While
we realize not every child has the opportunity to pull a ripe carrot from the
soil or pea pod straight from the vine, many advocates of healthy eating understand the value of connecting
to real food. Farmer’s markets, trips to the grocery store, and even including
children in the dinner-prep provides them with a window through
which they can begin to understand where our food comes from, to taste how delicious
it can be, and to experience the wonder of the food that nourishes us.
So in recognition of Kids Eat Right Month, here are
our 5 tips to encourage healthy habits for children and adults of all ages.
1. Invite your child
into the kitchen to help make dinner. Kids are more likely to eat what they cook; they love projects, and cooking their own
dinner gives them a sense of accomplishment and ownership. Give them age-appropriate tasks like washing
vegetables, measuring ingredients, dumping or stirring, and of course, taste
testing.
2. Give foods fun names. A recent study
from Cornell University shows children eat twice as many vegetables when the
veggies were labeled with cool, fun names, like ‘X-ray Vision Carrots’ and
‘Tiny Tasty Tree Tops.’ So, let your
kiddos come up with fun names for foods and you’ll watch those veggies disappear!
3. Give
kids choices. Let your children have a say in dinner and they’ll
feel empowered. For example, when you’re
making pizza, set out bowls of different types of vegetable (and maybe even
some fruit!) toppings, and let your child build his own pizza. You may be surprised when they choose
spinach!
4. Introduce
new foods.
Studies
suggest kids may have to taste a food 15 or 20 times before she starts to like
it. So, keep serving that side of
broccoli and encouraging your child to at least taste it. Eventually, their taste buds will start to
accept it—and even like it! At the same
time, include foods on the table that they already like such as carrots, beans,
or berries!
5. Eat together as a
family. The research is clear—kids who eat dinner with their
parents are healthier, happier and less likely to get into trouble as a
teen. The best conversations in our
lives—and often our best memories—usually happen around the table. There are 1,440 minutes in a day—make at
least 30 of those minutes a dinner with your kids, and you’ll all be happier!
Here are a few
online resources filled with articles and ideas for cooking with your kids.
Kids Eat Right (www.eatright.org/kids) is a site of the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, focused on kids nutrition.
Spatulatta (http://www.spatulatta.com)
teaches children to cook with free step-by-step videos and encourages children
to eat more vegetables and fruits.
Super Kids Nutrition (www.superkidsnutrition.com)
provides articles, tips and resources for raising healthy eaters.
The Kids Cook Monday (www.thekidscookmonday.org) provides
articles, tips and resources for cooking with your kids.
ZisBoomBah (blog.zisboombah.com) is an interactive
website that helps families get excited about healthy meals.
Great tips!
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