As a parent you have many jobs that you need to take care of, and one of the most important is making sure that your children have easy access to good nutrition. Nutrition for kids can feel complicated and frustrating, especially when you’re first trying to tackle it. But when you can help get your kids on board with healthy eating by making it fun, it is a lot easier to handle. Here are a few ideas you should think about to help your child invest in nutrition for kids.
Use Fun Colors and Shapes
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring, in fact, healthy foods can be vibrant and beautiful. You can even enhance the natural vibrancy of your children’s food by using fun colors and shapes. When you combine nutrition for kids with fun eating experiences, your children will enjoy it even more. Cookie cutters are an easy way to make your children’s food more appealing without a lot of extra work. Cutting their food into a variety of shapes and including many bright colors can help to make healthy food more exciting to any child.
Encourage Your Kids’ Participation
When kids always have to just wait and see what other people will feed them, it doesn’t help to make food more appealing. But when you can encourage your kids to participate in meal planning, they will be more invested in the process. Let them help choose the meals throughout the week and use it as an opportunity to teach them about all the different foods they have available. As they learn more about what foods they enjoy most, they will start adding more healthy foods into their meal plans. When your kids are invested, they will experience more variety and it will be easier for you to make sure that all of your meals include good nutrition for kids.
Hide Healthy Foods in Smoothies and Sauces
If your child is really resistant to trying any healthy foods, you may want to think about ways you can sneak those foods into the things they enjoy. Most kids love things like smoothies, and you can easily incorporate veggies into a smoothie they will love. You can also use pureed nuts, vegetables, and other healthy items in sauces where they won’t be easily noticed. This method is especially great for kids who are picky and have a hard time eating any foods that they recognize as healthy. If you want to encourage nutrition for kids, you also want to make sure to continue giving them the option of choosing veggies and nuts in addition to those that are hidden in their meals already.
Incorporate Healthy Foods in Their Play
Eating healthy shouldn’t be something that your kids only think about at meal times. When nutrition for kids is a priority at your home, it can also be a part of play time. Consider buying your children a kitchen set that includes healthy fruits and vegetables, that way you can give them a fun way to talk about healthy foods and introduce them before they ever have to eat them in real life. You can also have your child play with healthy foods in the kitchen, by making fun treats with fruits and vegetables and helping with kitchen prep in age appropriate ways. When your child starts associating healthy foods with fun, nutrition for kids will start to be a more natural part of your home.
Eating healthy is a habit that needs to be established when your kids are young. But it can be hard to emphasize nutrition for kids when your kids are picky about the foods they want to try. With some fun tricks up your sleeve, you can make healthy eating a little bit easier on your children and yourself.
Struggling to help a picky child eat more healthy foods? Click here to learn more about our Wellness Consultants at Good Earth Markets who can guide you in the right direction!
