Healthy Eating for Kids!
Sep 26, 2014
"Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live."
Jim Rohn
It can be very difficult to get kids to eat a well balanced diet (and parents too). They might be a very discerning eater. The taste of refined sugar may be far more appealing than the natural sweetness of fruit. The look of new foods might be off putting; kids can be difficult eaters for a variety of reasons! In this blog we are providing you with ways to help a picky eater, and ideas to keep your kids eating healthy their whole lives.
Lifelong healthy eating habits definitely start in the home when children are young. A few things you can do to promote healthy eating habits are:
- Only keep whole grain snacks, fruits, vegetables, water, milk, and sugar free fruit juices within reach of children. This way when they reach for a snack or a drink it is a healthy choice.
- Eat more meals at home. For everyone in the house it is much easier to eat a healthy meal at home than it is to try to pick one off a menu. This is especially hard for kids as kid’s menus are typically filled with unhealthy “kid friendly” options.
- Get kids involved in the shopping and choices that they have for snacks and meals. Allowing kids to make a decision on their own gets them exciting about that decision!
- Eat meals as a family whenever possible. Having a scheduled family meal around the same time each night allows kids to get into a routine and get hungry at the same time each night. It will keep them from over snacking in the afternoon. This is also a great way to catch up with your family when you all lead busy lives!
You might be telling yourself yes, those are great tips but what if I have a picky eater? We can help with that too.
- Kids sometimes need to see a new food many times before they are willing to try it. The key to getting your picky eater to try and enjoy a new food is patience.
- Only introduce a new food when a child is hungry and well rested. If they are hungry they will be more willing to eat the new food and if they are well rested they are less likely to fuss. If you serve a new food with a favorite food the child will be more likely to accept the new food.
- Let your child help prepare food. Not only will a child be more likely to eat something they helped prepare, but this is a great time to teach your child about healthy eating.
- Don’t try to introduce more than one new food at a time, this can be overwhelming to a child.
- Top a breakfast item like a bowl of cereal or a pancake with a fruit smiley face.
- Make fruit popsicles, freeze freshly sliced fruit and 100% juice in a popsicle mold.
- Try fruit smoothies, it looks like has cream, tastes great, and kids love them!
- Let your child pick out new fruits or vegetables to try at the grocery store.
How do I get my child to eat more fruits and vegetables? This is the age old question, here are some tips!
We hope you found these tips very helpful check out more kid friendly healthy eating tips on this site.