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Community Corner

Are Your Kids' Plates Filled with Fruits and Veggies? Uncle Sam Says they Should Be

New government guidelines leave little room for chicken nuggets and other diet staples

The next time you serve your child a meal, stop for a second and take a look at the plate. Does half of it contain fruits and vegetables? I doubt it.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently replaced its food pyramid with the MyPlate icon, which is intended to guide the public in choosing healthy, balanced meals. It recommends half of the plate be filled with fruits and vegetables.

We parents already know we're supposed to be feeding our kids as much fruit and vegetable items as they will tolerate. We also know french fries and Sunny Delight don't count, but somehow we find a way to justify buying them.

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Two of my three children are pretty good about eating fruits and vegetables. The one who isn't has become awfully defensive about his disdain. I am at times almost disgusted by his keen ability to put away hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, salami and Hot Pockets. If it's processed, he loves it.

The truth is I haven't put my foot down and stopped buying the junk foods he loves. My other children like those foods too, but they're willing to eat raisins and carrots along with the junk. I don't have a good excuse for thinking this issue is a difficult one. My pediatrician told me long ago to stop buying junk, but I continue to drop boxes of Gushers and Pop Tarts in my shopping cart.

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Apparently I am not alone. CNN.com reported only 11 percent of children ages 12-18 meet government guidleines for daily fruit and vegetable intake. Just 16 percent of youngsters ages 6-11 do so. These statistics are frightening, but who holds the power here?

The recent publicity for the USDA's MyPlate has me thinking again about how to reinforce better eating habits in my home. Our plates are not half-filled with fruits and vegetables, so I suppose I have a lot of work to do to get them that way.

CNN.com recommended several ways of getting even the most stubborn kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, and I think they're worth mentioning here:

1. Serve fruits and vegetables when children are really hungry. We adults know how we feel when we're ravenously hungry. Kids just might gobble up that red bell pepper and hummus.

2. Require your children to take a bite of something before refusing it. The more they try, the better chance they might end up liking something.

3. Come up with cute names for plant-based foods. Call Brussels sprouts "hero buttons" and see what happens.

4. Use gadgets in preparing smoothies and other recipes. Perhaps the use of a blender, food processor or juicer will make fruits and vegetables more interesting to children.

5. Shop with your children and encourage them to select something they'd like to try. Allow them to pick the ingredients for a green beans dish and let them help prepare it.

6. Puree fruits and vegetables and sneak them into entrees or baked goods. There are a number of books on the market that provide excellent strategies for this.

7. When all else fails, bribe with dessert. It works for some.

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