Hands up those of you who have some kind of issue feeding your kids some sort of vegetable or fruit! I’ve got mine up. Although my kids are pretty good with eating most fruits and vegetables, there are a few that I would love for them to try out instead of just saying yuck before they even have a taste. I’m sure we’ve all gone through the process of hiding certain “unfavourable” vegetables into our everyday food or even, in my case, re-naming the vegetable until they’ve tried it and loved it before disclosing the actual name. This can be a bit bothersome at times, and really, there has to be a better way to encourage our kids to eat foods we would love them to try.

Nanna's Carrots & The Incredible Edible Alphabet rrp$29.95 each

This is where I think Aunty Rozzy, created by Ros Tesoriero, a professional musician and educator comes in. It aims to educate children through music and colourful books on healthy eating for children and in some ways; adults too. So far Aunty Rozzy has 2 books released, both of which include CDs to which your child can listen and sing along to.

CDs from the Aunty Rozzy books

Nanna’s Carrots is a book about – Nanna’s Carrots! Basically tells a story, in rhymes of course, about two characters – Perry the Parrot and his friend Henriette the Rabbit, going around the world trying to find the yummiest treats. The illustrations are fun and colourful and with simple sentences, which are easy enough for your young ones to read or even for you to read to. The song is also very catchy and fun – something Master  (and between you and me even Miss 7 and Miss 9) seemed to enjoy!

Bright illustrations with easy words

The Incredible Edible Alphabet showcases food that are represented by the different alphabets. Again, with a CD that has a pretty catchy song to go along with it. What I loved about it is the fact that the foods included in this book isn’t just fruits and vegetables but also other foods like ice cream, bread, and even jam! Foods that are sometimes seen as “bad” food to some. For me, it’s about trying everything – but yes, in moderation. So I was glad they were included in this book.

Master 5 reading the Incredible Edible Alphabet

Aunty Rozzy also has her own site, featuring games for kids, printable activities, and even easy recipes for kids and parents to try out!

Now, back to the question I posed on my title; can happy music and books encourage your child to eat healthily? My answer is, while I have no idea if it will or not, I guess, showing how fun fruit and vegetables can be to your child at a young age and then using them in your meals is better than nothing at all. I have to share with you what Master 5 said though when he read, “T is for Tasty Tomatoes”, in his own words – “Ok, but this is not tasty for me!” My response – I laughed then said, you might say you don’t like tomatoes but you love pasta with the tomato sauce and you love Mexican, which all have tomatoes in them. Yes, he was surprised then. So really, it’s not a matter of them not liking the fruit or vegetable but more the form we serve them in!