Fast food is a big part of modern life these days, making it very hard to teach a child how he or she should eat healthy. The cheapest and easiest foods are those that are normally the least healthy. If you give your child the choice between healthy food and junk food, you normally won’t like the results.

Even though it isn’t possible to get a child to like all healthy foods, there are some ways to get your child to try and hopefully like at least a few of them. You can be as creative as you like, as getting kids to eat healthy foods can be a little harder than you may think.

- Sneak the healthy food in. Even though it would be great if your kid understood the importance of fruits and vegetables, this isn’t always possible. If you can’t get them to eat good food willingly, there are ways to sneak them in, such as making muffins out of bananas or apples, or pizza with spinach on it.

- Call fruits and vegetables by funny names. You can refer to broccoli as “trees”, making them more fun to eat. There are many different names you can call fruits and vegetables, even making up your own if you prefer. Most kids prefer to eat foods that sound fun.

- Make the foods taste better. Ranch dressing is great for broccoli, while peanut butter is a great topping for celery. There are several combinations for vegetables that can make them taste much better. You can let your child pick a topping for a vegetable, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally like yourself.

- Dress the vegetables up. Just as much as calling them names help kids eat healthy foods, making them look funny also helps. You can do this by making funny designs on the plate, or setting them up to look like people. Although some parents don’t like their kids playing with their food, sometimes it helps to get them to eat healthier.

There are several ways to make your kids eat healthier, but to make them enjoy it also has to be fun as well. This isn’t always an easy task, because kids normally don’t like foods that are good for them. It can however, be done with a bit of creativity. Hopefully, doing this will help your child develop a love of healthy foods for the rest of their lives.

Remember that health should always be your highest priority

Coach Ransy

Nutrition for Kids

Childhood obesity has now become a worldwide problem. More and more children these days are suffering the same symptoms and diseases that were once only seen in adults; heart disease, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, to name just a few.

The good news and the bad news is that our children mimic everything we do. Your habits will sometimes become their habits (scary huh?).

I’ll never forget when my old neighbors said to me, “Isabel, our 10 year old woke up this morning and ate leftover chicken and veggies for breakfast, instead of the bagels we bought. I wonder where she got that idea?” I loved it!

When parents bring in their children into my office wondering why their child’s weight has now become a health hazard, I always have to ask, “How is the whole family taking care of themselves or better yet, how are you taking care of yourself?”

I know this is a tough question to answer but these little people are looking to us for their answers and many times our actions speak louder than words. We are their role models.

So as a mommy, daddy, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa or just neighborhood friend, what can you do today to be a healthy influence to a child?

1. Develop one new health habit each week that involves your child. Want to go for a walk with Mommy to make our legs and our heart strong? Want to pack carrots in your lunch bag and see how many veggies we can both eat? Want to pick a healthy recipe and cook together? The options are endless. Make sure your child feels like he or she is an important part of your healthy life.

2. Let’s try and stay away from words like “weight loss” or “weight gain” and definitely avoid the word “fat”. Make it about “HEALTH”. We are going to take a family walk so we can all be healthy together. These foods make my heart and my muscles strong. Want to see Mommy or Daddy do pushups? Cool, right? Let your child know that being healthy is fun.

3. Be the healthy change you wish to see in your child. Show your child that genetics, time, and nothing else can get in the way of you getting healthy. Work on your biggest health obstacle and chances are you will see the same change in your child.

Commit today to good health not only for yourself but for those wonderful little people in your life that look up to you and emulate you.

Take the first step towards health and weight loss with these healthy nutrition meal plans in The Diet Solution Program.

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