How many of you have been caught up in making “convenient” and “kid friendly” meals like me? With 4 young children, I have even made 2-3 different meals at a time to accommodate all their eating preferences. Crazy, right? I’m like my own little food court. Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, tacos, pasta, turkey bacon, cereal, mozzarella sticks and on and on. It’s like a processed food party where everyone gets sick. 😦
Can you imagine our parents doing that? Not on your life! It was “you eat what is served or go hungry”…or in my case, not leaving the table until I cleared my plate. Do you think that in pioneer or colonial times children would have tons of meal options? Can you imagine Laura telling her Ma she didn’t want the meal that she had worked hard to prepare all day long?! I don’t think so!
One of the problems parents face today is giving in too easy and settling for quick and convenient packaged meals or fast food for their kids. So what can we as adults do to get our kids to eat healthier?
First, change what is in your cabinets. Keep forbidden and processed foods out of sight, out of mind and out of your home!
Second, start by changing just one meal at a time for a while. For example; make paleo friendly pancakes for breakfast instead of regular ones, introduce veggie and fruit smoothies, then slowly incorporate healthy new options replacing gluten filled cereals, toasts, muffins, etc. Then move onto lunches.
Third, talk to your kids about healthy choices. Teach them to read their labels. If it has more than 5 ingredients, or you don’t know what the ingredients are, it’s a “no” in our house. If there is corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, dextrose, etc. it is not allowed. Yup, that means no twinkies…No nutrition in any of those kinds of things.
Fourth, Be prepared! Always have real and healthy food choices accessible and ready at all times. Keep a bowl of grapes/fresh fruit in the fridge, nuts in the car and homemade snack packs (larabars, dehydrated fruit, beef jerky) always with you. Plan ahead and prepare your food in advance so you always have a meal to grab and go.
Fifth, let the kids help in the kitchen. Kids are much more willing to eat food that they helped to prepare. Plus it is a wonderful bonding opportunity 😉
Remember they are kids, not adults. They do not need as much food as an adult and we need to get out of the mindset that they must clean their plates. When they are full, it’s ok for them to be done.
Oh and final a brief note on fast food, don’t waste your money or affect your health by eating there. It will literally take you 5 minutes to run into a grocery store and hit the salad bar for a healthy option on the go when you are in a pinch. Where there is a will, there is a way and if you want the best for your kids, clean eating is the real meal deal!
Related articles
- Paleo parents, Paleo kids: is Paleo the right choice for the whole family? (life-in-focus.org)
The Progressive Paleo 