5 Tips to Help Kids Eat (and think) Healthy

A healthy, balanced diet can have a profound impact on children’s physical health. Nutritious foods can also benefit children by helping to prevent mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and ADHD.

If your kids are picky eaters, transitioning to a healthy diet can be tough. Provide your kids with the best opportunity to grow into strong and confident adults by following these five tips to help your kids eat more healthy foods.  

1. Make healthy snacks available

Keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand so your little ones don’t turn to unhealthy snacks like chips and soda.

Try to keep your fridge and pantry stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables, low sugar yogurt and healthy beverages such as milk and pure fruit juice.

When you’re out with your kids, bring along a cooler bag filled with healthy snacks like pretzels and carrot sticks so you don’t have to rely on fast food.  

2. Get your kids involved

Children are more likely to be interested in eating what they’ve chosen or prepared. Bringing your kids grocery shopping is a great way to teach them about different kinds of food and how to read food labels.

When you’re preparing meals at home, allow your kids to help you with small, simple tasks such as washing produce or mixing a fruit salad.  

3. Sneak healthy foods into delicious meals

When children enjoy a certain type of food, they develop a natural preference for it. Make healthy choices appealing by experimenting with nutritious combinations.

For example, try to incorporate plenty of vegetables into a chicken stew, or slice up a carrot and serve it with a side of hummus.  

4. Get creative and have fun

Children often eat a greater variety of foods when they have fun creating their meals.

Let your kids decorate healthy homemade treats like oatmeal muffins, or present food in an engaging way by using cookie cutters to turn slices of fruit into different shapes.  

5. Be a healthy role model

Young children learn by observing the behaviour of adults around them. Promote healthy eating habits by having regular, balanced meals and choosing nutritious snacks.

Always remember to speak positively to your kids about healthy foods, and try to be open to tasting new foods with them.

Overall, it is important to remember that children start to form food preferences from an early age. The sooner you introduce a range of nutritious foods into their diets, the easier it’ll be to help them cultivate an enduring relationship with healthy foods.