Take healthy choices from school to home

It’s really deflating when you cook a healthy meal for your family and they won’t touch it. The hardest part of making dietary changes for a family is knowing what to try that will be received well and not thrown in the bin at the end of the night.

Supporting the healthy eating modules from a Healthy Harold visit, children can take their knowledge from the Life Education van to their local fruit shop and help make healthy choices for the whole family.

Your local supermarket, fruit shop or farmer’s market can be the perfect place for parents of school-aged children to visit and get acquainted with all things healthy, tasty and in-season. You might even be able to try some before you buy!

Fresh fruits and vegetables (along with meat, dairy and wholegrains) can be used in so many ways to create fulfilling and delicious meals.

Our 7 easy lunchbox tips

• An apple or pear. Peel and cut into thin slices if your child has trouble eating one whole. Or buy the smaller size fruit which are perfect for kids.
• Berry and melon cup. Mix strawberries, blueberries and some cubed watermelon. The colours look lovely together making them even more enticing to eat.
• Vegetable sticks. Cut up some carrot, cucumber and celery into thin sticks. Peel the celery if you’re child has trouble with the stringy bits, or remove the seeds in the cucumber.
• Grapes. If you’ve got the time, pick them off their stems and pack them into a container making them easy for kids to eat.
• Cherry tomatoes. Try the snacking ones or different colours, like yellow, to keep it interesting.
• Banana. They are great as an energy boost, and even come in their own packaging, which makes them quick to pack in the morning. Write your child’s name on the skin with a pen if you need.
• Sugar snap peas. They can be eaten pods and all, but some kids like to open them up and just eat the peas inside. Either way, at least they’re eating some greens!

Your Local Fruit Shops are all family businesses. They personally select what is on offer in-store by visiting the Brisbane Produce Market regularly to hand pick and personally taste what they are putting on their shelves.