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5 Ways to Help Your Kids Eat Right

by April Jones

It is a daily challenge to get some kids to eat right, as in healthy. Especially, if they are not brought up with a healthy diet, but instead are used to eating the Standard American Diet of chicken nuggets and cheese fries. Not having food on the table that is pleasing to your child’s palate can make meal times an unpleasant battle. There is hope toward compliant kids who eat and ask for healthy foods.

Here are 5 ways that have helped me to get my kids to eat what I consider to be a healthy diet. This is not an over night success, by any means, but consistency is the key (as well as parent involvement).

Limit their choices
If children know there are chips in the pantry or candy in the cupboard, they will continue to ask and plead until they get it. It is an easy choice for them to choose processed sugar/salt laden snacks over healthy foods such as fruits.

After I chose to take boxed cereals out of my house, I had little problems with them asking for cereal over the whole grain hot cereal or whatever breakfast they were given.
I explained I had none, and they saw the cereals were not around anymore.

This did not take effect over night. I did choose to announce we were not getting anymore boxed cereals, so enjoy what was left. After some time now, they don’t ask for Cheerios anymore, it’s no use. 

I followed the same process with other unhealthy items I chose to get rid of. I did not sneak it out, and did not surprise them. We talked about it. And I did not pull the rug out from under my family all at once. I took one thing out at a time. One week, it may be sugar cereals, a couple of weeks later look at something else, like sodas or processed crackers.

Don’t overwhelm yourself or your children. Trying to change everything will eventually result in a ‘burn-out’ and you will be too tired to go on, possibly give up all together. Baby steps are the best way to get this accomplished, for you and your kids.

Educate your kids
Teaching kids to eat healthy is something they will (hopefully) continue through out their lives. Explain “why we don’t drink soda” and “why a smoothie is a smart choice for a snack.” This will most likely be an education for you as the parent, too.

Choosing to eat healthy is a lifestyle change. It is about educating yourself to make better choices without obsessing over it or creating too many unnecessary rules.

I have recently witnessed my children asking the neighbor children what their favorite fruits and vegetables were. They often help me out when my will power is weak and they ask if an item has MSG (think neurotoxin) in it before putting it in my cart. Teach them well and they may help you when you need it! :)

My children work beside me in our garden planting, weeding and harvesting...as well as processing and cooking what comes in the kitchen. All the while, I am constantly explaining the benefits of eating real foods.

They are beginning to ask questions, many of which bring me back to my research books on what vitamins are in what foods (and why they are important). Encourage them to ask questions and be honest with them. Say “I don’t know,” if you don’t know why Brussels Sprouts are good to eat...then go find out why they are good to eat.

Make it cute and fun
Snacks served in cute little bowls or a smoothie with a crazy curly straw makes eating fun. Green Smoothie Girl gives an idea to serve lunch in a muffin pan. She places different healthy dips (hummus and guacamole) in a couple of the muffin holes and fills the others with veggie sticks.

I found when I serve plain old cooked oats in a pretty tea cup with a tiny spoon and a side of fresh fruit my girls dig in to this beautiful, hearty breakfast! Anything served in our house in a ‘tea set’ fashion is a hit with my girls. Find out what your children love and run with it.

Moms and dads, get creative.

Get your kids involved
Allow your kids in the kitchen and let them help mix up the guacamole or help decide which veggies to cut up. Let them choose the dried fruits and nuts for the trail mix. Have them store it, so they know where it is when they get hungry. (Just remember to have the good stuff available and not mini marshmallows.)

Getting your kids involved allows them to help take ownership in their food choices and prep. If you don’t have a garden for your children to pick vegetables, find a well stocked grocery store and go shopping. Let them grab an exotic looking fruit or vegetable and then find out how to cook it. We have learned we like some things and don’t like others by what my children have seen that looks interesting. Experiment.

Keep healthy snacks around
If kids don’t have the option for junk food, they will not eat it. Most kids would choose a bag of chips over a carrot stick. The easiest way to remedy this is to do away with unhealthy foods and buy what is healthy.

Keep a list of healthy snacks for kids to eat, and keep them on hand. Keeping a list handy (maybe posted inside a cabinet) makes it easy to grab something healthy when those hairy moments arise. And make an inventory list for your kitchen to make sure you don’t miss anything when shopping (Here is a direct link to my list of healthy kid friendly snacks and my basic kitchen inventory.)

Here is a list of healthy kid-friendly snacks:

A great resource I recommend for every person (parent or not) who is interested in eating healthy and “whys” should check out Dr. Fuhrman ‘s Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right.

April Jones is the publisher of Kitchen-Blender-Reviews.com. She is very passionate about green smoothies, healthy eating and teaching others the value of eating a balanced, nutritious diet.

 

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