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Healthy Living

How To Get Your Child To Eat Healthily

It can seem like a bit of a chore to get your little ones to adopt healthy eating practices, but it doesn’t need to be that way. So if you are struggling with ways to encourage your child to eat healthily, then look no further.

Child To Eat Healthily

Start When They Are Young

Start When They Are YoungIt is a lot more difficult to try and implement changes for older children if they are already stuck in their ways. (I know this from experience because my family switched to healthy food when I was 5, and I couldn’t wait to go to Grandma’s house so I could eat salami and cookies!) So the best way to encourage your children to adopt good eating habits is to start when they are young. Their taste buds will soon adapt to more healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables and will not see them as something unappealing. So the sooner you can introduce these foods the better.

Interact With Them While They Are Eating

Interact With Them While They Are EatingChildren like to interact with their food, especially when they are young, so you could talk and pick up the food with them to make it seem more interesting. They also like to play around with the texture of their food and see how it feels before they eat it. So definitely encourage this if you find it is useful for them to be able to try out different flavors and textures.

Let Them Get Messy

Let Them Get MessyIf they end up getting a bit messy it doesn’t matter — if they end up eating their food in the end. So try not to be too discouraged if they want to pick up their food and see how the texture feels before they eat it. The main priority — ultimately — is that you get your child to eat healthily. It will also provide you with a funny photo opportunity too if they get a little messy.

Make Fruit More Appealing

Make Fruit More AppealingIt doesn’t need to be seen as a scary ingredient to your children, so if you try to be a little more creative in how you present it, such as making smoothies or getting them involved in preparing it then they might be more inclined to try a new fruit.

Start With Small Portions

Start With Small PortionsInstead of presenting them with an entire fruit, you could encourage them to try different ones by cutting them up into smaller portions. Choosing an array of fruits such as bite-sized apple slices or a handful of grapes will enable them to try different fruits and hopefully come across one that they like. You will then know which fruit they prefer best which you can then implement into their diet.

Get Them Involved In The Kitchen

Get Them Involved In The KitchenEncouraging them to participate in the kitchen will get them interested in food and cooking. Allow them to help you make a particular dish that is full of healthy ingredients. Cooking can be a fun and interactive activity, so if your child is able to help out in the kitchen, they may show more of an interest in food and how to prepare tasty meals.

Try Different Cuisines

Try Different CuisinesYou want to try and expand your child’s taste buds as much as possible so that they are less likely to become fussy eaters. Exploring different cuisines at home and cooking a variety of dishes is a good way for your child to be able to try out different food flavors and combinations.

Present The Food Nicely

Present The Food NicelyIf you make their plate of food seem appealing then they are going to be more likely to eat it. When they are young this could involve turning the food on the plate into a specific shape such as an animal or a smiley face. If it encourages them to interact with their food and makes it more appealing then they are much more likely to try it, compared to just piling it on a plate. My father used to do this with pancakes, and I loved it!

Persistant Patience Will Help Get Your Child To Eat Healthily

Overall you want to try and encourage good eating habits when your child is young so that they are more likely to want to eat healthy foods. It doesn’t need to be difficult to get your child to eat healthily. If you can be patient and persist with your methods then there is no reason why your child cannot enjoy an array of healthy foods.

Categories
Healthy Living

Nutritious And Delicious: Easy Ways To Get Kids Into Healthy Eating

If you’re a parent, you’re probably all too familiar with the challenge of getting kids interested in nutritious foods. We’ve all been in a situation where our children refuse to eat their greens or kick up a stink because they want dessert before they’ve finished their main course. When I was a kid, I went through a phase where I would only eat things that were white, which is why my mother invented spinach with rice and mashed potatoes and carrots. It was the only way she could get me to eat something healthy!

kid eathing nutritious food and not happy about it
Source: Pixabay

If you’re keen to encourage your children to embrace a healthier and more balanced diet, hopefully, this guide will come in handy. Here are some easy ways to get your children into healthy eating.

Cook with Your Kids

You probably know from when you cook at home yourself, that there’s a certain amount of satisfaction involved when you create a meal that tastes great. If you’ve put a lot of effort into a meal, it’s likely that you’re going to enjoy it more. The same rules apply to kids.

If you’ve spent the afternoon with your children preparing ingredients, mixing them together, and waiting to see the results, it makes sense that you’re all going to be enthused about eating your masterpiece. Obviously, there are jobs that are only suitable for adults, but get the kids involved whenever possible.

They can help you get everything ready, measure and weigh the ingredients and then mix them together. Keep things simple when you’re cooking with your children. You don’t want them to lose focus and get bored because they can’t help out with most of the elements. You’ll find a host of easy no bake recipes online, and these are ideal for doing at home with young helpers. If your children show an interest in food, you can also encourage them to learn more and develop their skills by buying some child-friendly cookbooks and kitchen utensils. I have very fond memories of my two kiddie cookbooks: Small World Cook & Color Book and The Cookie Book.

kids eating outside
Source: Pixabay

Focus on presentation

No matter what age you are, the aesthetic appeal of a plate of food has an impact on your desire to eat it. When you go to a restaurant, and you’re presented with a beautiful meal, you probably can’t wait to dig in. When you have children, looks are everything when it comes to food, so try and bear this in mind.

You don’t have to be a culinary expert to impress your little ones, but the way you present their meals will make a difference. If you’ve got young kids who are reluctant to eat vegetables, for example, try to be creative and make the plate as fun as possible. Create smiley faces, make animal shapes or use food coloring to make things more exciting. I’ll always remember the fun pancakes my father made for me.

panda shaped food for kids
Image Courtesy: Raphaël Labbé, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic | Flickr

Education

When you’re cooking with your children, take a couple of minutes to talk to them about the ingredients you’re using, and why they’re beneficial. We all know that vegetables are good for us, but explaining why may encourage your kids to eat their greens without any tantrums.

fruits and veggies
Source: Pixabay

Your child’s health is probably your number one priority. It’s no secret that it can be challenging to get children to eat healthy foods. However, there are ways of making healthy eating more appealing. I hope these suggestions help you out.



[divider]

[one_third] Healthy Eating Worksheet [/one_third]
[two_third_last]

Take Charge of Your Health!

Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.

This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.

Download Now [/two_third_last]

Categories
Healthy Living

Getting the Kids Interested In Food

If you want to give your kids an invaluable skill that will serve them well throughout their life, teach them how to prepare food. Get them interested from an early age in food and how to prepare it. Children are like little sponges, so how you introduce them to food preparation will impact them for a very long time.

food preparation
Image Source

Health is something that will always be an important part their entire lives (whether they like it or know it or not), so starting them young with the principles of healthy eating is important. Children generally tend to eat what their parents eat, and if you are ordering fresh food from places like Foodtown, you’re making a good start in their health education.

It can sometimes feel like a losing battle when getting the kids to eat things that aren’t covered in breadcrumbs. However, if you start early enough, you can get through any hurdle and give your children a healthier start. Their activity levels also impact their appetites and their food intake. Sedentary activities like computer games and TV time won’t help your goal for a healthy life. So, how do you get the kids interested in a healthier menu at home?

kids helping prepare food
Image Source

Cook together with the Kids

One of the best things you can do for food education at home, is to touch, taste and smell everything together. Talk about every fresh vegetable you buy and where it comes from. Talk about where meat cuts come from and educate the kids about hygiene in between handling. If children see new vegetables, they turn their noses up at it. It’s normal – even adults turn their noses up at things they don’t know about. Getting children to touch and get involved with chopping and peeling food can really get them involved in different ingredients.

Bring the Kids Shopping

Some parents hate bringing the children to the grocery store – it can be particularly stressful when they are young. However, if you take the time to create picture shopping lists and have them help you choose the items, you can get the children excited about food. It’s one of the best ways to get children familiar with different types of foods and recognizing when something is ripe or healthy.

kids eating corn
Image Source

Plan Your Meals with the Kids

Allowing children to have an element of control over what they eat can really help them to make good food decisions. Mock up charts on the kitchen walls that show that each meal must have two vegetables, a starch, and a meat and they can then choose from a list of what to have. Get them excited about cooking their choices with you. Being involved in the meal from start to finish will help them to get excited about eating it.

Family dinners are important for your children, so you need to encourage sitting down together and eating as a unit. Encourage eating at the table with the right cutlery instead of on the couch eating with a tray on your lap. Food education is about how it’s eaten as well as what goes into the meal itself. If you’re encouraging good table manners, your children will be more inclined to eat better.

[divider]

[one_third] Healthy Eating Worksheet [/one_third]
[two_third_last]

Take Charge of Your Health!

Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.

This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.

Download Now [/two_third_last]

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