Getting Your Children to Eat Healthier Foods

By Donna Stark

You've taken the necessary steps to create healthy learning and sleeping environments for your children, but have you done the same for their eating habits? Don't let your children fall victim to mindless snacking and unhealthy behaviors during their growing years. Instead, help set them up for success and optimal health by designing a food environment that even the top nutritionists in the country would be jealous of! Here are some simple ways on how to do so.

Display the Best and Brightest

You've always been told to not judge a book by its cover, but if all of your bananas are brown and if your apples have deep cuts in them, you may find it difficult to get your children out of the judgment zone. So, keep the best and the brightest within reach on your countertop and use the ones that don't look so great in recipes. Don't forget, you can also freeze a lot of your fruit at the first sign of browning and save them for your morning smoothies!

Cut Ahead of Time

How many times have you turned your nose up to something because the time involved with getting it prepared was just too much to handle? Well, if your children are the same way, they may turn away from eating healthy foods. To keep that from happening, take the time after your shopping to wash and cut your produce, then store your cut vegetables and fruit in glass containers so your children can easily see what is available. And, if you want to save your ranch dressing from being wasted (do your kids pour too much on our plates like mine do?), prefill individual serving cups and stack them next to the vegetables. Setting up your refrigerator like this will help keep your children's cravings for chips and cookies at bay!

Empty Those Boxes

Let's not forget the nutritious snacks that belong in the pantry. Granola bars, applesauce, and nuts are great sources of healthy fuel for your children, but if they are out of reach or boxed up, they might not be grabbed as a first choice. Remember, out of sight, out of mind, so consider setting some wire baskets or clear containers on your shelves and filling them with the snacks you want your children to enjoy. This is also a great way to keep track of when you need to stock up with more!

The Perfect Environment

By following the tips above, you can design as healthy of an environment for your children's eating habits as you have for their learning and sleeping! So, get to work and start making these changes today. You may be surprised by how much of a difference it can make!

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Beaverton, Ore.