Perfect Mums Would Never Throw Out Fruit And Veggies!

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.

195 Comments

- - rachelvk said
  - 11 Feb 2016
    4:15 pm
Happens to us all the time… the best laid plans and all that.

- - june11 said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    10:47 pm
I havr bought fruit and vegetables in bags and found some rotten ones in them the next day. Definitely not edible. They have to go in the compost bin.
The rockmelon won’t last long cut up as it goes soggy and then off quickly afterwards. I have bought bananas that looked perfect on the outside and pelled until I cut it open. It was all brown on the inside. I can’t drive and only have access to the shops with assisted shopping transport so it was cheaper to throw them in the compost bin than get a taxi. It happened twice so I k=no longer buy bananas. I found out later that there was a virus in some of the areas where they are grown.

- - mom81879 said
  - 23 Nov 2015
    8:06 pm
My mother in law…….I remember her cutting off the squishy rotten brown bits so she didn’t have to throw any veggies out

- - mom94378 said
  - 14 Nov 2015
    9:54 pm
A trap we have all fallen in at some stage no doubt.

- - mom103920 said
  - 03 Nov 2015
    10:56 am
Oh that dreaded mother guilt! I found I use my dehydrator quite a bit when I have surplus fruit. The kids love dried fruit for a change. When I have extra carrots, beans or other veges, I often slice them, blanch them and freeze them in a zip lock bag. That way when I’m in a hurry, I can take out the veges I need, reseal the zip lock bag, and my prep time is dramatically cut down. Thanks for a great read Nikki, I’m glad I’m not the only one that needs that night off from cooking every now and then.

- - misschriss said
  - 02 Nov 2015
    7:53 pm
This happens when I start working more unfortunately. I just start again and hope it doesn’t happen again

- - mom90758 said
  - 02 Nov 2015
    7:18 pm
Poor fruit and vegetables forgotten in the fridge! 🙂

- - mom94125 said
  - 19 Oct 2015
    6:52 pm
lol yeah try to make a soup if need be

- - dannsbuild said
  - 23 Sep 2015
    12:41 pm
That was an interesting article! Thanks for sharing!

- - Rachel said
  - 22 Sep 2015
    10:07 am
Haha We have all been there !

- - curlytops said
  - 27 Jun 2015
    8:35 pm
My job tomorrow is to sort the fridge!

- - merlin2012 said
  - 26 Jun 2015
    4:19 pm
Hoping on getting some chickens to eat our scraps and reward us with eggs

- - mom118423 said
  - 31 May 2015
    9:19 pm
I load my slow cooker meals with them 80%veggies 20% meat

- - mom108638 said
  - 10 May 2015
    11:01 pm
We have a parrot ..not much gets wasted.

- - smiles said
  - 21 Apr 2015
    8:49 pm
I love to make vegetable stock with veggies that perhaps aren’t the freshest.

- - mom93821 said
  - 19 Jan 2015
    6:32 am
Thanks again for this article; re read and would love the giant apple and pear crumble recipe! 🙂

- - mom94125 said
  - 01 Jan 2015
    11:13 pm
my kids love fruit salad. i don’t like to waste produce because it is expensive

- - mom93821 said
  - 12 Dec 2014
    12:08 pm
Thanks for sharing this interesting article.

- - mom102977 said
  - 31 Oct 2014
    11:52 pm
I always have the best intentions but they not always work out for the best…

- - mom57758 said
  - 31 Oct 2014
    7:33 pm
This is so me