July 22, 2019
In the last year, we’ve really worked hard in our family to clean up our eating. With an almost-four-year-old in the house, we figured this would involve having to make two different things at most mealtimes. Luckily, this hasn’t been the case at all! Sawyer loves and eats almost all of the same things we do!
So how do we avoid making a box of mac and cheese with every dinner or a bowl of sugary cereal for breakfast? It’s pretty simple really. Check out the following tips we’ve implemented in our house to get our kiddo eating mostly healthy.
5 Tips to Get Your Kiddos Eating Healthy
Smoothies
To start our day, we almost always offer a smoothie to go with breakfast. For a while, Sawyer was having a store-bought yogurt smoothie made for kids. Then we took a peek at the nutrition label and saw all the added sugar. Not a great way to start our day. Now we make our own. It’s cheaper and way healthier! We let Sawyer pick out the fruits that he wants added and blend it with some yogurt! He loves trying out new combinations and we feel good with a healthier alternative to the store-bought kind!
He Eats What We Eat
At dinner, he always gets what we’re eating on his plate. If we’re adding something spicy to the recipe, we just set some aside for him before the spices are added. The rule in our house? You must at least take a bite and try it. So far, he’s been a huge fan of cauliflower rice and sweet potatoes. If what we’re eating is a no go, we’ll offer leftovers from a meal he liked or some sliced ham or turkey with an alternative veggie side. More often than not, however, he eats what we eat!
Find Healthier Alternatives
Sawyer spends his summers home with me (perks of being a teacher) and the kid loves to snack! I’ve found lots of healthier snack alternatives at Costco! We’ve found cheese puffs made with chickpea flour (extra protein!), gummies made with real fruit and no added sugar, and yummy crisps made with veggies! If he’s going to snack all day, I try to at least provide a healthy alternative. Same goes for dinner. We’ve swapped out rice for cauliflower rice or whole grains and traditional pasta for pasta made with veggies.
Start a Garden
This summer, Sawyer decided to start a garden in our backyard. He loves going out there to check on how his fruits and veggies are growing and helping pick what’s ripe and ready to eat. So far, he’s been able to enjoy cucumbers, green beans, and broccoli from his garden! We’re still waiting on the carrots, pumpkins, and watermelon. Is there anything better than eating produce picked straight from the garden? It’s a great way to get some fresh veggies into our meals!
Have Fruits and Veggies Readily Available
As soon as you get the fruits and veggies in your kitchen, give them a good wash and cut them up. We all tend to eat more of them when we can grab and go right from the fridge! We’ve got bowls of berries and grapes already washed and ready to go. When a watermelon comes home with us from the farmers market, we cut it up right away. I wash and remove the pits of cherries (push them out with a metal straw…quick and easy!) so they’re available and ready to go. Cucumbers and other veggies get washed and sliced so we can grab and go for a yummy snack.
