This summer my oldest daughter and I were talking about how many different fruits and veggies we each ate one day. She then had the brilliant idea to turn it into a contest. I decided to make it interesting and proposed that the contest would be for one month. The winner gets $50. If there is a tie then the money is split evenly. After realizing I was dead serious both of my daughters looked at me and almost simultaneously said "You can't play." I agreed, but told them their Dad would play too to keep it them on their toes.
We started the game at the beginning of August. I assumed the girls would fall somewhere in the range of 8-12 different fruits and vegetables each day. For years, I have always tried to eat at least 10 varieties daily. It's pretty easy to do especially if you eat a whole food plant-based diet. My kids on the other hand tend to eat more junk than I would prefer although they are both vegan. I knew that they would have to eat less junk trying to win. My husband had a great idea to add a bonus point for drinking at least 3 large glasses of water and taking a b-12 vitamin. To my surprise they averaged around 16 or 17 each day!
Our vacation to Montauk didn't slow them down much. They continued to play the game although the numbers came down closer to where I had anticipated in the beginning. The final week of the competition, my 15 year old took the lead. My 12 year old took note and went all in. The last day, she hit the highest count of all 21! They ended up tying and split the prize.
I guess it's fair to say that I now pay my kids to eat fruits and vegetables. The habits they develop now will be far more valuable in the long run than paying them to do household chores.