I completely adore berries. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. Summer is amazing for me as strawberries are in season. The others I get all year round and I do I eat daily, either on their own as a snack or with a lovely dollop of Greek yoghurt. Delicious! I sadly went off this fab snack in the early stages of pregnancy but happy to say back on it now!
Berries are definitely a healthy food, I try and get my girls to eat!
Benefits of Berries
There are so many health benefits of berries, which makes them such a good part of the diet. They are lower sugar in comparison to other fruits, they are low calorie and low in fat and packed with Vitamin C, an antioxidant. They are believed to support heart health and are a source a fibre. Perfect to snack on!
Berries and Kids
My girls are split with berries. My eldest is not a fan and I have to really use my imagination to get the little monkey to eat any. However her baby sister is like me; will happily snack on blueberries and strawberries and quite likes stealing my raspberries and yoghurt!
We are in October and it’s that time of year when kids are back at school, permanently hungry and need healthy snacks. My gremlin doesn’t have packed lunches yet but she takes snacks for swimming and gymnastics classes but I have friends’ kids who take food in. It’s very difficult to know what to pack! You want your kids to eat but you want them to be healthy too. Some research from British Summer Fruits (the industry that supplies 95% of U.K. grown berries to UK supermarkets) found that 47% find it hard to maintain a healthy snacking routine for their children. This is a large figure! Twenty- three per cent think schools don’t do enough to teach and support healthy eating and 65% have very hungry children when they come home from school.
I can relate to all of the above with the gremlin. She is starving when she comes home, even after a hot lunch! I actually went into her school to do a healthy eating talk for her class when she was in reception and loved it.
Ideas to Get Your Kids to eat More Berries
Berries are an ideal snack for kids and research from the University of Reading showed that eating strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries can improve reaction times, stabilise mood and maintain focus, as well as sustaining cognitive function for hours after consumption. Perfect for school!
Of course some kids are going to love them and inhale a snack like my youngest which is fab! You can buy little tubs and these are perfect to take into school.
For the fussier eaters you may need a little more imagination!!
We decided to try a few recipes for both my girls
Berry Yoghurt Lollies
My eldest isn’t going to eat anything where the berries are whole sadly, so I knew we would be looking at a smoothie or yoghurt for her, so I decided to make some berry lollies for her to try, which would be tasty, cool and refreshing.
I used –
- 50g blueberries
- 50g strawberries
- 50g of raspberries
- 150ml of strawberry flavoured yoghurt (a lot of recipes say use plain Greek or natural which is less sugar but I figured my eldest may eat it, if a little sweeter)
- Some raspberry coulis (small amount)
I was only making a small quantity to test them out but for more, I’d double the ingredients. I simply added all to a blender, blended up and added to some lolly holder. We then froze them and had as a tasty snack!
The gremlin was a good girl and had a try which was good!
Berry Skewers
These are pretty self explanatory. You purchase some skewers and thread through your delicious berries. It makes them look exciting and appetising and my youngest had fun with me picking out the strawberries and blueberries which she loves!!
Blueberry Pancakes
We always love pancakes on a Sunday morning and this is a great way to incorporate berries. You can either blend and serve or have the berries on the side. We decided to use some of the blueberries.
Here is a pancake recipe that my hubby uses regularly:
- 150ml of milk (adjust to consistency so runny to pour in hot pan)
- 100g of self-raising flour
- 35-50g of sugar (you can omit this)
- 1 medium egg
- sprinkle of mixed spices
- a dash of vanilla essence
- a teaspoon of baking powder
This usually makes 6 good sized pancakes.
We decided this morning to serve the blueberries on the side.
Will You Eat More Berries?
I do think you need to be a little creative sometimes with kids and berries, as for some they will absolutely adore them (like my youngest) and other need a little persuasion like my eldest! There are some amazing recipes you can try and we have had some success. Lollies are a lovely after school treat and pancakes are one of our firm Sunday morning favourites.
Healthy and delicious! Why don’t you give them a try?
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Disclosure – this is a collaborative post
