Involving children in planting and growing fruit is a fun way to spend time together and it encourages them to eat more fruit.
Research from a study, in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that children who grow up eating fresh-from-the-garden produce: • prefer the taste of fruits and vegetables to other foods; • Are more likely to see their parents eating fruits and vegetables; • & you may even get them to try types they wouldn’t normally eat!
Giving children hands-on experience of growing, harvesting and eating fresh off the tree fruit, also gives them an appreciation for their food and how it’s grown.
Planting fruit trees with children offers you a unique chance to teach them the importance of healthy foods and nutrition.
One way to get children involved is to make a fresh fruit dessert and teach that these special treats can be made with fruit from their own tree! Mango bread anyone? (Aunty Gel’s Personal Favorite!)
Also introduce children to growing fruit trees by letting them pick their own trees. Letting them decide what type of fruit they would like to grow creates a connection.
Don’t worry that’s my daughter Raven climbing the fence to harvest some fresh lilikoi for her friends 🙂
How stoked do these keiki look to have fresh lilikoi for a morning snack?!
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