Hello!

I never quite know how it happens but every now and then, I (and as a consequence my entire family) fall off the fruit and veggies wagon.

I’m suddenly as far from the ‘perfect mum’ as I can get! I get busy, I forget to have fruit cut up in the fridge, I get busy, I don’t have time to cook a proper dinner’, I get busy, we just order takeaway, I get busy, I put hubby in charge and we have 2 minute noodles!

Piling Up

Suddenly two weeks have passed and I wonder why I have fruit and veggies piling up in the fridge, on the bench and in the cupboard. And, I’m sure I’m overexaggerating, but the kids start to err on a whiter shade of pale and their behaviour leaves more to be desired than usual.

The effect on me I’m sure is far more profound; my emotions, my logic and my mothering instinct all come under fire and I descend into a pit of self-loathing (well perhaps not quite that dramatic) but I do start to beat myself up. Not only for the fact that I’m not giving my children the nutrition they deserve – particularly when there are other children in the world who need it so badly; but also for the money that we end up wasting.

What A Waste!

When I think about all the fruit and veggies I end up tossing out because they’ve become a slimy mess in the bottom of the crisper and then combine this with the cost of the takeaway etc we’re buying, Mother Guilt really gets her fangs out!

Yes, it’s not a pretty picture at all!

No More Excuses!

So, this morning I scrubbed the crispers, relined them all with paper towel, sorted every last carrot into the ‘chuck, soup or fresh’ piles, have chopped up pineapples and diced rockmelons so there’s no excuse.

Later today, I’ll arc up the slow cooker and make a beef hotpot (and hide that giant eggplant), I’ll make a giant apple & pear crumble, I’ll put out carrot sticks and homous for afternoon snacks and we’ll all be back on the fruit and veggies wagon!

Oh, we’ve got a great fruit and veggies bread recipe for you to try – it’s the perfect way to hide and use up the fruit and veggies hiding in the kitchen. Try it here.

And if you have any tips for including more fruit & veggies in your family’s diet, we’d love to hear from you.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • My youngest was always diving into the fridge to grab raw veggies as an after school snack. She loved carrotts, cauli and cabbage

    Reply

  • Thank You for this review it had some great points of interest. Good healthy ideas.

    Reply

  • I hate when I let fruit and vegetables go to waste. So easy to happen if you don’t have a plan. I should plan my meals each week and then there’d be less waste!

    Reply

  • This is definitely my problem. I’ve thrown so many fruit and veg out into the compost bin and I feel so bad as I know people in other countries are starving not to mention the amount of money I’ve wasted.
    I started following some low waste accounts on Instagram to get some tips and tricks on how to use and salvage food that is going to go off.

    Reply

  • It gets hard sometimes, maybe start up a small compost in the yard so if you do end up with some sad looking fruit or veggies it can be put to good use for your yard. if you have the time prepping some veggies can help you in the long run. Dicing up a heap of sweet potato and pumpkin and roasting them then store in the freezer, handy when you want to bulk out a meal and they can last a long time.

    Reply

  • When you’re busy its so hard to not make these mistakes. Frozen fruit and vegetables are underrated and are a great option to not have that time pressure. I can relate when she said that when dinner is up to the husband everyone ends up eating instant noodles haha!

    Reply

  • I’ve never claimed to be a perfect mum, so this allows me the Lee way to throw out veggies, especially if they’re soggy and well past their best before

    Reply

  • Once I end up with bits left over I do a veggie bake and it gets rid of the lot

    Reply

  • Once, a long time ago, I could buy fruit and vegetables for the fortnight. These days many of them don’t last five days. I’m a frozen fruit and vegetable buyer now as well as tin food as I live too far from my nearest grocery store to be buying fruit and vegetables every five minutes. Less waste now I go for frozen and tin with minimal fresh.

    Reply

  • I don’t overbuy fruit/veg so that I use up what I have before I buy more.

    Reply

  • We all have those days/weeks. I buy frozen dinners and on those nights when I either forgot I’m responsible for feeding the kids, am exhausted or honestly can’t be bothered I pull them out and heat up one each for the kids, then hours later will make eggs on toast for my husband and I. Or I load up the air fryer with fish, chicken burger patties, or nuggets; chips and spring rolls then warm a garlic bread for dinner. As for fruit and veg, my kids love it, but I still find so much gets thrown out. But I in no way feel bad about telling them to get it themselves. Get an apples, wash it and eat it. Grab a banana. Open the fridge and fill a bowl with berries. If they are capable of doing it I encourage their independence.

    Reply

  • This happens occasionally because…well like you said…life!! I dont usually throw too much out though with alot of it being saved to go in stews & cooking if it’s too far gone to be eaten fresh

    Reply

  • Yes, it can be very easy to let veggies slip!

    Reply

  • great article and loved all the ideas. I love the hiding vegies approach although my family can often “sniff” things out

    Reply

  • Absolutely loved this article and the sense of humour. No wastage now. Great ideas though.

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join