How To Get Your Kids To Eat Healthier
With childhood obesity at alarming numbers, it is extremely important that we take our jobs as parents much more seriously than we ever have. The major reason for obesity is a serious deficiency in eating habits. It is so much easier to rely on fast food for a quick meal, rather than preparing a meal from nutritious, healthy foods that will be much better on our children's bodies.
I'm going to show you some simple and easy ways to get your kids to eat healthier. If you think it's impossible, keep reading.
Make It A Family Affair
One of the best ways to encourage your children to eat healthier is to create a plan that enables the entire family to be involved. If your children think they are suffering by having to do without all their favorite junk food, they'll be much less likely to comply to the new eating rules. But if you make changes that apply to the entire family, it will be easier for your kids to abide by the new, healthier eating rules.
Let Them Plan The Menu
Kids love to cook. They love to make their own food. Give your kids some healthy meal options, then let them plan the dinner menu for the upcoming week. If they put something on the menu that isn’t very healthy, offer them a healthier solution. Remember to encourage them to include a vegetable or two as a side dish, as well as a healthy dessert.
Introduce Vegetables and Fruit Slowly
One of the worst things you could do is suddenly change your children’s diet by discarding all the foods they’ve been accustomed to and replacing it with vegetables and fruit. If your kids aren’t used to eating these types of foods, they’re going to balk at the idea of it, and most likely won’t even consider eating them. Rather than shock them by changing their diet overnight, slowly introduce a single fruit and vegetable at a time. Replace one such healthy food with some of their junk food. Eventually, in a matter of weeks, you should be able to totally phase out all the junk food in your cabinets and replace it with healthier foods your kids can enjoy.
Healthy Snack Suggestions
Parents sometime feel pressured to buy junk food simply because all the other kids are eating it. Why not be the new trendsetter? If you make eating healthier fun for your kids, they could be good influences on their friends. Snacks seem to be the most difficult change to make. While it’s okay to allow your child a small bag of chips or a soda every now and then, don’t allow them to get into the habit of eating junk food all the time. Instead, here are some quick, healthy snack suggestions that you can prepare ahead to grab and go:
- celery “boat” with peanut butter
- dried fruit
- raw carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower with a low-fat veggie dip
- raisins
- toasted pumpkin seeds
- granola bars
- trail mix
- banana chips
- frozen melon balls & red grapes
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