Learn to Love Eating Healthily

According to the 2007 Produce for Kids study, 96 percent of children don't get the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That won't surprise a lot of parents. Getting children to eat any fruits or vegetables at all can be a big challenge.

With 39 percent of all U.S. children overweight or obese, getting kids to make better food choices is more important than ever.

How can a parent get fruit-phobic or veggie-avoiding kids to eat more of what they really need? Mypyramid.gov, a Web site dedicated to helping people make smart food choices, has some tips for coping with picky eaters.

•  Let your kids be "produce pickers." Let them help pick out fruits and veggies at the store.

•  Kids like to try foods they help make. All of that mixing, mashing and measuring makes them want to taste what they are creating.

•  Make meals a stress-free time. If meals are times for family arguments, your child may learn unhealthy attitudes toward food.

•  Offer choices. Rather than ask "Do you want broccoli for dinner?" ask, "Which would you like for dinner: broccoli or cauliflower?"

Another suggestion, from The Produce for Kids study, is to use dips to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. Sixty-eight percent of the moms surveyed said that their children ate more fruit and vegetables when they were served with dip. Pre-packaged portion-controlled dips are easy to send to school in lunch boxes.

Open Face Caramel Peanut Butter Sandwich

WHAT YOU NEED:

•  2 tablespoons Marzetti Disney Cinnamon Caramel Apple Dip (or other brand caramel dip)

•  2 tablespoons peanut butter

•  2 slices whole grain bread

•  Sliced apples, peanuts, dried cranberries or raisins

HOW TO MAKE IT (makes 8 servings):

•  In a small bowl, mix together dip and peanut butter until smooth.

•  Spread two tablesppons of caramel mixture on each slice of bread.

•  Arrange sliced apples, peanuts and dried fruit atop each sandwich and serve.

 All materials courtesy of Family Features and Marzetti Disney Dips, a line of fruit and veggie dips for children that makes eating produce fun and nutritious.