Many people have room for improvement in their food choices. For busy parents it can be difficult to juggle making healthy meals with everything else on the schedule such as: work, helping the kids with homework, and traveling to and from soccer games, scout meetings, and the likes. Many people have found that keeping healthy foods for kids to snack on can be done easily on the weekends. A good way to do this is to purchase vegetables on the weekend for the coming week. Take the time to wash and cut them and put them in see through containers in the refrigerator. Use the tactics that grocery stores use - put them right where your child’s eye level is. If they can see what it is and it is conveniently placed within their reach, they will be much more likely to grab it.
Many kids like kefir once they try it. Kefir is a lot like yogurt, but has beneficial yeast and probiotics in it. Kefir differs from yogurt in that it is able to eliminate destructive yeasts in the body. This in turn helps to clean and strengthen the intestines. Kefir can be found at many all-natural and health food stores. It can be quickly consumed before heading out the door if you’re in a rush.
Another idea is to keep a small bag or backpack in the car loaded with healthy snacks. While this doesn’t work for vegetables, any snack that doesn’t need refrigeration can go in the bag. Many times when a child begins to get hungry, they want to stop to eat. While fast food restaurants may be quick and convenient, they really have no nutritional value. Having healthy snacks handy can curb their appetite until they make it home to a healthy meal.
Fight the Billion Dollar Food Industry
Turn to any kid’s station on television and take the time to watch the commercials. Each year the food industry spends billions of dollars on targeting children. They use fun, up-beat music, cartoon characters, and bold, vibrant colors on the packaging. Almost any child can name Ronald McDonald years before they can name any of our presidents. This isn’t some fluke, it is targeted advertising, and they are targeting your child.
If you allow your kids to watch television, think about distracting them during the commercials. You can play a commercial clean up game, where the kids have to find things that need to be returned to another room. You can even have the kids do some type of exercise during the commercials. Make it fun and see how many jumping jacks everyone can do until the program comes back on.
When you go to the grocery store, think about how the products are placed. Most of the high sugar cereals are at eye level for a child. Ever notice how many of the candy displays are also at eye level for a child at the check out stand? This is all done because the food companies know how to target kids. Think about having one parent stay home with the kids while going shopping to keep the kids out of the store. If that’s not possible, explain to the kids that you are going shopping but can only get what you already have on your list. If your child knows going in the store that they are not going to get any junk food, they will most likely not begin the battle for it.
Think about the times when your family decides to stop for fast food or is making unhealthy choices. If you know ahead of time when your family tends to make less than healthy decisions, it is easy to combat those decisions with better ones. Preparation is important. Taking a little time each week to gather fresh, healthy foods can help your child to eat better and create a lasting, positive relationship with food.
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