Getting Your Kids To Eat Healthy {Guest Post}

My 2-year old is hungry, so I open the fridge and let him choose a snack. He heads right for the fruit drawer, and grabs an orange. I smile, and peel him the orange, cut it up into bite-size pieces. He eats the whole thing. But, it’s not just oranges…

“More broc! More broc!” is heard all too often in our house… if my son wants a second or third helping of broccoli.

My child LOVES fruits, veggies, and even, on occasion, has passed up KFC for tofu. Crazy? Yup. True? Most certainly. I know what you’re wondering… how the heck did that happen? Well, for a while I blamed it on luck, but after a while, I realized there were deliberate decisions made that influenced him to be this way.

1. I happen to be a vegetarian. I try to eat healthy, and meals always include veggies. In fact, my son’s first baby foods were veggies… followed by grains… followed by fruits… followed by meats. But, fruits and veggies have long been the main part of my son’s diet since he was introduced to solid foods. The current USDA Food Pyramid above resembles our family’s average diet. We eat mostly fruits, grains, veggies, and dairy, with some meat/beans thrown in on the side.
2. We don’t buy junk food often. This has nothing to do with our son… but if there’s junk food in the house, I devour it. Immediately. I have no restraint when it comes to just having a few of anything. So, as a result, we just don’t buy it. If we don’t have junk food around, our son can’t eat it.
3. Our son models our behavior. If I’m eating an apple, he wants an apple. If I’m eating broccoli, he wants broccoli. If I’m eating M&Ms… he wants M&Ms! And, trust me… if I’m eating M&Ms… I don’t want to share! Does that make me horrible? Perhaps. But… at least it’s another way to get our son to eat healthy! So, as a result, my son sees me eating fruits regularly as a snacks. (If I’m going to eat junk, I make sure to do it when my son isn’t around!)
4. We’re cheap, and we get the biggest bang for our buck buy buying whole, healthy foods. We often skip the microwavable, frozen, canned “meals”. They’re expensive, contain too many calories, and aren’t even that good! The money I spend on a bag of apples or oranges stretches WAY further than what I’d spend on those processed meals… so, that’s what I do.