This box of juicy fruits brought to us by Citrus Australia’s #GoOrange
Busy adults can get grumpy and stubborn when it comes to buying and preparing fruits to make them part of our daily eating habits. I’ve been there! Over the last few months as soon as the hot sun faded away, my family seemed to have also stopped being good fruit eaters.
The only time that I seem to remember to eat fruits is on Wednesdays, because that’s when the fruit basket is delivered at my day job! Usually I would take a banana and an apple and have those for morning tea.
The Scientist, on the other hand, designs his own fruits in a lab… Nah, as if! He tends to eat frozen fruits with his breakfast. He buys a box a frozen berries and throws onto his cereal.
As for Curly, he’s a picky pre-schooler. He changes his mind about fruits all the time and only eats if his classmates are having a go.
That’s the best we were doing. We knew it’s not healthy but we were also eating vegetables to try and make up for it. It’s been easier with vegetables because you can just throw them into almost any dish you’re making. So we kept things at that.
Then it happened. We received an invitation to take part in the Live Well, Go Orange Challenge and so surrendered ourselves to a 10-day challenge to eat 10 oranges in 10 days. This will hopefully motivate us to get back on track with the habits. So we’ve gone orange and here’s how you can paint your family orange, too, in 10 steps:
- Force the idea on the family, make it a one deal
- Talk about it before you buy the oranges
- Set an example, even if the chosen fruit may not be your favourite
- Give them the ownership of their oranges
- Challenge the stubborn ones (or trick/bribe them!)
- Make it fun – tell stories, decorate plates or glasses with the oranges or peel
- Give them a break every other day if they need it
- Encourage but don’t force the kids to eat
- Keep at it and if you fall off the track get back on it.
- Understand their values after the 10 days – if they decide oranges aren’t their thing, start a new challenge with something else.
Confession alert! I don’t like the smell of oranges when peeling them. I always let others prepare my oranges, but not prepare right next to me, of course. So to begin with, my husband is challenging me to ‘get over’ the smell of this beautiful fruit. I’m trying to tolerate the smell. Here goes something!
Will keep you posted with how things go for us!
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Have any tips on how to include fruits in your meals? Are you on a similar challenge? Comment below so we can follow your story.