If you want your kids to be good eaters then feed them good food. It is that simple. You are the parent. You are IN CHARGE not them. I am giving you the power to feed your children WHOLEsome food!!! If you have young children then this should be easy to implement. If you have older children who are used to being in charge of meals then this will take some energy and patience on your part. But it is absolutely necessary. By no means am I suggesting that every child will like every item of food you feed them. People (and children) have definite likes and dislikes and these preferences should be respected (within reason). For example, if a child really hates fish I would not pick a battle over eating fish. The goal is to have children who are open to trying new foods and who eat a wide variety of healthy whole foods.
Here is how I make it work in our house:
1. Only drink water or milk
2. Do not buy processed food Let me clarify...I try to make as much as I can from scratch. If I cannot or absolutely don't have time I buy an organic version with the least amount of ingredients. For example I don't make my own pasta (yet anyway) so I buy organic 100% whole wheat pasta.
3. Introduce kids to NEW foods in POSITIVE ways I don't let people say "
eeewww" around food. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people negatively comment on other peoples healthy food choices. Avocados, beets, asparagus, vinegar, coconut oil, and beans are all some of my favorite things. I understand it may not be your favorite but I don't need you tell me you don't like as I am sitting down to eat my lunch. I especially don't understand when I hear adults say negative things about the healthy adventurous food my children eat. Let's say positive words to kids about healthy food, if you can't say it tastes good then focus on the health benefits for the body. And at the very least remember...if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all.
4. Eat as a family Enough said!!!
5. Use food as a fuel not a reward or entertainment Food should taste yummy BUT it should be a not be a reward or a source of entertainment. We all know that food is not the answer if you are bored. I go one step further and say if your kids (or you) are hungry eat nutritious food that will satiate your body. If kids eat empty calories, they have consumed a meals worth of calories but are still hungry because their bodies are telling them it didn't get the nutrition it was asking for. The earlier we can teach this to our children the better. It sure makes life easy to hand our kids a pack of crackers when they are clamoring that they are hungry or bored but that is a bad habit to get into. If they are hungry and need a snack then reach for real food like nuts, raisins, apples, bananas, or cheese.
6. As hard as it is - have your kids go food shopping with you It is important for them to have a hand in picking out the food the family will eat. They should be given the requirements for what food the family is buying (IE - real, whole foods that have nutritional value) so that they can pick out quality food for the family to eat (HINT: You should be buying ingredients and not already prepared foods. More on that in another post).
I recently had to pick up pretzels for a social event (which is not something I usually buy) and I told my 8 yr old daughter to read the ingredients and find organic pretzels with the least amount of ingredients. We couldn't find organic ones but we did find ones with only 4 ingredients and without oil (which would have mostly likely been from a GMO source). She was so excited that she found the best pretzels in the aisle. If I had just told her to run down the isle and pick out a bag of pretzels, she would have come back with a bag that had her favorite packaging.
7. Have the kids help cook The more involved your kids are in the mealtime process the more accepting they will be of the food being offered. My daughter did not like eating green beans no matter how delicious I said they were. She would eat them but with a grumpy face. So the next time I was serving green beans I asked her to help me snap the beans before dinner. She sat at the kitchen table with me and I showed her how to snap the beans so we could eat them for dinner. When it was time for dinner she was so excited to share her hard work with her dad, sister and brother that I don't even think she remembered that before she didn't like the beans. Now it is one of her most requested veggies at dinner!! TRUE STORY!!!
8. Explain the importance of food to maintain health They key to this strategy is how you tell the kids this information. I am excited and animated while I am imparting this information to my kids. I find that if you are excited about the food you are serving then at least some of that excitement will rub off on the kids.
The bottom line being...I want to teach my kids that they are in control of their health and their bodies. I honestly believe that by giving my kids this knowledge I am preparing them for their future. If I don't teach them about healthy choices then they will get their information from advertisements and society. Which will influence them to think High Fructose Corn Syrup is not only a real food but is also part of a healthy diet! Which scares me!! It is important for kids to think about the food they eat and the effects it will have on their health. I want my kids to know that the food they are eating is working inside their bodies and not just filling their bellies.
So as my kids are having lunch, I explain to them about the food they are eating and what good things it can do for their bodies. They love hearing that the blueberries they are eating are full of vitamin c which will help their bodies fight germs!! I explain to them very basically about the antioxidants that are in the blueberries and how they can help "clean up" inside their bodies. I tell them that the protein they are eating is making more muscles in their bodies. On the flip side, I also tell them what a Pop-Tart (insert any processed food) would be doing in their body.
9. What I am fixing for breakfast, lunch, dinner is the ONLY option Sometimes it is your favorite and sometimes it is not. I only make one meal...I am not a restaurant and there a no choices. I do not make a meal for my husband and me and then a different meal for my kids. We all eat the same thing. But with that being said, I do involve my kids in the meal planning process. I ultimately am in charge of what we are eating but I give them a voice and involve them in the meal planning process.
And Finally...
10. Remember You are in charge! You wouldn't let your kids play in traffic because that is what
they wanted to do. The same rule applies to meal time. You need to draw the same line in the sand for safe foods as you would for all other safety rules. It is about what is good for them. With all of the things we teach our kids to keep them safe and to help them become thriving members of society I feel that we NEED to teach them more about caring for their bodies. We can't passively accept what the Food Industry is trying to sell us about their version of healthy food and what we should be feeding our families.
Get out there and do your own research and really take a hard look at what you feeding your family!!!
With my WHOLE heart,
Brooke
