7 Tips To Help Your Kids Eat Healthier

Healthier Family Habits and Easier Mealtimes

As a busy momma to three girls and healthy lifestyle coach, one of the most common questions I get is, “How do you get your kids to eat healthy too?”  Nutrition is so very important in the way we function and when my kids’ nutrition is “off”, when they’ve been eating too much junk and too many sweets, I can see a big difference in their behavior and their sass!  Here are a few helpful family nutrition tips that we incorporate regularly to make mealtimes a little easier for us all.

1.  Incorporate a variety of foods all the time.

Where my husband and I can be creatures of habit with our nutrition, the kids crave variety.  Literally.  So we incorporate a variety of foods and flavors to not only give them options but it also helps me figure out what they will and will not eat.

Some foods I incorporate regularly are:

Carb sources like quinoa, brown or wild rice, roasted sweet and red potatoes, oats, whole grain breads and rolls, barley in stews.

Proteins like fish, chicken, ground turkey, turkey breast, lunch meat, sausages, flank steak, Greek yogurt, and kid friendly protein powder.

Fresh fruits such as pears, apples, bananas, kiwi, melon, berries, and frozen bagged fruit to blend into smoothies too. 

Veggies like salads, baked kale and carrot chips (you’d be surprised at what they’ll eat when you bake them into chips!), cucumbers- especially the mini ones, sliced peppers, cauliflower rice, shredded zucchini into other things too, and cutting veggies into “sticks” for dipping!

2.  Don’t say “ewwww” or “gross” about foods!

Yes, in a perfect world the kids say “no thank you” but eliminating their preconceived ideas about foods helps them to try more things.  When we can show them by taking a bite or trying something first and encouraging them by telling them it’s yummy, they’re more likely to follow in our footsteps.

3. Let them choose.

Within reason. Tonight you can have chicken or turkey. Sweet potatoes or quinoa. Salad or green beans.  Allow them to write some items they like on the grocery list as well and remind them upon returning from the grocery store, “I picked up that cantaloupe that you wanted!”

4.  Theme nights.

It is rare that we miss a Taco Tuesday in our house.  Pizza Friday is a favorite. Healthier spaghetti/pasta night. Make your own burrito bowls. Offer one meal each week where they get to pick!  If they choose macaroni and cheese or hot dogs, choose a healthier version of those!  Go organic or all natural when making selections for those healthier options too. 

5.  A Little Praise and Gentle Reminders Go A Long Way.

Praise them for trying something new.  At a young age so many kids derive praise from their parents for even the littlest accomplishments.  When they eat the amount that and reminding them, “Actually, last time you ate spaghetti squash, you had 2 helpings and loved it!”

6. Let Them Help!

Because my girls love to toss on an apron and grab a spoon and help me cook and bake, I give them as much opportunity as I can.  When they’re more involved and invested, they are a lot more likely to eat what is served.  Purchasing some kid friendly cooking utensils helps for little hands in the kitchen too.  They’re always proud when they can say, “Dad! How’s your chicken?! I helped Mommy make it!”

7.  Eliminate Unhealthy Options.

Finally, we have to remember, we are the grown ups here!  We have the ability to dictate what we purchase and prepare in our home.  e just don’t buy certain things! As the parent, we choose what things we feed our kids and keep in our house. If we don’t want them to eat all the sugar, we need to stop buying it!

Keep it fun!  Remember, eating healthy is a family ordeal. Teaching our children the importance of having a healthy relationship with food early on is not just great for them but for us too.  As a result of incorporating a few simple changes and some new healthier family habits mealtimes will be much more enjoyable!