How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy
Getting your kids to try new foods can be hard, and when those new foods just happen to be good for them somehow it’s even harder! Mealtimes may feel like a battle between you and your little one, but you know how important nutrition is for their health and growth. Junk food and fast food options being so readily available is definitely no help to children’s eating habit these days; throw in everyone’s incredibly busy schedule these days and it’s no wonder all most everyone has trouble getting their kids to eat a nutritious meal.
Although making sure your children eat healthy is ultimately important to their well-being. Imploring your children to choose healthy options is worth it because a nutritious diet can help maintain a healthy weight, stabilize moods, keep their minds sharp, and help to avoid unwanted health problems. So if you’re sitting down at the dinner table and the kids are already trying to negotiate switching out French fries for the casserole and salad you just made, never fear because in this blog we’ll be going over some great ways to try and implement more nutritious foods into your children’s’ lives.
Furthermore, if you need a healthy meal for your little one, check out Better Blend. With three locations across the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati area there’s sure to be one near you. Better Blend offers 12 ounce Blends that are low-calorie, low sugar, and perfect for kids! The best part is, your child won’t even know it's good for them because they taste amazing! Some Little Blend flavors include: Blueberry Cake Donut, Reese’s Cup, and Strawberry Banana. We promise our Little Blends are kid approved!
Now let’s dive into how to get your kids to eat healthy at home.
1. Offer Choices
Even adults don’t like to be forced to do things they don’t want to do, and the same goes for children who feel forced to eat something they really don’t like. That’s why it’s important to give your children choices when it comes to incorporating new, healthy foods into their diet. Giving your child a choice between apple slices and peanut butter and celery and peanut butter may not seem like a huge deal, but your child may be more apt to try new things when they feel it was their idea; hence letting them choose what they eat.
This method allows you to control their nutrition without letting them think you are! Children, just like adults, want to feel like their opinion is being heard. Which is why giving them options on what they eat can make them feel like they’re in control of what they consume, while you are ultimately making sure those options are as nutritious as possible.
2. Make Smarter Snacks
Everyone loves snacks, kids and adults alike! While snacks are great, when it is snack time for your child it’s important to make sure those snacks are nutritious. It’s also important to keep snacks small for kids, as to not ruin their appetite for lunch or dinner. Even though it’s much easier to give your child a bag of chips when they complain they want a snack, it’s certainly not the healthiest option, and the highly processed snack foods only fuel their sugar rush and their craving for unhealthy snacks and meals. Ideally, snacks for kids should be high in protein and also include some fiber to help keep them fuller for longer. If you’re looking for truly nutritious snacks for your child, try giving them options such as these:
- Fruit smoothie
- Whole grain crackers with cheese
- Turkey and avocado roll up
- Kale chips
- Carrot or celery sticks with hummus
- Frozen fruit popsicle
- Lightly salted nuts
3. Work Together in the Kitchen
Incorporating your kids while cooking might make your kitchen a little messier, and it might take a bit more time to complete a meal; but the payoff it worth it! It’s no secret that children are always interested in what adults are doing, they want to be looked at as a “big girl” or “big boy”. Ultimately, kids really just want to be included in what’s happening; which is why letting them help you make lunch or dinner in the kitchen could peak their interest into new and healthy foods and make them more likely to try the meal since it’s something they had a hand in creating. You can control the chaos by letting your child play a part in small things like stirring a bowl or measuring out ingredients.
As they help out in the kitchen, you could even talk about the different foods, what they are, and how those foods work in your body. Kids like to know specifics about things, that’s why they always ask so many questions! For example, if you’re making some chicken tortilla soup, as you’re preparing the chicken you could talk about how chicken is a nutrient called protein and it helps make them taller and stronger. When preparing the vegetables, talk about all their different colors and how each one has specific duties in the body, like helping your eyes see for carrots and how spinach helps keep your tummy feeling good.
4. Introduce New Food in a Familiar Way
Children are questionable to try new things, especially when it comes to food. This is why a great way to get kids to try new foods is to incorporate them into foods that you already know they like. Eating the same unhealthy foods everyday will form unhealthy eating habits for children and make them more suspicious of new, more nutritious foods. That’s why it’s important to bring healthy foods into their diet early in order to avoid a child becoming a really picky eater.
If you’re trying to get your child to eat healthier but they won’t stray away from the foods they are already used to, try mixing in the new foods with the foods you know they love. For example, if you want your child to try and eat more vegetables, try mixing in some broccoli or peas into their mac and cheese; or if they are reluctant about trying new fruits, try to add a yummy dipping sauce to them; like pairing apple or banana slices with natural peanut butter.
5. Say ‘Yes’ to Junk Food
Sounds crazy right? But it’s true, if you absolutely never let your child have junk food it only will make those foods more appealing to them. Nobody I know eats healthy one hundred percent of the time, and you really shouldn’t expect your kids to either. It’s important to offer and make nutritious meals most of the time for your child; but if you end up caving in to your child wanting a side of fries instead of fruit with their sandwich after they’ve eaten well all week don’t beat yourself up!
It’s also easy to get your kid to eat healthy when foods that are actually good for them taste as though they’re not. For example, chocolate milk provides a good amount of calcium to your child’s body, and a Cookies N’ Cream Blend from Better Blend gives your child a great amount of protein and fiber without sacrificing that sweeter taste they really love. If you want to check out Better Blend’s menu to see which flavors your child might enjoy you can click
here.
6. Let Them Plan Out a Meal
Children like to be involved, and letting them plan out a meal or two a week is a great way to get kids to eat healthy. If your little one had it their way though, the meal would probably consist of French fries, chicken nuggets, and ice cream for dessert; in order to prevent that, let them plan out a meal but give them guidelines.
Let them know that the meal they plan needs to have a protein, a vegetable, fruit, and a grain, them give them choices to pick within those categories; let them choose chicken or turkey, broccoli or carrots, strawberries or peaches, and brown rice or couscous. This way, your child can get creative in making a family meal that’s nutritious and sparks their interest!
7. Have Them Make Their Plate
Another great way to let your child get creative and more hands-on with their food is letting them make their own plate. This way they see every component of the meal laid out instead of having a fully loaded plate put down in front of them like usual. A tasty and easy way to do this is to have a healthy taco night. Let them have a plate with a whole grain tortilla wrap and then lay out all the taco toppings on the table.
These toppings could include lean beef, diced tomatoes, sliced avocados, shredded cheese, corn, sliced peppers, and black beans. You could also put some guidelines up here, telling them they need to have at least three different colors in their tortilla. By letting kids make their own plate, it sparks their creative interest and give them a more hands-on experience during meal time, making this strategy a great way to get kids to eat healthy.
8. Be an Example
An easy way to get kids to eat healthy is to simply be an example to them. Children observe you a lot more than you think they do, and often times they even form their own habits from watching yours. This is why it’s important to be mindful of how you eat around your kids; if your eating habits are unhealthy and sporadic, then your child’s eating patterns may be that way as well. It’s also important to let yourself have moments of indulgence as well!
If you’re constantly trying a new diet or never letting yourself have a treat every now and then, your child will notice this and it could lead to disordered eating patterns or unhealthy eating patterns. The fact is that, buttered popcorn at the movies or an ice cream sundae after a long day at the pool is a special treat and a memory making moment for you and your child. So, it’s important to be an example to your child and eat healthy a good amount of the time, but don’t expect them, or yourself for that matter, to eat perfectly every single day.
The Bottom Line
Getting your kids to eat healthy is no easy task. Frankly, being a parent is hard enough without constantly thinking about whether your child is getting the correct nutrition. Kids don’t like trying new foods, and if the foods are good for them they seem to fight against it even harder; which is why it’s good to have a few tricks up your sleeve. I hope this blog helped you find some ways to incorporate more wholesome options into your child’s diet. Plus, if you find healthy options that they enjoy it makes mealtimes even easier.
At Better Blend, your little one is sure to fall in love with their healthy smoothies or smoothie bowls. The Little Blends are kid-sized smoothies that are nutritious and delicious--they will have no idea that what they’re eating is so good for them because it tastes so great.
Whether you increase the choices you give your child during meal time, let them create a meal with you, or have them create their own plates, remember to be persistent and patient, they’ll come around!
Better Blend is an independent company and not associated with any other smoothie shop concept.