Getting your kids to eat their vegetables can be one of the greatest daily struggles for parents. Building healthy eating habits takes a lot of effort for parents to sometimes battle it out with their children.
Start Small & Tackle One Meal At A Time
First, start off with breakfast and work on getting sugary cereals, pastries, and dairy off the menu. Substitute cereals for oatmeal and fruit. Pastries for homemade muffins (recipe below), and dairy milk for almond or coconut milk to use in smoothies.
First and foremost, parents need to set the example to their children on how to eat properly.
Children easily pick up on the habits of their parents and will gravitate towards the eating style presented at home. Take a minute and think about the kind of example you are setting for your children. Ask yourself the following;
- Do you make meal time a priority? Preparing regular healthy meals as a family? Or are you picking up takeout on the way home from work because you are exhausted?
- What is your attitude towards food and your body image?
- What messages are you consciously or unconsciously sending your children?
Encouraging your children to take care of their health is one of the greatest acts of love a parent can give their child.
Mindset around meals and snacks can easily be shifted to a more positive experience. Involve the family in weekly meal planning and grocery shopping for the ingredients that will be needed for those meals.
Older children and teens can also take part in meal prep by washing vegetables and helping to prepare dinner. Giving children a voice around their meal choices will help with encouraging healthier eating habits. Provide your children with a choice of what vegetables they are going to eat each day. In addition, add one wild card vegetable to the menu each week that they may not like, but are willing to try.
Click here to read, “Are You Eating Enough Colour?”
View Comments
Allergies add to the difficulty of encouraging good eating habits. Your muffin recipe contains four high allergy items ... almonds, cider vinegar, eggs and coconut. My family happens to be allergic to three of those items. That is the challenge. We do the best we can.