Healthy Eating for Kids
One of the most important things we do as parents is teach healthy eating habits to our kids. The best way to do that is by setting a good example. Our children like to emulate us, so if we are eating healthy then our kids are more likely to have healthy eating habits. Perhaps healthy eating is a new venture for the entire family and trying to convince the little ones to eat healthy foods has been a bit of a struggle.
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First you need to know an important little trick, nutritionists have stated that in order for a child to try a new food they need to see it four or five times. This means that just because the avoided the broccoli at dinner tonight, doesn’t mean that in a week or two they won’t try it if you keep showing it to them at meals. You can also try making a rule, similar to what we have in our home, and that is called the “No Thank You Bite.” Everyone at the table has to have one bite of everything on their plate. If they don’t try it how will then ever know if they like it?
Knowing that kids prefer the sweeter things in life, try introducing them to the sweeter healthy foods such as corn, tomatoes, sweet peas, mandarin oranges, cherries and strawberries. You can also mix these sweeter foods with other healthy foods that may be less appealing such as brussel sprouts. Make an apple and brussel sprout side salad. Get creative and make it fun, give the dishes you create names that kids will think are funny.
You can also let your children help in the process of preparing meals, buying groceries and picking foods, let them come up with their own recipes. If your kids are apprehensive about trying the healthier foods consider playing food tricks. Chopping veggies and fruits finely and mixing them in their favorite dishes will help. Carrots can be chopped finely and mixed in with your favorite spaghetti sauce and so can spinach and broccoli.
If burgers are a favorite in your house, finely chop or puree veggies and mix them into the burger meat when you patty the burgers. Use turkey or ground sirloin as healthier alternatives to hamburger. Casseroles can also be a fun new dish. Casseroles are fun because you can throw whatever you want in there for a really healthy and tasty meal.
Other healthy eating options for kids can include making fruit breads, such as banana and apple. Use real fruit, even if you buy a premixed box, you can still add real fruits to enhance flavor and nutritional value.
Healthy eating habits for kids means kids that are not overweight and are healthy. The sooner you can start practicing healthy eating habits for the family the better, but know that it is never to late to start. Making healthy eating choices can help the entire family get in shape and trim down and decrease the risk of many diseases. To learn more about making sure your kids are eating healthy visit Healthy Eating for kids.
June 26th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
http://www.kidscook.com
June 26th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Keep the healthy eating exciting and fun. Make fun snacks like ants on a log and fruits veggies cut into fun shapes with hummus. You can also let your kids help out in the kitchen with you, so they can have fun making their own snacks. That way, the kids are encouraged to keep on making their own healthy snacks.
If you have a local farmers market, take your kids with you and show them all of the fresh produce and where it comes from. Let them pick out new produce that they never tried before, and prepare a fun meal with the new foods at home. They'll have a lot of fun discovering new foods and dishes.
Always have an encouraging attitude towards your children's healthy eating, because then your kids will get the message that you LOVE it when they eat healthy, so they'll be even more encouraged to eat healthy.
Make sure to always have healthy foods around the house, so if your kids are hungry, then they can quickly grab a healthy snack to eat, and they don't start searching for food and end up eating junk food.
Don't be too strict on their healthy eating. If you totally restrict he consumption of junk food, your children might get tired of healthy food and only want to eat junk food. It's okay to let them have treats like cookies and chips in moderation. That way, their eating habits are balanced and they are always content with their food.
I hope this helps!
June 29th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
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I lost 5 lbs just being near the spam.
3 months… this is a great age to start her on Cool Whip, and then move into ice cream around 5 – 5 1/2 months, Twizzlers are great when she starts teething, and a glazed donut will dissolve like cheerios in her mouth – about 8 – 9 months. Good luck..