12 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy Foods
One of my most vivid memories of my son Luke’s first weeks of life was when our pediatrician, who I loved, told my husband and I: “At six weeks, if your child isn’t sleeping through the night, it’s your fault, and not your child’s.” It was a devastating blow and at six weeks, Rob and I endured tw0 painful nights of hearing Luke cry and not getting up to feed him. By the third night, he slept “like a baby” the entire night, and has ever since.
This was tough love at its finest, much like what we often face at meal-time. In the same way that parents have to instill healthy sleeping habits, it’s up to us to instill healthy eating habits. We all know that obesity is a big, fat issue in North America and now there’s a study out that says junk food may even be addictive.
In our food-frenzied environment, how can parents bring up children who will just say no to junk food and embrace their veggies? I don’t have all the answers, but here are 11 lessons I’ve learned so far with my six-year-old son, Luke.
1. Don’t cave. Even if your child is a picky eater, don’t let them get away with not trying new foods – otherwise they’ll stick to their junk food favorites. How can they say they don’t like fish and veggies if they haven’t tried them? This blog post, which I highlighted last week, beautifully illustrates the point of staying firm. And if we are more stern at home, then hopefully, we’ll experience fewer battles over food at school.
2. Make healthy alternatives to junk food favorites at home. A few weeks ago, I wrote about our family’s substitute for fried chicken fingers, a recipe Luke prefers to the deep fried version. Try baked French fries and sweet potato fries. Even home-made pizzas can be healthy, especially the yummy chicken pesto pizzas my husband Rob makes (recipe below).
3. Keep fast food to a minimum. You can’t hide McDonald’s or Burger King from your kids forever, as Sharon eloquently and almost painfully shares, but avoid the temptation as best you can. If you are tired after a day at work, try to make something easy at home instead, such as these five quick meals.
4. Avoid fried foods as much as possible, especially when eating out. Years ago, before I ever had children, I swore to myself, “No child of mind will ever eat fried food.” But that was before I had to deal with temper tantrums, restaurants’ kid menus and the realities of life. It’s almost impossible to avoid fried food altogether, but keeping them to a minimum is a good second best. Ironically, in a region of the country where fried foods are plentiful, you’ll find an obesity-hunger paradox.
5. Avoid boxed mixes, like macaroni and cheese. I’m picking on Maccaroni and cheese, but few boxed dinners are all that different. With processed foods like these, it’s not only about what your child is eating (which, by the way, happens to be a lot of fat!), it’s also about what your child isn’t eating – which needs to be more protein and nutrients. Below is the nutrition label and ingredients list for the Kraft product:
INGREDIENTS:
Enriched macaroni product (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate [iron], thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), cheese sauce mix (whey, whey protein concentrate, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate, citric acid, sodium phosphate, lactic acid, calcium phosphate, yellow 5, yellow 6, enzymes, cheese cultures).
Not exactly the epitome of good health, is it? If you make this from scratch, you may not eliminate the fat, but at least you can cut out the sodium, yellow 5, yellow 6 and enzymes. Or if you only have time for the box, try serving it with something green!
6. Prepare vegetables with creativity. A few days ago, I suggested 10 easy ways to get your kids to eat vegetables. I’ve introduced them gradually and had a fair bit of luck. But gradually is the key!
7. Read them the Berenstain Bears. One evening before bed not too long ago, I read Luke a book called, The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food. It’s a wonderful portrayal about how the Bear family eats too much junk food and everyone starts gaining a little too much weight. So Mom sticks the Choco-Chums and other “bad stuff” into the freezer and puts everyone on a healthy diet. Father Bear even split his pants in the process, proving that better food and exercise was just what the doctor ordered. The book has made quite a lasting impression on Luke, for some unexplained reason. Now, when Rob is eating junk food, Luke reminds him that he “needs to stop before Mommy has to sew up his pants.” You might try this or any other number of books which might strike a chord with your children.
8. Avoid too many snacks, and keep the snacks healthy. This is probably the hardest one for me, especially when Luke gets home from school at 5:00, is starving, about to have a melt-down and dinner is at least another hour out. There is a fine line between keeping him happy and filling him up. I do my best to feed him snacks rich in nutrients – e.g., yogurt, cheese, and broccoli with magic cream sauce. So in the event he doesn’t east as much at dinner as I’d like, at least I still feel good about what’s in his belly.
9. Avoid soft drinks. The average American can of Coke is 10.91% high fructose corn syrup. That is 45g of sugar, same as 8 tsp of sugar. (And no nutrients, by the way). And though we do award Luke with the occasional Sprite when we eat out (maybe that explains why he likes to eat out so much), keeping them out of the house is one less temptation you have to deal with.
10. Bribe them with dessert. I say this rather facetiously, as I suppose we shouldn’t resort to bribery when our child is only six. But in our household, the dessert carrot works wonders. None of this “three bites of your veggies” stuff. We actually have him eat every last bite of broccoli, or he doesn’t get dessert. This works like a charm for us, even though we limit how much dessert he eats. That said, this article references a pediatrician who disagrees with sweet rewards and offers some alternatives.
11. Set a good example. Much like fitness, setting a good example with what we eat goes a long way towards establishing healthy habits. As I mentioned, Luke is pretty darn happy eating yogurt, cheese and veggies with magic cream sauce when he gets home from school. But guess what? If Dad grabs a bag of Doritos, guess who else wants them.
12. Fix one meal. I won’t repeat my last post, but I’m a firm believer in fixing one meal for all. It’s less hassle and it teaches your little ones to eat what’s on the table, regardless of what’s being served. Jenna at Food with Kid Appeal has some smart suggestions for what to say when kids refuse food.
If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them. There’s certainly no silver bullet when it comes to kids and eating, but little steps can make a big difference in getting the nutrients a growing child needs.
Chicken Pesto Pizza
1 Home-made or store ready-made pizza crust
1 TBSP home-made pesto, mixed with 1 TBSP olive oil
1 chicken breast, lightly seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, baked or grilled (cooked about 80%), chopped into bite-sized pieces
1-2 TBSP capers, pan fried in olive oil (about 10 minutes)
1/2 onion, sliced and carmelized
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, chopped
Roll out pizza dough and spread pesto. Top with remaining ingredients (and any other of your favorites) and cook about 12-14 minutes in hot oven (450 degrees).
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