Whether you are trying to get your children to follow a low sugar diet, or simply eat their vegetables more often, it can be a difficult endeavor. Anything that has the word “healthy” in it might immediately lead a child to believe they will hate it and even refuse to eat it. Many children don’t like change, so even switching noodles to a different type can be enough to cause them to not want to eat the healthy food you feed them. This doesn’t have to mean that getting children to eat in a healthier way is impossible, however. Read on for a few things you can do to encourage healthier eating in children.
Make healthy eating fun –
Carrots, broccoli, and other sugar-free snacks for kids are boring and many kids simply hate the way they taste. Presenting these types of healthy foods in a unique and fun way, however, can lead them to actually want to try it. By organizing fruits or veggies in a unique way, it becomes more fun for kids to eat it – so much so that they won’t even realize you have taken the sugar out of their snack time! The pictures to the left and below show some great options and another fun idea is to do “ants on a log.” This healthy snack is made up of celery sticks filled with peanut butter. Placing raisins periodically on the peanut butter makes them appear to be ants walking on a log, which may entice a child who otherwise hates celery to actually eat the snack.
Make a gradual change –
If your child eats a lot of unhealthy sugar-filled foods, it’s not necessary the best idea to simply eliminate all sugar intake one day. Instead, you can gradually make the change by first replacing one unhealthy snack in your cabinet with a healthier option, or one sugar-filled drink a day with a healthier option of water or sugar-free juice. Over time, you can incorporate more sugar-free foods into their diet, or other types of healthy foods, until they have an overall healthier diet without even noticing it happened.
When all else fails, count on trickery –
There are many cookbooks available on the market that offer recipes for sneaking in healthy foods where kids least expect them. In addition, you can replace their unhealthy snacks with healthier versions. If they know you are offering a sugar-free chocolate instead of their favorite, they may balk at it. But if you put it in the same container as their favorite, they may never notice the difference.
Getting kids to eat healthy can be difficult. Finding foods that are healthy but actually taste good is one key step to success. Visit us online at Linda’s Diet Delites to find some great-tasting healthy options your kids are sure to love!