The BODY SMART Blog

Healthy Eating, From the Grocery Store Up

13th July, 2011 - Posted by - No Comments

Many parents struggle on a daily basis with just getting their kids to eat appropriate meals at appropriate times, let alone getting their kids to eat healthily.  One of the biggest reasons that hinders a child’s interest in food, and on top of that, “good-for-me” food, is because more and more children have little to no involvement in their food anymore.  Food used to be a very social, familial activity.  Children had a part.  Whether that was gathering eggs from the chicken coop, shelling peas in the summertime, kneading dough or helping mom stir a pot of stew, kids had a place in the kitchen, they had a responsibility, and they had a vested interest in what was on their plate.

And let me tell you, if anything can get a 4-year old girl to sit down and eat a bite or two of every food group on her plate, it’s that she helped put it there.  Now, granted, times have changed.  I doubt you have chickens in the backyard, probably don’t have a loaded veggie garden or fruit orchard in the backyard.  But, there are no excuses! You’ve still got plenty of opportunities to encourage your kids to help you out a little (granted, this help may cost you a little extra time, but you’ll soon see the benefits making any lost time well worth it).

In need of inspiration?  Let’s go!

Grocery Shopping

In lieu of gardens and milk cows, we’ve got grocery stores chalk full of everything imaginable.  (Good & not-so-good).  It’s your job to guide your children to the healthy and to empower them to make smart choices, from the earliest ages up.  If your child is in walking stage, find them a child push cart or at least allow them to feel in charge of your cart.  If younger, allow them to reach out and pick between various items whenever possible.  Then, starting (as you should anyway!) with the outside of the store only, take your children to an area where they can pick just about anything and it’ll pass as healthy in your book.  For starters, you basically can’t go wrong in the produce section.  Give your child free reign to pick anything.  And don’t worry if you are pretty sure he doesn’t like avocados.  If he picked it, you’d be surprised that he might just eat it just because he picked it.  Head to the eggs and let them find a dozen that aren’t cracked.  Let them pick out some healthy Greek yogurts to go with the berries they already chose.  Empowering them to make smart choices will encourage them to eat and taste their choices later on.

Prep Work

Prep work with produce is the perfect time to get your children involved in the kitchen.  And guess what, they might just snack right along with you on carrots and cucumbers and blueberries and peaches.  Peel and slice yourself and then allow your children to arrange the pieces on a plate or to help spread almond butter on fun crispy snacks like apples and celery.  Kids make great “stackers” of healthy wheat crackers and thin slices of cheese and tomatoes.

Don’t Dumb Down Food

Kids know when they’re being fed “kid” food and when they’re being fed “adult food.”  And of course, they’re going to want and crave “adult food.”  So why cater to our 21^st century bizarre notions that seem to think Uncrusted frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Wonder Bread are an acceptable food for kids?  If it’s healthy for you, it’s healthy for them and they’ll want to eat foods often just because you are (especially if you can get really excited about it).  Enjoy it, because you’ve only got a small window where you’re this cool!

Turn Comfort Food to Healthy Food

No matter what age your kids are, it’s never too late to transition them to healthier eating patterns.  Especially if your kids are getting fed at school lunch programs and have developed an “addiction” of sorts to highly processed and sugared-up foods.  Start substituting things like Dominos pizza for your own homemade whole wheat pizza crust piled high with veggies and a sprinkling of cheese.  Take the peanut butter sandwich and sub out white for wheat, peanut butter for almond (better type of fat) and an all natural, purely fruit jam.  Make your own mac and cheese with a yogurt based cheese sauce in lieu of milk and butter, combined with a good solid whole wheat pasta.

Jazz it Up & Talk it Up

Fortunately, healthy food can be some of the most colorful food out there.  Make bright smoothies with floating bananas and cherries.  Create silly arrays of veggies with a “pool” of dip.  And finally, talk up how healthy eating makes you feel.  Kids are sponges.  When they hear you talking about running twice as far because of your wholegrain pancakes this morning, they might be more inclined to eat their pancake tomorrow so they can run twice as far as you too.  And, you know what, they might not eat the pancake tomorrow.  But, it’s still being ingrained in them every time you mention it:  “healthy food equates to feeling good.”

Just Don’t Go There

Limit the sugar, limit the white flour loaded goodies.  Once it’s in your kids’ minds, they’re going to want it, crave it.  But if you can bring them up only knowing the healthier versions of foods, they’ll crave and long for a veggie/turkey omelet when they’re tired and cranky, not a donut or a bowl of Kix.  Provide your kids with ample picture recipe books where they can become familiar with food ideas good for them and that they can ask you for when they’re hungry.  In turn, you can ask for their help to make it.

At the Table

Make sure everyone at the table knows just who helped pick the foods, (the ingredients, the recipes, you name it), just like you let them know who helped you prep and prepare.  If Lucy stirred the soup, make sure dad knows.  If Sam took out the trash while you cooked, make sure it’s common knowledge at the dinner table.  If your kids feel a part of the meal in front of them, they’ll want to eat it that much more.

More than anything, make healthy eating with your children an enjoyable time.  Request their help, encourage their help, and make them feel a part of it all. From the shopping to the prepping to the eating, there’s always room for an extra set of hands, and those fingers will be twice as inclined to put an apple in their mouth if they picked it out an hour earlier because it was the brightest, juiciest one they could find.

Blogger Bio: Author Tara Alley is a freelancer who is passionate about healthy eating in childrens’ lives.  When not writing about healthy eating, she’s writing about green, sustainable living and at the moment she’s writing about portable air conditioners as an affordable and energy-saving alternative to central AC systems in homes.