There are lots of ways that you can encourage children to eat fruit and even vegetables without feeling the need to force them. Here are some helpful tips!

For delicious smoothies use banana, strawberries and peach, or whatever fruit you have to hand. Blend with milk and natural yogurt for a great way to get the whole family upping their quota of fruit.

Try using fresh fruit juice, pureed fruit of fruit smoothies to make ice lollies pour into ice lolly moulds and freeze. Kids love them and its great to know they are not only avoiding food colourings, additives and sugar, but they are actually getting their fruit.

Sometimes the effort of eating an apple or orange all seems too much! But when presented with a bowl of beautifully prepared fruit salad kids seem to have no problem. Try to use lots of different colours for maximum appeal.

Puree soft fruits for a delicious healthy sauce to go on ice cream and other deserts.

One easy way to get them eating a wide range of vegetables is to make pasta sauces of blended vegetables such as peppers, carrots and courgettes. They get to enjoy the taste without even realising they are eating them!

Children love cauliflower cheese and you can add other veg such as broccoli and sweet corn.

Homemade soup is an excellent way of using up any left over vegetables and getting your kids to eat lots of veg without noticing! Try blending to a smooth consistency and adding a little milk in addition to stock.