4 Steps To Get Your Kids To Eat Healthily

Getting your kids to eat healthily can be quite tricky. They’re not the biggest fans of fruits, and they’re certainly not the biggest fans of veggies. A Mcdonald’s is a much better lunch option than green vegetables in their eyes. While this is certainly not the case with every kid out there, bless all of you who do indeed teach their kids to eat more greens, it’s in their nature to want to eat more burgers and fries.

But there is a way to make them eat more healthily. If you want to know how to do that, follow these 4 steps.

Give Them Plenty Of Choices

For all the moms and dads out there who want their kids to eat more healthily, giving options always helps. And that should also be the first place to start.

We all know that kids won’t do what you tell them to do. Especially when they’re younger, forcing them to eat kale won’t get you anywhere. You have to persuade them that kale is good for them. And how do you do that? By giving them multiple options to choose from. For example, instead of only kale, prepare a kale salad. Instead of only broccoli, give them garlic roasted parmesan broccoli.

By doing this, you’re not only making the dish look nicer but you also give them choices. No one says to treat your kids like restaurant guests, but it is one way to get them to eat more healthily.

Let Them Make Dishes Of Their Own

The great thing about cooking healthy meals is that there are no rules to it. You can make recipes of your own, follow high-end nutritious recipes, and even cook them with your kids. But an even better activity is to take them grocery shopping and let them choose what they want to eat.

By doing this, you are making healthy eating fun for your kids – something previously unheard of. So once you get back from the grocery store, get together in the kitchen and start working on your own recipe. Doing it together in the kitchen can turn into a fun family activity that everyone will enjoy. It is precisely one reason why the kitchen is so important in the house.

But more so, there is a higher chance they’ll enjoy what they eat if they pick it. Just a general rule of thumb, make sure to step in if the meal doesn’t contain protein, complex carbs, veggies, and fruits. The last thing you want is for your kids to go straight to the buns and frozen burger aisle.

Introduce Them To Healthy Snacks

While candy is the gold standard of unhealthy snacks when it comes to kids, healthy snacks are sort of a boogie man. But, even so, reports are suggesting that US kids are eating more healthy foods now more than ever. So what has changed? While no doubt eating more fruits and vegetables has a huge impact on US kids’ eating habits, introducing them in the form of snacks plays an even bigger role.

Healthy snacks can mean a lot of things. It can mean snacking on fruits and vegetables, or it can mean preparing healthy foods in the form of snacks. So what are the best examples of healthy snacks? One example is making carrot or celery sticks and dipping them into hummus. We all know how much kids love popcorn, but did you know that unsalted or lightly salted popcorn is an excellent and surprisingly healthy snack?

There are many more similar examples, what’s important is to indeed teach them that snacking doesn’t have to mean Cheetos or Doritos.

Lead By Example

And the last step involves leading by example. You will never get your kids to eat more healthily if you don’t do it yourself. Our kids tend to copy everything we do, so they will also copy our eating habits. If you’re not particularly fond of broccoli, then how would you know how to make it let alone teach your kids to eat it?

The best way to get your kids to eat more healthily is to include it from a younger age. And the more your attitude towards healthy foods change, the easier to get them to do the same. Don’t be a bad parent and start leading by example.