5 a Day

You might have seen the commercial or heard the saying, "5 a Day, the healthy way," teaching kids to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Well, a few years ago I started a chart with Maylee and Teagan. We used dry erase markers on their sheets and they got to put an 'X' on for every serving they eat, just a fun way for them to keep track. It lasted...I don't know how long, but eventually I wasn't able to wipe off the markers and I got frustrated and I guess a little lazy and we stopped doing the chart although we continued to eat healthy.

A few months ago (after I became pregnant) my healthy eating almost went down the drain. I was so sick and not wanting to cook anything and craving things I hadn't eaten in years...i.e. fast food and sugar, that our family kind of got off the healthy eating track. Now that I am feeling better I am trying to get my kids back to normal, or I guess I should say "my normal."

I came up with a new system of the '5 a day' chart with stickers and a real treat at the end (if their chart is completely full) Last week was our first attempt and it seems to work good so far. The kids get so excited after they eat a apple or a handful of carrots and they get to put a sticker on the chart.

I have a small container full of little stickers that the kids can choose from. (I think that is their favorite part) Here is the finished chart:

So Saturday after the chart is full they can choose what treat they want...which generally means going out since they are rarely treats in the house. It worked out nice because Teagan and Maylee had Primary Activity day at the church. I assumed they would get a treat there and they sure did! Build your own ice cream sundaes. That was definitely a treat for them. But since Livia is not in primary and could not attend the activity she was able to choose a treat later that night. An Easter cookie with pink sprinkles. Yum! And she sure loved it, by the time I got the camera and came back to take her picture she only had a few bites left.