It can be hard getting our families to eat healthier but there are definitely things we as mom's can be doing to help provide our families a healthier lifestyle and it begins the moment you head into the grocery store.
Make sure that you have eaten prior to heading to the store so you aren't tempted by all of the different unhealthy foods, go with a plan (usually following a meal plan will help), and make sure you are purchasing mostly around the perimeter of the grocery store. I do keep some junky snack foods on hand for my family such as pretzels, goldfish, and cereals but if you try to keep mostly healthy food that will help. You can't expect to have your child make the decision to eat an apple if a pop tart is the other option.
Now once you are home you will need to help your family to make smart choices by reminding them the importance of eating fruits and vegetables to help them get faster and stronger.
Here are some things that I require for my children to practice eating healthier:
Some other things that I try to do are:
And lastly, spend at least 30 minutes at the dinner table. Practice slowing down as it's important to take time to chew your food so that you get all of the nutritional value out of your foods. We love to play fun question games at the dinner table to get us talking and having fun.
Make sure that you have eaten prior to heading to the store so you aren't tempted by all of the different unhealthy foods, go with a plan (usually following a meal plan will help), and make sure you are purchasing mostly around the perimeter of the grocery store. I do keep some junky snack foods on hand for my family such as pretzels, goldfish, and cereals but if you try to keep mostly healthy food that will help. You can't expect to have your child make the decision to eat an apple if a pop tart is the other option.
Now once you are home you will need to help your family to make smart choices by reminding them the importance of eating fruits and vegetables to help them get faster and stronger.
Here are some things that I require for my children to practice eating healthier:
- they need to have a fruit or vegetable at every meal or when they grab a snack
- dessert is only allowed after dinner if they were outside and active that day
- dessert is either on a bread plate or served in a teacup to keep portion sizes in check
Some other things that I try to do are:
- have colorful dips on hand filled with greens and herbs so they can dip their veggies, fruits, or pretzels into them or pour on top of things like scrambled eggs or roasted potatoes
- rethink the whole grains. You can mix white rice and brown rice together to help them get used to the brown rice
- spiralize vegetables and add them into the cooked noodles
- if your kids eat cereal, add a tsp of flax meal for added fiber that will probably go unnoticed
And lastly, spend at least 30 minutes at the dinner table. Practice slowing down as it's important to take time to chew your food so that you get all of the nutritional value out of your foods. We love to play fun question games at the dinner table to get us talking and having fun.