Help Your Kids Eat Healthy

How To Get Your Kids to Choose Healthy Food Over Junk Food

by Deborah Carabet

There really is no such thing as "children's food". Kid meals didn't exist until the '70's with McDonald's Happy Meals. Babies and kids ate what their parents ate. It wasn't until 1927 when Gerber's invented baby food that babies ate anything different. Only when fast food and snack-food manufactures realized that their real market was kids did they start sponsoring events and advertising in the 1950's.

Make your kids eat at the dinner table from a very young age. If you use a high chair, bring it, to the table. Treat the dinner table as something that is important and that everyone in the family has to participate in.

Make them eat what you do. Puree the food if you have to. This is where the "stick" blender comes in very handy!

Pack lunches with leftovers. Thai, Chinese, chicken, etc. make great leftover lunches.

Skip little baggies with Goldfish or other non nutrient dense foods. Kids will eat when they are hungry, as you know. If you fill them up with "fillers" they won't.

Have kids help prepare the meal. Kids will be more likely to try what's good for them when they are a part of the process. It is a sense of ownership. It also makes it fun to try something new. Preparing food and learning about food will empower your family to eat better and have better control over everyone's diet.

Set a good example for your kids. You must eat healthier first. If kids see you eating an apple or grapes instead of potato chips, they will begin to follow your footsteps and not miss the junk food so much.

Make lunches creative. Include dips with yogurt or low fat sour cream. Kids love to dip. Add any other seasonings or herbs you want. Make fruit and vegetable skewers. Use cookie cutters to create "silly" sandwiches.

Give kids healthy snacks after school like popcorn, whole-grain pretzels, rice cakes with nut butters on them, and dried fruit. Keep a bowl or a basket of fresh fruit, nuts or dried fruit on the counter. Kids will want what's easy, quick and right in front of them!

Be patient and constantly introduce new foods to kids. Don't be afraid to reintroduce the same foods. It takes, on average, 8-11 times before a kid will finally like a food.

Make sure they eat breakfast. You already know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not eating breakfast also makes for a day of junk food binging. Don't limit breakfast just to breakfast foods. Why not make a grilled cheese sandwich with low fat cheese for a change?

If you must give them chocolate....give them the most expensive chocolate you can afford. What kid will want a "junkie" chocolate bar or other "fake" chocolate when they can have Godiva? It becomes a special occasion as opposed to an everyday occurrence. Of course, we know you're going to offer your kids fruit instead.