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Vegetables and Fruit

Enjoy vegetables and fruit at every meal and snack

Vegetables and fruit are full of vitamins, minerals, and fibre that are important for good health. When you are picking which vegetables and fruit to eat, aim for a rainbow of colours. Explore different colours, textures, and flavours that vegetables and fruit offer.

Want to add more vegetables and fruit to your meals and snacks?

Try the following tips to boost your vegetables and fruit:

Breakfast

scrambled egg wrap

Add chopped vegetables to your eggs or potatoes. Try onions, celery, green or red bell peppers, asparagus, or spinach.
Turn scrambled eggs and vegetables into a breakfast whole grain pita, wrap, or burrito. Top with some shredded cheese and enjoy!
Pair your favourite fruit with yogurt and a sprinkle of cereal for the perfect parfait.

Lunch

vegetable soup

Add vegetables in your sandwich, such as cucumber, sliced peppers, red onions, tomato, lettuce, or avocado.
Try raw or roasted vegetables and cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.
Warm up with delicious vegetable based soups as the weather gets cooler. Try pumpkin, cauliflower, or carrot soup.

Dinner

Brown rice mixed with carrots and peas

Add a side of steamed or microwaved vegetables - frozen vegetables are great!
Roast vegetables to bring out a sweeter flavour.
Add grated, shredded, or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, and rice dishes.
Cook once, eat twice! Left-overs are a great option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Snacks

reusable container filled with sliced carrot, pepper, cucumber, radish, and tomato

Keep raw veggie sticks handy, such as green or red bell peppers, snap peas, celery, or carrots. Pair them with a dip such as hummus or guacamole.
Try apple slices with peanut butter and cinnamon.
Toss a piece of fruit in your bag when you're heading out the door. Apples, bananas, and clementines are easy to grab and go.
Bake pears or apples topped with oat and cinnamon for a tasty dessert.

During sports

Offer hydrating fruits or veggies in place of sugary snacks.
Easy options include clementines, sliced vegetables such as peppers or cucumber, melon slices, berries, or bananas.
Use snack-sized baggies or small paper cups for portioning a snack for the team.
Pack cut fruit or veggies into a container with ice packs to keep it cool.

Help children enjoy more vegetables and fruit

It is great when children are open to trying new foods, but when they say no, it can be frustrating and can create a stressful mealtime. When it comes to eating vegetables and fruit, role modelling makes a difference. Eating with parents, siblings, or peers who are enjoying new foods can really help. There are many suggestions for creating interest in trying new foods, and for having healthier and more enjoyable family meals.

Cook together

Children can wash fruit and vegetables, tear lettuce, peel or grate vegetables. Every child is different, here are some tips to guide age appropriate kitchen tasks.

Eat together

Child and adult eating together

Children will want to try new vegetables and fruit if they see others eating them. Children need to see a new food many times before they will eat it, so don't give up. When it comes to eating vegetables and fruit, you are your child's role model. When you make healthy food choices for yourself, you are having a positive influence. If mealtimes are a struggle, visit UnlockFood.ca for answers to commonly asked questions by parents in this situation. You can also find more information about how to say goodbye to picky eating.

Plan together

Child adding cabbage to a grocery cart

Learn about the Kids Recipe Challenge for healthy, kid-approved recipes. Let children help pick one or more of the family meals or suggest lunch ideas for school. Talk about ways to include vegetables and fruit in all meals.

Have fun and create together

Adult and child preparing food in a kitchen

Have fun finding ways to be creative with vegetables and fruit. Try these tips:

Let your child create their own salad or pizza by choosing their own veggie and fruit toppings.
Create your own recipe together as a family. Plan nights where you have breakfast for dinner.
Build your own fruit and yogurt sundae bar.
Try a theme night and choose dishes that come from different parts of the world like Mexican, Indian, Thai, Moroccan.

Learn together

drawing of carrots

Play games and do activities together to learn about fruits and vegetables. Try these tips:

Put mystery foods in a paper bag and guess what they are by feeling, smelling and tasting them.
Encourage your child make their own placemat with drawings of their favourite foods, or share funny food riddles.

Explore together

Family shopping for vegetables

Go on a field trip! Take an adventure to the pumpkin patch, a corn maze or your local farmers market. Even a grocery store in a different neighbourhood might have new vegetables and fruit to learn about. See what your family can explore together.

Garden together

Woman and child gardening

Plant a garden and watch it grow! Good starter vegetables are carrots, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, radishes, peas and onions. If you don't have space for a garden, try growing plants in containers or join a community garden.

Tips for shopping for vegetables and fruit

Follow shopping tips from dietitians.
Buy local fresh vegetables and fruit when they are in season and save extras for later. Food Land Ontario lists which vegetables and fruit are in season throughout the year.
Grow your own vegetables and fruit, join a community garden, or sign up for the Good Food Box which sells vegetables and fruit at wholesale prices.

Grocery shopping resources:

How to store vegetables and fruit

Storing vegetables and fruit the right way will keep them fresh and safe to eat. Some vegetables and fruit need to be stored in the refrigerator, others need to ripen before being placed in the refrigerator, and others are best stored at room temperature, or in a cool dry place. Try these tips on storing your favourite vegetables and fruit:

Store in refrigerator

Most vegetables and fruit can be put in the fridge right away, but be sure to keep away from raw meats, poultry, and fish.

Ripen on the counter first and then refrigerate

Apricots, papaya, avocados, peaches, kiwi fruit, pears, mangoes, plums, melons, tomatoes, and nectarines.

Store at room temperature

Bananas, citrus fruit, garlic, onions, potatoes, pumpkins, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, squash, eggplant can be kept at room temperature.

Freezer

Frozen vegetables and fruit can be kept for up to one year.

Cupboards

Date canned goods at purchase and consume them within 1 to 2 years or before their "use by" date if applicable. This term indicates how long the food will be at its best quality as decided by the manufacturer. Cans that are not damaged and have been stored properly will still be safe to eat after this date.

Video tips on how to store and wash vegetables and fruit:

How to prepare vegetables and fruit

Vegetables and fruit can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Be sure to wash all produce thoroughly before eating, peeling, or if intended to be eaten raw.
Cut raw vegetables and fruit on clean cutting boards that have not been used to cut or prepare raw meat, raw poultry, or raw fish.
Refrigerate fresh cut fruits and vegetables within 2 hours of peeling and cutting. If left at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, they should be discarded.