THE WHINE
We know that it is a good idea to cut back on candy, pop and salty snacks
in favour of healthy foods, but it is likely that our kids will have a different
opinion – at least at first. While we need to stick to our guns, it is also
important to prevent food from becoming a source of conflict. Kids should
be allowed to stop eating when they are full. We don't have to worry about
them getting enough to eat (they won't starve!) as long as they are having
something healthy when they do eat.
Here are a few tips that might make the transition to eating right a little
easier.
• Take the Get In2It Challenge™. The Get In2It
Challenge is a program designed to encourage healthy eating and activity
in kids. Kids can keep track of their healthy food choices, get fun feedback
and be rewarded with printable certificates. Find
out more.
• Be a role model. It may not always seem like
it, but our kids are closely watching what we do and building their model
of appropriate behaviour based on our actions. Probably the single most effective
thing we can do to promote long-term good eating habits is to set an example
by eating right ourselves.
• Have regular, sit-down meals at predictable times. Mealtimes
give us more control over what kids are eating and encourages them to fill
up on healthy food rather than less healthy snacks. Kids actually like the
stability of an established mealtime, and their schedule will adjust so that
they are hungry at the right time. It's an opportunity for the kids to see
us eating right, and for the whole family to discuss food and nutrition.
• Control the supply lines. Most of a kid's
diet comes from what is in the house. If there is little or no candy, pop
and salty snacks, the kids obviously can't eat them. If we feel we must have
a supply of these things on hand, it is a good idea to store them in a relatively
secure place and restrict access to that place.
• Wrap it up. Kids will eat just about anything
in a flour tortilla wrap. To get them to eat new healthy foods, keep whole-wheat
flour tortillas on hand along with low fat sour cream, salsa, and raw spinach.
When adding the child's healthy food in this tortilla wrap, we should be sure
to press out any excess moisture which will make it fall apart, or they might
actually see what is inside. Some items we can put in the wrap are shredded
chicken and onions, egg whites, tofu and vegetables, shredded meats mixed
with brown rice, and vegetables, seafood, or anything else with a firm texture
that would feel like beef or chicken.
• Put it in a blender. Take a medley of exotic
fruits and put them in the blender with a cup of their favorite juice. This
works best if some of the fruits were chopped and frozen in advance.
• Put in on a pizza . Find a fat free whole-wheat
pizza recipe on the internet and add healthy vegetables to it. Put them under
the sauce and cheese. Foods like diced eggplant, shredded carrots, spinach,
and fresh tomatoes can be added to pizza without affecting the taste too much.
Use a low fat cheese and sauce with low sugar content.
• Shred it. Meatloaf can consist of more loaf
than meat. Add shredded carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, and even mashed
beans to the meatloaf and no one will be the wiser. We can also add any vegetable
with low moisture content to turkey burgers, turkey loaf, and soups. Some
vegetables and fruits that the kids would not normally eat can be added to
breads and muffins as well.
• Make it all look the same. Offer new fruits
in cut up, bite-sized cubes on a party tray. Put toothpicks in the fruit and
serve it with yogurt dip or ambrosia. If they do not recognize it, they may
assume it is something they are familiar with and eat it. Serve new vegetables
similarly (cut into uniform size) with peanut butter and melted cheese.
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