When I teach people how to feed their kids healthy foods, I have often heard the excuse that kids won't eat healthy food and so they are "stuck" buying unhealthy food for their kids.
It took our family about 6 months to adjust to the fact that dinners were no longer going to be
- boxed Mac and cheese
- Top Ramen
- Hot dogs
- Pizza
- Hamburger helper
- boxed processed prepared foods with loads of additives
- etc...
That was typical meals in a week.
We've worked hard on teaching our kids and here is where they are now:
As my kids adjusted to Zucchini, asparagus, spinach and no more crap on the table, they learned to try new things. Meal times are a great time to educate your children on healthy eating habits. and talk about what different foods do for your body.
My 6 year old Dane didn't want any spinach until I told him that eating green foods helps him to live longer. Evan age 13 said to him "It's like being a super hero" and he took a big bite of his spinach wrap.
I love the muscle man pose. Thanks Gabe!
KIDS WILL EAT GOOD FOOD - when we eat good food ourselves and encourage them to make good choices.
transition food that I used while they got used to spinach and no more overly processed foods:
I always made sure I had 2 options I knew they would eat
- Raw carrots
- steamed Broccoli with a little cheese on top (don't overdo it and cut back on the cheese a little at a time until they can eat it without any cheese
- Whole grain toast with hardly any butter.
My daughter Ilia age 9 makes her own lunch for school days when she thinks the meals provided are not good for her (sometimes - so she isn't perfect and enjoys a school lunch here and there) The point is - she is learning to make healthy choices.
So Parents, don't wait for the school to teach your kids about nutrition. somewhere (not from me) my daughter learned that corn dogs are part of the wheat and protein food groups. In my house corn dogs are part of the processed foods group.
Have fun with the process.
On Valentine's day we had a Strawberry themed dinner:
Spinach salad with strawberries
Fresh Strawberries added to our cranberry juice
and a frozen organic yogurt with strawberries over a homemade granola crust without any added sugar - topped with fresh strawberries a few crushed pieces of dark chocolate
We talked about how strawberries help to use the iron found in spinach and how valentine's day doesn't have to mean lots of candy. Dinner can be a time to teach. Meals do not have to be difficult and time consuming to be healthy. But we will have more on that later...
What are you teaching your kids?
How do you lead your home in the fight against childhood obesity?
What are you doing to make a difference?
It took our family about 6 months to adjust to the fact that dinners were no longer going to be
- boxed Mac and cheese
- Top Ramen
- Hot dogs
- Pizza
- Hamburger helper
- boxed processed prepared foods with loads of additives
- etc...
That was typical meals in a week.
We've worked hard on teaching our kids and here is where they are now:
As my kids adjusted to Zucchini, asparagus, spinach and no more crap on the table, they learned to try new things. Meal times are a great time to educate your children on healthy eating habits. and talk about what different foods do for your body.
My 6 year old Dane didn't want any spinach until I told him that eating green foods helps him to live longer. Evan age 13 said to him "It's like being a super hero" and he took a big bite of his spinach wrap.
I love the muscle man pose. Thanks Gabe!
KIDS WILL EAT GOOD FOOD - when we eat good food ourselves and encourage them to make good choices.
transition food that I used while they got used to spinach and no more overly processed foods:
I always made sure I had 2 options I knew they would eat
- Raw carrots
- steamed Broccoli with a little cheese on top (don't overdo it and cut back on the cheese a little at a time until they can eat it without any cheese
- Whole grain toast with hardly any butter.
My daughter Ilia age 9 makes her own lunch for school days when she thinks the meals provided are not good for her (sometimes - so she isn't perfect and enjoys a school lunch here and there) The point is - she is learning to make healthy choices.
So Parents, don't wait for the school to teach your kids about nutrition. somewhere (not from me) my daughter learned that corn dogs are part of the wheat and protein food groups. In my house corn dogs are part of the processed foods group.
Have fun with the process.
On Valentine's day we had a Strawberry themed dinner:
Spinach salad with strawberries
Fresh Strawberries added to our cranberry juice
and a frozen organic yogurt with strawberries over a homemade granola crust without any added sugar - topped with fresh strawberries a few crushed pieces of dark chocolate
We talked about how strawberries help to use the iron found in spinach and how valentine's day doesn't have to mean lots of candy. Dinner can be a time to teach. Meals do not have to be difficult and time consuming to be healthy. But we will have more on that later...
What are you teaching your kids?
How do you lead your home in the fight against childhood obesity?
What are you doing to make a difference?
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