healthy kids

a few tips for raising kids that love to eat healthy food...

*teach them FROM THE BEGINNING what is good to eat. (we use this book for introducing foods & making all their food... great resource, i pretty much use it all the time).
*give them a wide variety of healthy food so they don't get tired of the same thing all the time.
*when they are young let them eat as much as they want... they won't overfeed themselves.
*as they get older & they say they don't want to eat something tell them that's all they get... & you will leave it at the table for them to come back & eat when they're ready. (jude ends up eating his dinner before bed when he realizes he's really hungry & we're not going to give them anything else.)
*as they get older help them know how to listen to their body when they're hungry or full.
*make healthy snacks in advance so it's easy to grab them when your little one is hungry. cut up fruit or veggies, make hummus, bake some homemade granola bars, etc. so when they're super hungry you don't just reach for chips or something that's "easy".
*keep the kiddos snacks on the lower shelf  in the fridge or the lower shelf of the pantry so it's easy for them to grab.
*when they are younger teach them to like water... it's all jude drinks now!
*stay away from sweets... they don't need them & they don't really know what they're missing if you don't give it to them.
*give them vitamins (read my post here).
*if they're going through a picky stage & you're teaching them to eat what you serve them... make them smoothies for breakfast with some pea protein & green zone in it. also, this cookbook is so great for sneaking in veggies & your kids can't even tell.

if your kids are older & already picky... you just HAVE to train them now so they don't end up overweight & unhealthy. it's so worth it!

this website has some great ideas. :)

raising healthy eaters,
al