While the oldest two are old enough to fend for themselves in the kitchen, my son who is the eight year old is not. He has a lot of energy, as most eight year olds do, and burns off food very fast. Don't get me wrong, he eats like a horse. Like any child his age he can be picky about what he eats. I have had to come up with solutions to the fact that he refuses to eat his veggies. Juices infused with vegetables and fruit have been my go to solutions. I have also had to devise a plan for his snacking to make sure that he gets enough to eat without eating just the things that are less nutritious.
Cereal bars, some cereals, applesauce, granola bars, graham crackers, sunflower seeds, peanuts, dried fruit, and some fruit snacks are usually what I put in the Snack Box. This is a box that he has access to at all times. I refill the box once a week. I use resealable bags so that he can take as much out as he wants, reseal it, then return the bag to the snack box.
Being the sneaky mother that I am, I have also found a way to blend in vegetables with the occasional smoothie or add small chunks of veggies to his other foods so that he barely notices them. Throw in some diced carrots to the mac and cheese or some small pieces of broccoli and he will eat them with little notice.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually always available in plain site so he looks at them first and doesn't always head for the snack box.
