Healthy Food Tips for Your Kids

We all know it can be difficult to keep up with what our kids are eating and how or if they're actually learning to eat healthfully. Jobs, social activities, and the simple fact that our kids are growing up, all get in the way of holding onto a really organized food plan for our children. Here are a few tips that may help keep your kid on the right track while at the same time allowing them to enjoy what they're eating as well as learn the value of healthy food.

The first area where we as parents tend to slip in the food department is with packed lunches. Sometimes we can get lazy and throw some chocolate milk, potato chips, cookies and a cereal bar into their lunch box, or even just end up handing our child a five dollar bill and leave them to their own devices in choosing a balanced meal. More often than not, though, he or she will purchase a hot dog with loads of ketchup or a slice of greasy pizza or nachos with chemically induced cheese. This isn't the worst thing for your kids every once in a while, but if they have no foundation or sufficient knowledge of what healthy food is, then any time they are left to choose for themself, they will choose what they want and what satisfies their tastebuds. How do you change this? You teach them that healthy food can be tasty too, and even fun!

First of all, be creative with your ideas. Kids tend to get bored with repeated items that appear in their lunch, so little variations can help. Say you already packed a banana in your child's lunch yesterday, but that's the only fruit you have left (it's time to go shopping!). Well, all you need to do is slice that banana up and put it either on a sandwich with a thin layer of peanut butter, or mix the slices in some low-fat yogurt along with some granola or nuts.

Another thing kids can get tired of is that same old sandwich (try making their sandwiches on whole wheat breat). You can mix around the lunch meats, switch to tuna, or add some veggies (like cucumber or lettus) all you want, but kids like more variety than that. Try taking those same ingredients you use on sandwiches and instead, put them in a nice tortilla wrap. The great thing about wraps is that they're neat and compact, and you can add so many things in them and your child isn't likely to pick them out or even notice them. Try making them a tofu wrap with some tomatoes, green or red peppers, and a tiny bit of cream cheese to bring it all together. You can even use leftovers instead of using up all of your lunchmeat. Slice up some of that chicken or steak from a couple of nights ago and put it in a tortilla with some shredded chedder cheese and salsa, and there you go! A Mexican treat! Your kid will love it.

If you want to surprise your child with a fun meal every once in a while, just be creative! Use your healthy ingredients and make your presentation visually pleasing. A child can really be effected by what you pack in their lunches as they grow up, and if they find positive, fun things in their foods, they will remember that, and maybe even go to those ingredients once they find themselves making their own food choices. It can be as simple as half of a bagel and cream cheese with a smily face made of raisins and an apple mouth. You can also take a normal cookie cutter and make a fun pattern out of banana nut bread. If your child sees these exciting new things you're doing with their healthy food, they are more likely to actually want to eat it, and they will always be excited for lunch time at school! They may even show off their fun lunch items to their friends!

Snacks are a hard thing to incorporate into a kid's lunch. Instead of chips or sweet desserts, try things like yogurt with mixed berries. If your kid likes chips and dip, perhaps give them an alternative like celery or carrots that they can dip in hummus or ranch. Or, instead of giving them a whole apple, which can be difficult or daunting for a kid to think about biting into, slice it up and give them a side of peanut butter to dip the slices into. Popcorn can also be a surprisingly healthy snack. Don't make a bag in the microwave, however. Air-popped popcorn is a much healthier alternative and, with an addition of some shredded parmasean cheese, your child won't know the difference.

Now it's not all about tricking your child into thinking they're eating "normal" or unhealthy food, just because those are the things that taste best to them. Let your child know that you are packing them healthy lunches and, in doing that, you will be teaching them that healthy food tastes good. Let's get rid of that whole misconception that healthy food isn't tasty, okay?

Now a balanced lunch wouldn't be complete without something to drink. Even something as simple as this, we don't want to leave to our children right away. There are plenty of healthy juices that you can pack easily into a brown paper bag or lunch box. Juice boxes are good, and so are those small containers of 100% juice. You may just want to pack your child a waterbottle. Some skim milk - even 2% milk, your decision - or iced tea in a thermous to keep it cold, also works.

Now that you have some ideas for helping your children eat healthy while they're at school, let's talk about eating at home.

In a way, making sure your kids eat healthfully at home is a lot easier than making sure they do it at school. But a lot more goes into this aspect of your kids life than you may imagine.

First of all, yes, you are in control in your house. You can dictate what you child eats and when they eat it. But you need to think about how a child's mind works. If you are eating snacks in between meals all the time, or they see you eating ice cream from the carton as you're watching TV during the evenings, even if they're not allowed to, they will learn from that. You, as their parent, are their role model. As cheesy as it sounds, they look up to you. Anything you do, they want to do too, if only out of curiosity. This is where it gets hard to teach your kids about eating healthy. If you want them to learn how to do that, you need to actually do it, day in and day out.

If your kid sees you eating a bag of potato chips and asks, "Can I have some?" you may have to say no, "It'll ruin your next meal." In their head they're thinking, 'Why can Mommy/Daddy have it but I can't?' or maybe they even voice that concern. Next time you want something quick after work or going to the gym or whatever, make a snack out of some turkey or ham lunch meat wrapped around a slice of a pickle. Now if your child asks, "Can I have some?" you can say, "Yes, dear." But make sure you never give your kid too much in between meals. Healthy snacks are okay, but you want to save the bulk of your eating for the three main meals of the day. And of course you want your kid to have their full appetite when you cook a delicious meal for them later on.

Another important thing for parents to remember when they're eating in the home, is to pay attention to how their kids are eating. Are they eating in front of the TV? Are they chowing down a little too fast? Are they or do they have to urge to snack more than you would like them to?

These questions are something to take note of. If these things are happening to your child, there is a possibility for them becoming habits in the future. Make sure you eat as many meals as you can with your child, in the home. Eat your snacks with them, and plan on a set snack time every day. If your child snacks too often, they will tend to rely more on snack foods and get used to eating many more times a day than is necessary. Planning a snack time can prevent this.

Talk to your child about how they eat. "Why are you eating so fast?" Tell them to take their time and taste the food. Play a fun game with them. Take turns taking bites of your food and chewing slowly, trying to communicate to the other how the food feels, tastes, and what it may look like. Most kids love doing this. It's a challange for both their imagination and their instinct to swallow food instantly. This kind of practice of slow eating will help a child realize when their full sooner, and they will be less likely to overeat.

Making sure to share the dining experience with your child is one of the most important things a parent can do for the assurance of the child's health as he or she grows. Teach by example, and make the experience fun. If your child can get an early start on learning about and loving healthy food, then you've done your job. And it's never too soon to start!