Tips and Links About Getting Kids to Eat Healthy

I get asked often about how I get my kids to eat certain foods and often hear other moms complain about how their kids eat so much sugar or won't eat veggies, etc. I will list here are few things that have worked for me over time. Key word "time". Keep in mind that I'm not a food or child expert but rather a mom who was desperate to get her kids eating healthier foods after establishing bad eating habits with them when they were toddlers. I kept a watchful eye observing other moms and here's what I learned. I'm sharing my personal journey with you and don't take my advice as professional.

1. Start young.
From the time your baby begins eating solid foods you can develop good eating habits. Feeding your infant a balance of fruits, veggies, and whole grains is key. Don't be tempted to only feed them fruit baby food just because YOU don't like pureed peas. AND, don't make wincing faces like "YUCK" when you are feeding your baby veggies. Babies are smarter than you think and if you are making a horrid face while trying to shove a spoon of veggies in their mouth they'll catch on that something isn't right about that mush when otherwise they probably would have thought it was fine. If you do this step you can disregard all the other steps! =0) If you didn't start young, keep reading!

2. If you didn't start young, realize that it will take a long time to turn the ship around.
Kids don't change bad eating habits quickly. They need TIME to get used to new foods. It took me about 3-4 good years of making changes to get my kids off their bad eating habits and into eating healthy whole foods. And, even then, there are still new foods they are learning to eat. It's a process and it takes patience and time. Give yourself YEARS to get them switched over. Make small changes first and not all at once. And be prepared for some complaining a long the path to changes!

3. Involve your kids in cooking.
Making your kids a part of the cooking process can do wonders for their interest and excitement about trying new foods. The fact that they had a hand in preparing it can go a long way. Not for all, but for some. Either way, get them involved in a fun part of food...the cooking! They will be more likely to try new foods down the road and have a healthy and positive attitude about food in general.

4. Be an example.
If you say you don't like it then they will most likely follow suit. Be a good example and eat good foods in front of your kids. I often tell my kids "we have to eat foods that we don't like sometimes because they are good for us!" We have to demonstrate that concept.

5. Be the parent.
It's our responsibility to ensure our children's safety and health. If they are sick we take them to the doctor, if they've got teeth, we make them brush their teeth, and so on. Well, I guess not all of us do. We live in a world where not all parents care about the health, safety, protection, and well being of their children. But, if you ARE a parent that IS concerned about your child's health and safety then realize that getting your kids to eat healthy is a priority in their best interest. They'll thank you later for not letting them survive on mac n cheese and pizza! It's hard work and it's tough love sometimes but taking responsibility is key. If your kids are eating too much of the wrong things, then stop buying them and making them available to them. Take responsibility for what you buy and what you make available to your kids. Just like your kids depend on you for clothing, for education, for shelter, your kids depend on you to train them to eat healthy and supply healthy food for them.

6. Introduce new foods slowly and in small quantities.
I'm going to break this process down for you into parts. This method is something I figured out over time by observing other wiser moms and it worked great for us:

• Just on the plate. Start with putting the new food (just one tablespoon of it) on the child's plate. Don't mention it, don't draw attention to it. If they ask what it is, tell them what it is and leave it at that. PURPOSE= is to get the child familiar with the food. They get used to seeing it on their plate without having to taste it. They get familiar with the shape, the color, the smell and they watch you eat it. Once they've gotten used to the new food on their plate you'll be surprised that sometimes, many kids eventually will just start eating it without any coaxing! I was shocked the first time my son just out of the blue picked up the "new food" that I had been placing on his plate over the past month and he gobbled it down. Suddenly it wasn't "new" anymore because he was used to seeing it. Once they get used to seeing this foreign object on their plate a few times without trying it, move on to the next step. (no, I do not place it there every meal...only when I'm serving it in our normal meals but I do try to have that new food a little more often when I'm introducing it.)
• Just one bite. If they haven't already, it's time to give it a little taste. Just one bite. Tell them that they can spit it out if they don't like it but they need to start having just one taste and see if they like it (or if they've had it in the past, see if they've changed their minds about it). If they spit it out, don't think you haven't made progress. They just got that taste in their mouth and that means MORE FAMILIARITY. Yep, they are getting used to it without even realizing it. From now on, that food has "just one bite" status and each time it's presented on their plate, they need to get in just one bite. Over time, they actually start developing a taste for it. Watch, you might not even have to mention the "just one bite" before they've finally decided that it's just not so bad and eat it on their own.
• You need to eat it because it's good for you. After a few months of "just one bite" status, assuming that we aren't having major gagging issues over this one food (more on that later) then it's time to move to this new level. Yep, it's good for you. By now you've talked long many times with your children about why our bodies need healthy foods, you've checked out books from the library that educate them on what healthy foods are, you've made them a part of picking out veggies and fruits at the super market and they understand that they grow big and strong by eating healthy foods so they totally get "you need to eat it because it's good for you." Remind them that even mom and dad have to eat foods that they don't like so much because they are good for them. My kids can now recite this statement to me without coaxing. Altogether now, "We have to eat foods we don't like sometimes because they are good for us!"
• Allow your kids to NOT like food. Okay, I know this sounds hypocritical but what I'm talking about is a sincere dislike for something. Your kid might be a great eater and love just about all the healthy foods you give him but he just has this strong aversion to peas that he just can't seem to get around. That's okay. Allow your child to have their one or two things that they just can't handle the texture or taste of. Just train your child how to handle the times when they are served that one disliked food in public so that they don't cause a scene. =0) Most adults have these picky foods that they just can't get past and that doesn't mean they aren't a healthy eater. Allow your child the freedom to express his personal taste in foods. Even in this case, you may find with time that they change their minds as they grow and their taste buds change. My son hated pasta for the longest time. It was his one food texture that he couldn't stand and then one day he got a hold of some pasta and poof, it was gone. He ate it all. So, don't worry if your child has a dislike for one particular food item, time could change that..but if it doesn't, that's okay too as long as they are getting what they need in other healthy foods. Kids have more taste buds than adults. We lose them with age which is why elderly people usually like a lot of salt on their food. So, this may explain why kids don't like strong tasting foods until they are older....spicy is usually 10 times as spicy for kids.

• Do what it takes to get it down. What do I mean by that? No, not force feeding them. Time to get creative. You can get creative in the ways you HIDE IT, SERVE IT, and DIP IT. Let's take each one of those one at a time.

1. Hide It. If you are going to hide it, you have to hide it good. Puree it and put it into recipes is the best way to hide it. Check out Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld to learn how you can start getting healthy foods into your kids BEFORE you've accomplished getting them to eat it on their own (cause remember, it takes a long time to do the above process). This way, your kids are getting the foods they need while you patiently do the above process AND believe it or not, they are possibly still developing a taste for certain foods that are hidden. You can hide it also by mincing it, using dried versions of it (like onion), and mixing it into other foods.
2. Serve It. Be creative about how you serve foods. Make it fun by building bugs out of veggies and raisins with peanut butter, chop up several new foods and some they already love and serve them in a muffin tin. Kids love little cups and dishes that are divided. Check out the new bento box idea..it's all the rage for healthy school lunches but they could also be a fun way to get kids to try new things at home too. Make food into shapes...use cookie cutters and shaped pans. Decorate food with things your child already loves. If they love olives, try topping those yucky mashed potatoes with olive slices. Sounds gross to adults but you'd be amazed what little tricks get kids to eat things.
3. Dip It. For a very long time this method got my kids to eat all kinds of things they didn't want to try. I would ask them during the food prep time when they were cooking with me, "what should we serve this with to dip it in?" and they would usually say ranch dressing. If they knew they could dip it into their favorite dip (even if it sounded gross to me) then by golly they got to dip it! I was amazed what foods I could get into my kids with the dipping technique and yet again, here they were developing a taste for some new food without even realizing. Slowly over time I would give them less and less of the dip and eventually I'd conveniently "forget" to offer the dip and they'd end up eating the "new food" plain without even missing the dip.

Our hide it, serve it, and dip it days are over and so I want to encourage moms with younger ones that success is possible! It might take years (like it did in our case) but now I'm reaping the rewards of healthy eating kids. It was well worth the time and effort.

Here are some links for some other posts on blogs that I found helpful! They all have to do with eating:
Why What Your Kids Eat Is YOUR Responsibility
Parenting Style
Kids Learn By Example
Getting Kids to Eat Fruits and Veggies
How Much Sugar is Okay For Kids?
Switching to Whole Grains
Healthy Snacks for Kids
I love Dr. Oz...and here you can see the 5 things to avoid..great tips in terms of feeding your kids
Places You Wouldn't Think To Find High Fructose Corn Syrup
The 411 on High Fructose Corn Syrup

This last one I thought was a really cool post about how our healthy eating effects others in our lives...when it comes to having people over for dinner and not offending others with our food preferences. It can apply to how we train our children to eat but I thought was helpful mostly for adults when it comes to the making all these changes part.
Extending Grace