As a personal trainer/Mom of two growing boys, healthy nutrition is something I read about & practice on a daily basis. Many of my clients have kids and often ask me how I get mine to eat healthy snacks/meals. Try some of these tricks I've learned for healthy family nutrition (yes, even for those picky eaters!).
1. Walk the Talk.
If you want your kids to choose healthy food options, you need to model that behavior at home. What's your go-to snack item? Does it usually include fruits/vegetables/yogurt? Are you a carb craver or sugar-a-holic? How's your salt intake? At our house, the boys come home ravenous from school - and every day, it's the same question.....'What can I have for a snack?' I'm surprised they even ask, because the answer is always the same, 'Choose something healthy! Fruit, yogurt, or veggies.' They get occasional treats, too - chips in the lunchbox or candy from time to time - but the USUAL snacks/foods available to them are healthy. If the junk's not in the house, there's nothing to choose from but healthy alternatives! (That goes for you, too, Mom & Dad!)
Your kids will learn to like the foods that are readily available, easy to find/prepare, and that they see you enjoying on a regular basis. Monkey see, monkey do!
2. Slow down for a family meal experience.
Eating on the run is the #1 way to ensure you're likely not getting a healthy meal. I struggle with this during sports seasons - shuffling two guys to school/sporting events several nights a week can be a real challenge for family mealtime. Planning ahead and a little organization surrounding meals can make all the difference in family mealtime success. Make a grocery list before the week begins - be sure to include healthy dinner meals that can be made ahead. Try making big meals on the weekend, freeze, and warm to serve on busy weeknights. Have healthy snack options ready to grab and go for sporting events - you're much less likely to buy that corndog at the baseball stand if you & your kids have already had a healthy snack before the game! And if you MUST eat on the run, pick the healthiest option available. Lean sub sandwiches over fried fast foods are a great example of healthiest options.
3. Ban the 'Finish Your Plate' approach.
Kids are smart creatures! They instinctively know when their tummies are full. In fact, they're probably more in tune with appetite than adults are - over time we learn habits that allow us to walk away from the table feeling overstuffed. In general, kids will naturally stop eating when they are full. Allow your child to determine their portion size. At our house, our kids serve themselves. We have a rule of 'Take what you want, but want what you take' (thanks, Shelton View Elementary lunch ladies for teaching that powerful phrase!). They can always go back for 2nds, but this decreases the chance of overeating because they have a chance to finish their meal, and THEN decide if they need more food. When parents serve portions to children, we generally overestimate how much a child needs to eat (see note above, about leaving the table feeling overstuffed!). Worse yet, when we overserve our kids, they learn to eat more just because it's there.
4. Don't give up on 'rejected' foods.
Just because your child didn't like broccoli this week, doesn't mean he won't ever like it. Our kids have always been encouraged (ok, I'll admit we make them try at least a bite) of everything we're serving for dinner. We've never made special 'kid meals' for them - nor have we altered our family meals to suit kid preference. There are foods our boys are not fond of - but they at least try them each time they're offered - partly because they know we won't make them eat them if they do, and partly because as they've grown older, they've realized that sometimes it's how something's cooked that determines whether or not you like it, and sometimes your palate just changes and you learn to like something you thought you didn't! Parents often comment how lucky we are that our kids are not picky eaters. Here's a secret - I'm probably the most picky eater you'll meet! But I try new things regularly, and model that behavior in front of my kids so they see me walking my talk! Reintroducing foods on a rotating basis is a great way to get your kids used to a food in a non-threatening way. I've read before that it can take up to 15 times of reintroduction before a child learns to like a food - so keep at it! And remember that just like you, there will be a few foods that your child may never learn to like. As long as there are plenty of other healthy foods in their regular diet, no worries, they'll get the adequate nutrition they need.
5. My favorite kitchen mantra: 'I'm the Mom, not the maid.'
Our kids know that when Mom or Dad makes a meal - that's the meal. We're not making something other than that, and they'll have to choose at least portions of the meal to eat so they don't go hungry. On a few rare occasions, when we've cooked something really out of the ordinary, we have allowed our kids to make themselves something easy (and nutritious) to eat. And, we allow a choice of vegetables/fruits at every meal - with the caviat that they must choose at least 2 different kinds (often expressed as 'colors') at each meal. This gives them some control, and allows us peace of mind that they're getting the nutrients their growing bodies need.
7. Let your kids cook!
We instituted 'Kids Cook' nights at our house. It has been hugely successful not only in teaching our sons to cook for themselves, but in teaching them how to grocery shop on a budget & how to plan healthy meals. Kids are more likely to eat their own creations - after all, they chose the menu! We have a few simple rules with these nights - Mom gets to review the menu as it's being planned - ensuring that all food groups are represented, and they have to eat whatever they make. This family ritual soon became a favorite for both kids and parents at our house - give it a try at yours!
8. Control snacking.
At 8 & 11, our kids are certainly old enough to make their own snacks and to determine when they're hungry. Regardless, they have to ask before they snack. We always let them have something when they're hungry, of course. But just the process of asking before eating makes them think about their food choices & keeps us parents in the loop of what's being consumed (and how much). It's a rare occasion when we let our kids munch in front of the TV or video game (in fact, TV and video game time is pretty minimal around here) - and generally we ask our kids to sit down at the island counter or table to eat. This prevents mindless eating - where you eat more than you think. By doing this, we're teaching our sons that eating is something you do with thought - it's not something you do on the run, while vegging out doing something else, etc...
Teaching your kids proper eating habits at a young age will help them maintain a healthy weight, learn healthy eating patterns, and give them the ability to make informed, healthy meal choices as they grow into adulthood. And by following a few of these rules ourselves, we ensure we'll be healthy enough to live a long time to witness it.
'Cheers' to your healthy family meals!
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