By Megan Groh

Hy-Vee Dietitian

Approximately 20 percent of U.S. children are obese.

That percentage does not take into account the amount of children that are also overweight. Childhood obesity is a problem because it’s a predictor of certain health outcomes in adults such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Dietary patterns established as a child often carry through to adulthood so it is important to establish healthy eating habits at a young age.

When I was a child, I attended a home day care center. I believe that one of the benefits that I received by attending an in-home day care was more individual attention. That included us children taking turns assisting our provider with preparing meals and choosing what vegetable we would eat with our meals.

A regularly chosen vegetable was beets. We loved beets. I come across few adults, other than those I attended daycare with, who share my liking for beets. I attribute this to our early and continuous exposure to beets.

Currently 60 percent of older children fail to meet the USDA’s recommended daily servings of fruit and 93 percent of children do not consume the recommended servings of vegetables. Creating an environment that promotes healthy food choices is essential to a child’s willingness and acceptance to consume more fruits and vegetables.

Studies have found that nutrition education and promotion have a positive effect on the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Studies suggest that exposing kids to a variety of fruits and vegetables and promoting them with positive messages entice children to eat more fruits and vegetables.

It has been reported that it often takes 8-15 exposures to a certain food item for a child to taste it, so with repeated exposure, we might see a shift to preference of fruits and vegetables.

With nutrition intervention in the home and school, children will have increased knowledge and willingness to make healthier choices.

Beet and Berry Smoothie

Serves 2

What you’ll need

•½ cup coconut milk

•½ cup orange juice

•1 cup mixed berries (frozen or fresh)

•¼ cup shredded beets, raw

•¼ cup plain greek yogurt

•¼ teaspoon agave

•Handful of ice cubes (if using fresh berries)

All you do

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until it’s a smooth consistency with no chunks remaining.