I’m including the above picture of my child inhaling a donut as reassurance that I’m not a know-it-all about getting kids to eat healthy.
Rest assured that we’ve got our nutrition hills to climb over here. Catie doesn’t drink milk. Elisabeth’s love language is Cheetos. Sam eats dinner solely with the goal of getting dessert. Nate secretly subsides on a liquid diet: at a restaurant, he drinks his (usually chocolate) milk in three gulps…and then turns his nose up at his food.
BUT in spite of all that, I’ve witnessed first-hand how much changes in my diet have transformed my overall health. And as much as I wish I could report that my kids crave kale now (yeah, not quite), we are all eating more broccoli and less La Choy Chow Mein.
Which is progress, since there are so many theoretical ideas floating around about how kids SHOULD eat healthier, but few practical solutions.
Case in point with the ultimate practical scenario: restaurants, places trying to make money. In the past couple weeks, I’ve taken the kids to two health food restaurants. Places that are trying to combat “The Western Diet” and “The American Obesity Epidemic.” The adult menu is all Fresh, Organic, Portobello Salad! and Arugula With Goat Cheese Dressing!
The kids menu? They feature the same four offerings as the kids menu at McDonalds and Chuck E. Cheese: pizza, chicken strips, cheeseburgers, and grilled cheese.
Theoretically, everyone agrees kids should eat more veggies. In reality? That’s hard.
For what it’s worth, here are four suggestions for getting kids to eat healthier (even if they’re still not eating arugula):
1. Freeze It! So, maybe this is just my kids, but making something really cold always wins them over. They would rather sob than eat split pea soup, but raw, frozen peas? LOVE! By the handful. Seriously try it. Maybe it’s because they associate the cold taste with ice cream. This also works well for getting them to eat healthy baked goods…cake with added whey protein and no-sugar granola. Freezing cold tastes like a treat.
2. Baked Potatoes! Maybe it’s just our family, but restaurants seem to be the hardest place for our kids to eat healthy. Our recent solution is baked potatoes. These big, steamed veggies are almost always on the menu, and provide several servings of fiber and protein, not to mention lots of vitamins. We ask for everything on the side (which makes our waitress love us, I’m sure) and then let the kids mix in their cheese and butter. The (inevitable) leftovers are great for lunches, too.
3. Dark Chocolate Chips! Right, not health food, I know, but so effective. I’ve been making gluten-free waffles for breakfast. For kids who cut their first teeth on Eggos, gluten-free tastes, um, different. BUT sprinkling a few chocolate chips (my kids actually like the dark stuff) helps the “healthy” waffles go down so much easier.
4. Kid Cook! So, this one is (literally) as old as time, but cooking with kids really does help them eat cabbage or Brussels sprouts. We’ve had luck with making the cooking sessions more fun than practical…(“Sam, this head of cabbage is a bad guy’s head. Can you pull his brain apart into little strips?”) And then we shamelessly exploit the help. “We’re having Sam Sprouts tonight for dinner! He is SUCH a good cook! Without any help at all, he cooked these delicious snacks for us! He’s a chef!” I mean, we really lay it on thick. One day they’ll roll their eyes, but for now, they all want to taste what all the propaganda is about.
