gave the dish the thumbs up 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Definitely worth following @fab_flour for more simple baking and cooking ideas, especially if you’re like me and are currently serving up the same few dishes on repeat.

Here are their recipes for the flatbread and of course, the infamous banana bread which seems to be most people’s go to at the moment!

Easy Peasy Flatbreads with Tzatziki Dip

Vegan Banana Bread

Good luck!

Recipes from the FAB Flour Easy Peasy Baking campaign, launched by nabim. You can find more Easy Peasy Baking recipes and information on the campaign over on the FAB Flour website: https://fabflour.co.uk/easy-peasy-bakes/ or on social: @fab_flour on Instagram or @fabflour on Facebook and Twitter.

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CAN I claim to be a seasoned baker now?

Because thanks to Carr’s Flour and their new kids range, I am feeling like a pro in the kitchen!

With the kids getting stuck in we made some delicious rolls with their Really Easy Bread Mix – and it was exactly that.

We literally just added water and some butter – although my boy did do a runner as soon as his hands got a little sticky, before my tweenager also disappeared when it came to using some muscle to knead the dough…

They did return however to split the mixture into smaller balls and demolished them once they came out of the oven – they were perfect for afternoon bacon butties.

And it was the same when it came to the Really Easy Biscuit Mix – everything is ready to pour into a bowl and then you add water and butter – job done.

We opted for some chocolate chips as a little extra and you could even get your little ones to decorate with icing – whatever takes your fancy.

Boring parent bonus points for the flour in both the bread and biscuits being a mix of white and wholemeal flour.

We were also gifted the handy baking set which is the perfect size for mini bakers and we used the heat-shaped cookie cutters for the biscuits.

I would definitely recommend the mixes if you’re like me and not that keen on baking (lockdown made me do it!)

It was a lifesaver having these to make during the half term and as lockdown life is set to continue for a while yet, they’re a great addition to the list of indoor activities to help keep both adults and children sane.

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IT was interesting to read details of a new survey which discovered only 10% of children are getting their five-a-day and that 1 in 10 parents think chips count as one of their children’s five-a-day.

Look, I’m the last to sit here to shame anyone on their parenting skills – particularly as my response to reading that was ‘aren’t potatoes vegetables?!?’ (FYI, they are classed as a starchy food, LOL.)

The research helpfully carried out by children’s fruit snack supermarket brand Fruit Bowl, also noted that 1/3 of parents think fruit yogurts count, while 1/5 parents mistakenly believe a strawberry milkshake contributes – I mean #desperatetimes, right?

I personally battle to get my kids to eat most vegetables, so its interesting that less than half of parents know that tinned veg, frozen fruit and sweet potatoes count towards the recommended daily amount.

Additionally 4 in 10 parents think their child gets only 2-3 portions each day.

FIVE unexpected foods that DO count towards our five-a-day:
Baked Beans
Guacamole
Onions
Hummus
Spaghetti Hoops

FIVE foods that DON’T count towards our five-a-day:
Onion rings
Ketchup
Potatoes
Vegetable Crisps
Pickled Gherkins

Nutritional Therapist, Filomena Komodromou has shared her tips to get children eating fruits and vegetables;

1. Think colour – chop up some crunchy crudités such as carrots, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish, celery and serve with hummus or cream cheese for a healthy filling snack
2. Get them to help in the kitchen – even toddlers can help too. Peeling, chopping or grating can be done quite safely by children supervised by an adult.
3. Blend it up! Homemade smoothies are a great way of getting their five-a-day and sneaking in some veg too.
4. Add mashed banana or grated apple/pear to porridge
5. Make frozen fruit lollies or banana pancakes

Susanne Fraser, Marketing Manager of Fruit Bowl, added: “Here at Fruit Bowl we are a team of parents and know firsthand how difficult it can be to make sure our children get their five-a-day, every day, and we know it’s a struggle that lots of other parents have. By conducting this survey, we aim to highlight this and also show busy parents that there are easy solutions, tips and tricks they can use to give their children five-a-day.”

Fruit Bowl create everyday fruit snacks and treats – many of which contribute towards your 5 a day. #bonus

Available at Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-Op, Asda, Waitrose and on Ocado.

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