This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Juicy Juice.
All righty, people of the interweb: I have a parenting confession.
Ready?
Here we go.
My child doesn’t really like fruit.
I mean, he tolerates it. He’ll eat bananas or strawberries or pineapple. He enjoys the occasional mango or peach. But he’s not so big on grapes. Or blueberries. Or cantaloupe. Thank goodness that he usually has a great attitude about trying fruit, but as a general rule it’s just not his favorite food group. He’ll eat vegetables all the live-long day, and I always say that he’s never met a bean or pea that he didn’t like.
But the fruit? Not his favorite.
So, as a mama who wants him to be strong and healthy and whathaveyou, the burden falls on me to make sure that he’s getting all the vitamins and nutrients that he needs. I want him to learn how to make good food choices, to look at option A, option B and option C and be able to determine which option is healthiest.
And in cases where he’s not completely carried away with what’s available – like if he were to, say, find himself in the midst of an endless array of fruit platters – well, I want him to know how to make good substitutions. And I want him to understand that fruit-flavored candy is not in fact the same thing as actual fruit.
It’s good to have some nutrition goals, don’t you think?
We’ve always liked Juicy Juice in our house because it’s 100% juice – no added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup – and now that the little guy is seven and has some definite food preferences (including the fact that all fruits are not his friend), it’s nice to know that I can give him a small glass of Juicy Juice and it counts as a serving of fruit. He loves almost every flavor we’ve ever tried. And when BlogHer contacted me about sending me some samples of Juicy Juice punch and sparkling apple juice, I was totally on board.
We actually had ourselves a little taste test when the big box of Juicy Juice 100% (punch) and Sparkling Juicy Juice (apple) arrived at our house. Since Alex’s 3 1/2 year-old cousin was spending a few days at our house at the time, he decided that he wanted to join the fun, too.
The verdict?
Alex, who’s 7, still loves Juicy Juice 100% punch best of all. It’s what he’s used to. But the sparkling apple juice intrigues him. It comes in a really cool can, and I have to say that it is TASTY. There’s a fizz like you’re drinking a lemon-lime soda, but the taste is definitely apple juice (it’s 70% real juice, 30% water).
When J sampled the punch, he immediately said, “TASTES GOOD!” Alex tried the sparkling apple juice and said, “It’s good – but it’s just a little bit sour” (it’s much more of a green apple flavor than a red apple flavor). Then he took back-to-back sips of the sparkling apple and the punch and said, “If I could drink something with these two flavors together, I would call it ‘PARTY!'”
So I think we’ll be trying the sparkling berry very soon.
If you’d like to win a $100 Visa gift card plus a Juicy Juice prize pack, leave a comment that answers this question: What’s your very best tip for raising healthy eaters?
Mine? Make kids try everything on their plates. We have a rule in our house that you have to at least try every single food, and if you don’t like it, fine. But if you do? All the better.
Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com Juicy Juice 2010 Round-up page for more chances to win. And no giveaway post would be complete if I didn’t direct you to the BlogHer.com Juicy Juice 2010 official rules.
Happy Juicy Juice-ing, y’all!
This giveaway is now closed.
limit junk and provide lots of fruit
Thanks for entering me! Great Contest!
Janna Johnson
janna@FeedYourPigBlog.com
jannajanna@hotmail.com
http://www.FeedYourPigBlog.com
A wide variety of baby foods, pureeing what we’re eating and keep it up. No junk or sodas in the house ever. Popcorn is a special occasion. Never ask, just put it on their plates, just a little so you don’t overwhelm them.
We keep a snack bowl out on the counter that only has healthy snacks in it — if they want a snack they grab whatever they want out of it.
I like them to try two bites of everything.
We don’t keep high sugar or high fat products in our house, but we do keep lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains on hand!
Pack healthy foods like fruits & veggies in their lunch, avoid chips and HFCS!
Few fast food meals and a balanced diet with a lot of Juicy Juice in the fridge.
marybug2@yahoo.com
Always have healthy food choices available.
Breastfeed you children. The taste of the food that you cook and eat actually goes into your mild (I can tell, because when I have spicy food, they eat a little differently!). When they are old enough for solids, feed them food directly from your plate (mash it up a little if necessary) — don’t get them used to bland/funky food you wouldn’t eat yourself. If they grow up from Day 1 with the flavors you cook, you really won’t have much of a problem.
(Plus, we homeschool — NEVER have the problem of them thinking veggies aren’t good because their friends say so!)
I encourage my kids to help me with shopping and meal preparation so they can learn healthy tools firsthand!
I think making sure they know how delicious fruits and veggies truly are!
the best tip is to start them out when they are young because it only gets harder..also find ways to hide their veggies in their food..there are so many cookbooks out there to make it easier nowadays
pedidentalasst at yahoo dot com
I have to agree with you, you do make them at least try it before they can say they don’t like it. That worked for my picky daughter who always turned up her nose initially at new foods that were wholesome
boheim51 at gmail dot com
My best tip is to wait until the Dr okay’s solid foods then expose the little ones to everything you eat. Mine loved yogurt, fruit, whole grain breads, lots of vegetables and unsweetened cereals before they had any idea that some people didn’t like these things. I never forced the kids to eat anything, if they rejected something the first time they tasted it, we would just say, oh you must not be old enough to like that yet. Lots of foods had to be “grown into”. Now once they become teenagers and their friends influence their eating more than you, all bets are off.
Our house rule is that you have to try something, twice. Our daughter takes after my hubby and she loves to experience new foods….much braver than I am!
bleatham*at*gmail.com
like you, healthy choices for snacks…wheat thins, carrots, whole grain treats, fruits…
When my son asks for candy I offer him fruit instead and most of the time he is happy with that. My kids aren’t veggie eaters either so I make sure they get fruit as often as possible.
I have watched my son raise very healthy eaters and his has been by providing and requireing his children to eat some of everything on the table..the young ones say yes, daddy and eat it and the older ones have been taught how to eat healthy and they enjoy it
we eatt fruit and I sneak some veggies in like zuccini cake
I think leading by example works pretty well for us! We don’t eat anything, in front of our daughter, that we wouldn’t want her to eat.
We only drink water or 100% juice in our house. No sodas or sugary drinks.
I like to make my son smoothies he likes his fruits that way and at the same time I get to throw some vegetables in there to :)
Keep offering healthy stuff, like fresh veggies. My kids both turned their noses up to most veggies at 1, 2, and into 3… but by 4, my son turned the corner and eats all the veg that is now familiar to him (hoping the same for my 2.5 year old. She’s getting there!). Don’t skip their plate just b/c they won’t try it. At least they’ll be familiar with it when they’re ready to taste!
I peel and cut up fruit and leave it in a small bowl in the refrigerator and when my little snacker is looking for something the fruit is waiting for him. he loves it.
Choices, choices, choices. When my son was little he would get a tray of food for breakfast and lunch. On the tray would be a variety of different foods such as fruits, veggies, lunch meats, crackers, a little bit of everything. There might be seven different things on that tray but not a lot of any one thing. It encouraged him to try different foods without forcing them down his throat. Today my son is 18 and enjoys cooking he likes to try new things. Give a kid choices and encouragement and you can’t go wrong.
I like to sneak the good stuff in as in spaghetti sauce. No battle, leaves me feeling like I made a difference.
I try to make healthy food “fun”. Such as sugar-free brownies, or letting them help me make dinner by measuring ingredients such as veggies and wheat.
I’m lucky–my kids are good eaters! I’m not sure what to attribute that to, however, they eat what we eat. Probably, in the beginning, I just expected them to eat food I liked (which included food not always enjoyed by kids, such as broccoli). Now that they’re older, if they decide they don’t like something, I make them eat something with similar nutritional value.
aleq13@gmail.com
my best tip: no options. they eat what you make and you make what is healthy. no short order cooking. no snacks if you didn’t eat the meal(offer the meal again if they say they are hungry). start tough early and you won’t have to be later on.
hancoci_s at msn dot com
my 5yo is an extremely picky eater but lately he has actually tried a few new foods…its a struggle, but he does love yogurt & I try not to keep unhealthy snacks in the house…kind of like, out of sight out of mind
i was just thinking about this exact thing prior haha, good post
We offer a wide variety of food and they have to TRY it (oen bite), more often than not- they like it!
Never act like they shouldn’t like something. In other words, don’t tell them “I’m so glad you didn’t hate that broccoli”. If they don’t know it’s supposed to be icky, they won’t think it is.
START EARLY!!! As a baby start veggies first, then fruits. I did this with my older daughter. My younger one had a different pediatrician & he said fruits first. NOT GOOD!!!
Make fruits and vegetables fun. What do I mean by that, well as long as they are eating fruit or vegetables, it doesn’t really matter how, so put some ranch, cream cheese, pimento cheese for celery or peanut butter, maybe some caramel for the apples or yogurt to dip them in.
I try to plan ahead and keep a variety of healthy foods on hand…that seems to be the key for my family. The more I plan ahead preparing our meals and snacks the better we are at staying away from the quick fix meals of fast foods and sweets. Juicy Juice is one thing I always have in the fridge.
While pregnant, eat a lot of different types of healthy food, then while you are raising your child, start them with the good stuff and keep moving forward! Make sure your meals are full of flavorful and healthy foods and don’t be afraid to spice things up.
We only serve healthy food at home. We eat veggies at meal time. Treats are usually fresh fruit. Drink boxes are Fruitables. If you give your kids healthy food from the start, that’s what they like and what they ask for. If you give them sugary snacks, processed foods, and fast food all the time, then it’s only natural that’s what they’ll like. You have to set the stage from the beginning.
Always have something crunchy on hand: carrots or celery or apples. Thanks for the contest.
Drink plenty of water. Get outside. Don’t eat too late!
bikeohio2010(at)gmail(dot)com
If you have a lot of good-for-you foods available instead of junk food, kids not only will be used to eating the good stuff, they’ll have developed life-long favorites.
We lead by example–when eating nutritious foods and participating in physical activities are naturally incorporated into our lifestyle and daily routines, then it is much easier for the kids to emulate the same healthy decisions.
My tip would be to expand their taste buds. There’s so much different flavors and foods out there that are healthy. They may not like one thing, but cook it in a different manner, using a different technique maybe they will. :) Experimentations and learning about different cuisines is always fun!
I keep junk food out of the house and keep plenty of fruits and vegetables around for snacking and meals. I also make my children try different foods.
1. drink water before meals (aid in digestion, eat less)
2.take vitamin daily (keep immune system up)
3. don’t drink sugary beverages (there is enough cal. in food don’t add to it with tons of drinks!)
4. exercise with your kids 30 minutes daily
leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com
Serve the best not the rest…if they have it in front of them, they will eat when they are hungry. I try not to have the junk in the house that way the only option is the healthy stuff!!
Start them early, and don’t give them too many choices. Give them all tastes early!
Just keep offering them the healthy stuff; eventually, something will stick!
I made the mistake of letting my son win food-related battles. With my daughter, I’m determined not to cater to her likes and wishes… she’ll eat what’s given, thank you very much!
Instill a healthy view of eating and the proper role that food is supposed to have in their life. Do this by teaching balance in their diet and not tying emotion to food.
constantly offer a variety of foods. try new things. mix it up. don’t make food a battle. let the kids choose the menu sometimes. and let them help create new recipes.
Encouragement to try different foods seems to work rather well. Of course, I think we all know our pallette changes as we get older so what one child may not like now, he may like later on in life.
Get them used to a wide variety of healthy foods at a young age, and get rid of ALL junk food (even the “healthy” or “low calorie” kinds). They don’t need junk!
Our main thing is trying some of everything on the plate (that has the same foods as the grown ups, by the way!) and not giving up. Just because he didn’t care for something last month doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to try it again.
My kids have ridiculous texture issues. It used to really worry me but now I just focus on what they like that is healthy and in moderation eat the stuff that isn’t. Moms can worry themselves sick about food. Just think moderation.
I would say offering a variety of different vegetables and fruits consistently from a very early age is the best way to encourage healthy eating, but it worked with one of my children and not the other. :) However, with the one that it did work with- she’ll eat just about anything to this day!
We keep tons of fresh fruit around – I will buy just about anything my child will eat. Plus we have the same rule about trying everything. :)
I’ve learned with my husband (the pickiest eater on earth) to try different recipes. He actually learned that he does actually like asparagus, but just not boiled (grilled is great). Same thing with broccoli. Just because it’s not good cooked one way, doesn’t mean that it’s bad another. And a little spice never hurt any vegetable!
Don’t give them only kid-approved foods. Have them eat what the adults eat, without apologies that it might be too grown-up (within reason of course – it can’t be searing with jalapeño pepper heat or anything).
We try to limit but not exclude sweets from our house. We consider them treats and not something that is an everyday thing. WE always have lots of fruit and veggies around and they will eat it when I put it out, especially if there is something to dip it in!
My best tip is to introduce fruits and veggies to them early. Explain the benefits (in a comical/serious way). Tell them stories of how you ate healthy as a child.
eat a bite of vegetables for every year old you are, 3 years old = 3 bites of veggies/fruit
Limit snacks. I’ve found that if my daughter is truly hungry at mealtimes, she eats much better and is more willing to try new things. If I let her snack all day (even if it’s not junk food) she’ll fill up on that and won’t eat at mealtime (where I tend to have more variety).
My kids are veggie resistant. I just keep feeding them healthy foods and eventually something gets eaten!
Just don’t buy the junk food! If you have healthy choices (even if it’s a drink) they will be choosing something healthy!
I think you MUST start EARLY and have healthy choices around… with unhealthy foods no where to be seen!
I didn’t “forbid” any foods. Had friends who wouldn’t let their kids touch candy, and the kids craved it. I could have candy out in a bowl for days at my house and no one would bother with it because they knew they were allowed it.
Snack on fruit!
I make sure we have a lot of healthy foods in the house that the kids like.
I kept the junk forrd to a minimum (banning it makes it ‘forbidden fruit’), and always had helathy options available. Friut, cheese, whole grain pretzels, all juice ice pops, etc. They never missed the junky stuff! OH, and I always cooked real food. Not processed garbage. It finally paid off when my oldest forwarded an article on healthy adults having the advantage of helathy foods in their childhood with a sweet note thanking me attached to it!
We don’t have junk food in our house. I buy cut up fruit from Publix. Its more expensive but it’s also easy for them to get to and they do eat it
When my son was growing up I always insisted he have a taste of any new food. He ended up liking everything!
Start when they are small. Make ‘exotic’ dishes like lasagna for them. Never give them the choice of “tomato sauce or not, sweetie?” And be flexible about how much you think they ought to eat. If they are full, let ’em get down for crying out loud. None of this “You will sit at this table until your plate is clean!!” (I might have issues…)
We shop mostly healthy and organic and offer lots of fruits!
I’m not a mother, but my mom did an excellent job- she never restricted anything from our diets. If we wanted ice cream for breakfast, we got it. However, she taught us the importance of healthy eating and how it affects out bodies. We are all very fit and healthy.
I have fruit HATERS, not lovers. Thus, 100% juice is a must at our house! I freeze them and pack them in their lunches. They are thawed and chilled perfectly by lunch time at school.
Don’t keep a lot of junk food in the house!
I avoid feeding my family processed food as much as possible. I cook and bake most everything from scratch and we eat “real food.”
Fruits, veggies, dairy- lots of it. Try everything once.
My little one is only 2 – but we try to always give him new things to try and give him a variety of foods. Sometimes it works – sometimes it backfires – but we always keep trying!
Serve vegetables with every meal.
My best advice is to not force the issue. It’s a no win situation when it becomes a power struggle. It IS a good idea to offer new foods and offer them again even if it was a “yuck!” the first time or second. I’d only insist on them trying it, though, not eating a set amount.
I think it would be like you, at least “try” every food on your plate. But heavens, no forcing! My mom did that to me and it only backfired. Now post college I actually like some of the foods I hated back then, but I think that’s also partly because my taste buds have toned down a bit. I could always taste things very strongly. So, I don’t force my child to eat anything they don’t like after they’ve at least tried it.
My children love junk food and to offset it, I have to be disciplined enough to make sure I cook vegetables for supper not give into snacks before supper.
We have fruit available. Cheese and crackers are a welcome snack here.
like you I make them at least try it! We have a large veggie garden that the entire family helps with. I think when they help plant the seeds and watch it grow, they can’t wait to eat the end result!
Best tip/practice is to put healthy food on the plate in small amounts and never REQUIRE clean plates. Eating only until you are full is a healthy thing.
Introduce them to fruits and veggies when they’re young, and DON’T make them (especially veggies!) out to be some horrible things that they have to eat — find a type of veggie they will like. I know I was resistant to vegetables for a long time because my mom would force me to eat them!
Give them a variety of healthy foods from the time they begin eating table food. Keep sweets to a minimum. (A lot easier said than done, with children as well as with ourselves!)
I always have them try a small bite of something new and if they like it they will eat it and if not that is ok so meal times are less stressed that way
To raise healthy eaters, model healthy eating!
by leading by example and finding tasty recipes
Be a good role model and eat your veggies. Don’t eat junk yourself, don’t smoke, and be active.
Have a granddaughter who doesn’t like many of the fruits, its a texture issue with her. If they are pureed in yogurt smoothies she can handle their addition. But she is good about most veggies, and could eat her weight in broccoli.
I have several:
-Try new things at least once, you never know what tastes good until you try it!
-Mom & Dad eat healthy, and the kids will eat healthy too.
-Fruits & veggies
-100% juice
-yogurt and granola – surprisingly, my 3 yr old loves granola
-bake, do not fry
Modeling good behavior for them. Keeping lots of fruit and healthy snacks available.
Start out at the earliest age making fruit and veggies the most predominant part of the menu. For everyone.
We always have our kids at least try new stuff. We eat a wide variety of different things so that’s what they are used to!
Well for one …my girls love Juicy Juice! Now I say you have to start them young eating healthy …and try try try …they may not initially like the healthy goods but being persistant and letting them get gradually get used to the flavors! bggianakos@yahoo.com
Always lead by example. If my daughter sees me eating junk, she always wants some too. But if she sees me eating something healthy, she’s more likely to want to try it too.