Homegrown habits If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. I can think of a dozen examples where that old adage holds a lot of water, and now there's one more to add to that list: Getting your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. Personally, I've never been much of a picky eater. Like many of you, I was raised to eat what was on my plate, and, as a result, I never developed that contemptuous relationship with produce that so many people adopt during their formative years. But as the generations have progressed, it seems like kids have gotten finickier. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, though, there may be a relatively simple solution to that problem: Plant a garden. It turns out that kids whose parents grow their own produce (or, at the very least, buy locally grown produce) are more than twice as likely to get the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Of course, it doesn't count quite as much if you have to force-feed those five servings. But this study also showed that children who had access to homegrown produce named more types of fruits and vegetables as "favorites" and parents of these youngsters reported seeing their kids choose to eat fresh fruits and vegetables more often. Researchers think these results are due in large part to something we've talked about before: role modeling. When children see their parents performing healthy habits, they're more likely to adopt those behaviors themselves. And while the study didn't specifically say so, I would venture to guess that the more exposure kids have to healthy habits, the better off they are. So I encourage grandparents to get in on the action too. The entire experience can be a good bonding one for the family -- from choosing and prepping a spot in the yard to plant a garden, deciding which fruits and vegetables to plant, buying and planting them, caring for the garden, and the ultimate reward of harvesting what you've grown. It's a process the whole family can be involved in. Of course, the study did mention that families who ate locally grown produce also had better overall nutrition. So if you just don't have the time or space for a garden, find a local farmer's market or produce stand and make it a ritual to go as a family on a regular basis to pick out the fruits and vegetables you need for the week. You might be surprised what your kids will want to try when given the opportunity to choose for themselves. Nutrition & Healing Sources: "Homegrown produce boosts fruit, veggie consumption," Reuters Health News, 4/12/07 "Frequency of Eating Homegrown Produce is Associated with Higher Intake among Parents and Their Preschool-Aged Children in Rural Missouri," Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2007; 107(4): 577-584 | 
