Pots of fun for little ones
How Dairylea Dunk Pots can help your child achieve their 5-a-day
Sometimes mealtimes can be a challenge to get your little ones to eat healthily, so it might be time to get a helping hand. After all, every mum wants to make sure their little ones have plenty of variety in their diet
We all agree 'five a day' is nutritionally ideal so it's no wonder that mums up and down the country are often busy wracking their brains to try and find clever ways of getting fruit and vegetables on the menu and encouraging their kids to enjoy a more balanced diet.
Toni Longley knows exactly how they feel. She has all sorts of problems persuading her five-year-old son Declan to eat different types of veggies.
'He will pretend he's full or not well to get out of eating things he doesn't like,' she says. 'Unless we give food a new name he won't eat it. We can't just dish up sweetcorn, it has to be giant's food. He is OK with broccoli but I think this is more because we have nicknamed it and called it little trees.'
That's where Dairylea Dunk Pots can help - if served with veggies they're great for encouraging little ones to try new ones. If your child is like Declan and isn't a fan of trying new foods, dipping and dunking vegetable batons into smooth, creamy Dairylea Dunk Pots can be a fun and tasty way of encouraging them to try new foods.
Dairylea Dunk Pots are pots of mild cheddar cheese dip, and are quick and easy to add to lunchboxes served with your choice of healthy veggie dippers - try popping slices of red pepper, carrots sticks or whole baby sweet corn along side each pot.
Each 31.5g tub of Dairylea Dunk Pots contains creamy Dairylea cheese dip and provides over a third of a child's recommended daily calcium intake* and has added Vitamin D which works to improve the body's calcium absorption.
Dairy Dunk Pots are available in supermarkets for £1.35 RRP.
*1 tub (= 1 serving) provides 38 per cent of the calcium UK 'Reference Nutrient Intake' (RNI) for children up to the age of 10 years
Parent Coach Judy Reith has some top tips for encouraging your little ones to tuck into something a little more healthy.
The treat factor
Treats are great as positive reinforcers for good behaviour but by definition need to be limited. Dinner in front of the TV can be fun, but not every night - bringing the family together at the table helps improve eating habits and makes for great memories down the line. Enjoy a bit of messy snacking now and then - but not every day!
Food fun
With older kids it's still important to make food fun and get them involved, especially when it comes to eating vegetables. Encourage them to wash, chop and serve, especially colourful vegetables.
Don't worry about the mess; it's the preparation that counts. For younger children it's easy to make traffic lights out of peppers, train tracks out of cucumbers and sun rays out of carrot sticks - let their imagination run riot, and don't worry about being too perfect!
Golden moments
Finding the time, energy and imagination to encourage your kids to make healthy food choices can seem like a big task but healthy eating doesn't just have to be at dinner time - enjoying a healthy snack with your child, even if just for 10 minutes, means you can get some one-on-one time with them just to chat.
Be creative and make sure you all eat the same thing. It might take several attempts to get children used to new tastes and I'd suggest small amounts served in different ways. Offering a variety of veggies to younger children can mean they are much more likely to accept different foods later on in life.
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