30 Days of Pinterest- Day 13: I Can Eat My Fruits and Veggies!

This is another one of MY pins, but at least I'm being productive :) I mean, I did have a full day of school and work today.
Here in the Chaos House, we seem to slip into non-healthy eating modes from time to time. Mom gets lazy (and busy with school and work) and doesn't cook as healthy as she should, the kids get lazy and don't pick up those fruits and veggies at snack time like they should, and Dad gets into his Sunday afternoon watching football all day and snacking zones.

Drew came home from school the other day and told me that he is going to only eat the cold cut sub sandwiches from the lunch line (versus the fried food they offer in the daily lunch menu line), and always take a fruit or vegetable (except not the apples because the kids don't use the tongs when they grab the apples). I feel that when our kids give us those signals, we need to be active in following up on them. We need to be consistent in helping them achieve their goals, as well as showing them we can meet the same goals. So what does that mean for Chaos Mommy? All junk food is out right now. Yes, even cupcakes. (Except my upcoming birthday cake :)

I came up with a little daily chart to help the kids keep track of their fruit and vegetable intake. I think it's cute :) Please feel free to print it out and adapt it for yourself at home.

I laminated the paper and the kids are using dry erase markers to tick off their servings of fruits and veggies. Then I stuck magnets on the backs and hung them on the fridge.

I added "smoothies" because we drink a lot of smoothies. Our smoothies consist solely of fruit (fresh or frozen), milk, and occasionally yogurt, so they definitely fit on this sheet. I also added "bonus fruit" and "bonus veggie" for if they go over their daily amount, or if they eat a salad that just has so many servings of vegetables that it's hard to keep track. I told the kids they can include canned fruit and vegetables, dry fruit, frozen, fresh, anything except juice. The only problem I've encountered is trying to get Hunter to understand that just because he's crossing off the "apple", doesn't mean he had to eat an apple. It's just for illustration.

Right now my goal is to get the kids to shoot for 5 fruits and vegetables every day. Once we reach that goal, we'll go from there. Hunter's used to "getting something" when he fills out a chart, so he's trying to figure out what he will "get" from this. I mean, what 6-year-old wants to hear, "You'll get a lifelong love of healthy foods, a healthy body, and a reduced risk of cancer and heart disease!! {smile}"? Ya... not many ;)

Happy Eating Healthy!! (Except the occasional cupcake because, you know, cupcakes are all about portion control! {wink}

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