Obviously, we all want to eat better and getting kids to eat something nutritious rather than crisps and sweets has long proved difficult. It isn’t just for our physical health that we should eat healthier, but it is also better for our mental health, especially in developing a positive relationship with food – something very important for the kids. With the New Year coming up and the temptation to slide into fad diets, here are some ways you can get the whole family eating healthier without relying on unhealthy and unhelpful diets.
- Grow your own
Of course, not everyone has an outside space for this, but we do have window sills and growing your own doesn’t have to be fruit and vegetables, something as simple as herbs growing on the kitchen windowsill or cress growing out of an egg shell can help encourage the whole family to eat better. It will also teach the kids where their food comes from and if you grow your own, it will taste better and be more cost effective than buying food at supermarkets. - Make small changes
Changing your diet and attitude towards food won’t happen over night, so don’t beat yourself up about it and focus on making small changes instead. Rather than completely cutting out certain foods, try only having them once or twice a week or introduce something like a rainbow day, where you challenge each other to eat as many colours of the rainbow as possible in one day to help you substitute more fruit and veg into the whole family’s diet. - Look at what you’re drinking
It is hard to persuade young children to just drink water rather than squash and juice. In fact, it’s hard to persuade adults, teenagers and pensioners to drink water rather than tea, coffee and sugary drinks like squash and fizzy drinks. One way you can do this is by using the above method by making small changes throughout the week, another way is to create a challenge with a reward at the end for the person who drinks the most water. - Play with your food
I know we discourage playing with your food but one way to get kids in particular to eat a more varied diet is to make it fun by being a bit arty with your food. You can create edible caterpillars and snakes by putting food onto a skewer or chopstick or making fun shapes and faces out of your meals to encourage the kids to get involved and eat. - Make food prep a family affair
If you’ve not got a lot of space, this one will be more stressful but getting the whole family involved in food preparation will make them more interested in what they are eating and more engaged with food in general. Also, it is never too soon to teach your children, or perhaps even your partner, how to create a nutritious meal!
