Have you ever felt frustrated when trying to help your child make healthy food choices? Do they always choose the worst options at restaurants, birthday parties, and school lunches? If so, this blog post is for you. In it, I will discuss ways to introduce kids to a healthy diet without forcing them to stay at the table until they eat their vegetables.

Provide a healthy breakfast

A wholesome breakfast will help your kids get enough energy to start their day off right. Skip the sugar-laden cereal and instead serve eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt with nuts, or oatmeal with milk and a little honey.

Serve fresh fruit for dessert 

Kids love dessert after dinner, but there’s no need to give them ice cream or other treats every day. Instead, try cutting up some fresh fruit into bite-sized pieces and arranging them in appetizing ways. For inspiration about creating cute creatures from fruit, check out this post from National Geographic Kids. 

Choose healthy options on the menu at restaurants

Eating out can be tricky because most restaurants are in the business of serving food that pleases our taste buds more than our health goals. When dining out with your kids, lead by example and look for healthier choices. Instead of ordering fries or onion rings as a first course, consider soup or salad instead. Choose dishes that are grilled or baked rather than fried.

Create games and songs about eating healthy foods

One game is to have them list “superhero foods” that will help them grow big and strong. Another idea is to talk about the vegetables that story-time characters such as Peter Rabbit like to eat. Encourage your child to play with food by making people or animal sculptures with vegetables and toothpicks.

 Educate your child about the origins of their food

Take your child to places like a farm, food market, supermarket, bakery, or butcher and discuss what goes on there. If possible, allow them to participate in a food tasting and ask questions. After the outing, continue to talk about what they learned and encourage them to draw pictures about it. Some farms run school holiday and kindergarten programs to teach the next generation to grow food and look after animals.

Cook together as often as possible

When you prepare food, let kids help out in any way they can (for example, by chopping vegetables or stirring). Small children especially love to bake and create different shapes with dough. Cooking is an engaging and creative activity that will stimulate your child’s senses and teach them skills they’ll use for a lifetime. If you are looking for a kid-friendly visual guide to creating a healthy plate, check out this reference from the Harvard School of Public Health. 

Get your child to help you grow a small garden or plot in the backyard and let them pick out what they want to plant. The magic of watching things grow all the way from seeds will make your child excited and encourage them to learn more about where food comes from.

Don’t buy junk foods or sugary drinks for kids

I know that sugary, processed stuff is hard to avoid because it’s everywhere, but these “foods” don’t provide any nutritional benefits and can have a detrimental effect on health in the long term. If you’re not in control of what kids are eating, it’s really easy for them to fall into a habit of only picking unhealthy foods. In fact, the average sugar consumption for North American children aged four to eight is a whopping 21 teaspoons a day, 15 teaspoons over the recommended maximum. Soda, juice, flavored milk, and even snacks marketed as healthy contain completely unacceptable levels of sugar.

Let your children have input on what goes into their lunchboxes

If you give kids some input on what goes into their lunchboxes every day, it will feel more like something they picked themselves and want to eat. Include items such as fresh fruit and crunchy vegetables. Then choose a protein, such as slices of lean meat, or a hard-boiled egg. Remember to add in a dairy food, such as a cheese stick or slice, milk, or yogurt.

Make healthy snacks available for kids all day long

If you make healthy snacks available all day long, your child will be more likely to eat when they’re hungry and not because they’re bored or want sugar. Choose high-protein, low-fat foods such as meat or cheese slices, nuts, nut butter, or eggs boiled in the shell with a tiny bit of salt added.

Ensure that your kids are eating enough protein

It’s important to ensure that your kids are eating enough protein. Protein is essential for growth and development, maintaining muscle mass (particularly as they get older), and preserving bone health. As well as chicken, and red meat like beef or lamb, kids can get protein from salmon – this post explains why wild salmon is such a nutritional powerhouse. 

Don’t forget about dairy foods

Dairy foods such as cheese sticks or a slice of cheese with crackers provide calcium, which helps to build strong bones in kids. Dairy is also a good source of protein, and some kids might be more willing to try it if it comes in small pieces, like a cheese stick, or with cold cuts, like salami. For a healthy, gluten-free snack made with real cheese, try Chedz. 

I hope this article helps with even the pickiest of eaters. Getting kids to make healthy choices on their own can be difficult, but if you persist, you can make mealtimes nutritious and enjoyable.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a "sponsored post." The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."