Kid Approved Healthy Eating

As parents we want nothing but the best for our kids, this includes many things. Everything we do as parents, in the end, is for our children. So why wouldn’t we find a way to promote healthy eating in a way that our kids are excited about?

  The good news here is this: Healthy food tastes great!

Follow these easy steps below to give your children the healthy diet we’re all looking for.  Pops of Color Children love colors, they get excited when something is bright and vibrant. So my biggest tip here is to add pops of bright colors to their food. It’s a fast track to getting your children excited to eat something. Use fresh fruits and veggies when making your meals, not only will your children love the colors, they’ll also get a large amount of the fiber, vitamins and minerals they need to develop healthy and strong bodies!

Sometimes our children are still resistant to the addition of veggies or fruits. So, make it fun. Make smiley faces out of fruit and place it on a plate for them, cut fruit and place it on a skewer in the colors of the rainbow. Use the power of gamification to get your children to eat veggies and fruits.  Whole Foods I’ve touched on the importance of whole foods in a few other blogs, most recently this past Monday in THIS post. I’m going to cover it again because it really is that important.

  Processed foods are the worst thing that have been introduced to the modern diet. Refined processed foods are stripped of many of the vital nutrients and then pumped full of empty calories. The worst part? Since processed foods are so quick, most children have the bulk of their diets filled with processed foods. 

It takes a bit of time, but you can get your kids to opt for whole foods instead of processed foods. Whole foods are foods that are in their natural state. Get them to eat an apple instead of apple fruit snacks. Whole grain bread with natural peanut butter. 

It’s pretty easy to substitute whole foods for processed foods if you just take some extra time to think through it.  Naturally Sweet Speaking about processed foods, they’re filled with refined sugar and corn syrup. At this point, I feel like we all know how unhealthy these substances are for our bodies. And if you’ve experienced a child on a corn syrup rush, you probably understand how bad it is for our sanity as parents lol.

  There are natural wholesome sweeteners we can use in our cooking to replace these unhealthy alternatives. Sweeteners that taste great and add vitamins and minerals to our diet. Here’s a quick list for you. 

• Pure Maple Syrup: One of my favorites honestly. Forget the fake syrups out there, those are filled with nothing but corn syrup. Reach for some natural maple syrup and add potassium, calcium, some amino acids, and sweetness to your meal!

• Dates: Tossing some dates into a blender is a great way to add some sweetness to baked good or a smoothie while also adding in nutrients. 

Smart Substitutions It's pretty commonplace with kids, they love pizza, pasta and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (Me too tbh... minus Jelly!). If we’re being honest with ourselves, there's probably not much of a chance of that changing for our kids anytime soon. So why fight them on it? Make it for them, just make smart substitutions to those meals. 

• Making Pizza? Use wheat crust or cauliflower crust instead of white crust, add some fresh veggies to the toppings and choose lean meats instead of full fat meats. For sauces, make them yourself out of natural ingredients.

• Good ole’ standby of PB&J? The traditional sugary filled white bread sandwiches aren’t filled with much as far as nutrition goes. Instead, use some wheat bread, natural peanut butter and freshly made fruit jams or preserves

Can the Sugar

This is by far the best thing you can do for your children. This, without a doubt will make the biggest impact in their health and will make a lasting impact on their life. Kick the sugary soda and juice habit and replace it with water. 

The easiest way to do it? 

Stop buying soda and juice. If the only thing you have in your house is water, the temptation to reach for the juice or soda will go away. 

If getting your kids to drink water seems difficult. Add some fresh cut fruit to the water and add a touch of color and flavor to that water. 

Although this was focused on improving the way your children eat, these quick tips will also make a huge impact in your diet. Give it a shot for the next few weeks and let me know how you feel!

Want some more help improving your diet or finding ways to promote a healthy lifestyle within your family? Fill out the quick form below, I’d love to see how I can help you and your family!