Food for Thought

How to get your YOUNG KIDS to eat healthy.

I was the perfect parent before having kids.

Think back. How many times did you utter (or think) the words, “I’d never give that to my kids,” or “I’ll never let my kids eat/watch/see that,” or “MY kids won’t do that shit,” or “insert any other pre-imagined righteous steadfast ideal and opinion you stood tall on,” and, chances are, you were a perfect parent before you had kids, too.

Then, suddenly, they come along and you frantically run around looking for an instruction manual—that does not exist—and instead of being that perfect parent with those amazingly perfect ideals that were so convincing not all that long ago, you end up…..drumroll please…. doing your best.

That’s sorta all of parenthood summed up into one paragraph.

With that being said, there were a few things that I REALLY tried to do my best with, when raising my three daughters. (Because, keeping iPads out of the bed at 4 am after they declared war on the morning wasn’t ever gonna happen).

Food.

I thought that if there was ONE area I could control in all of this parenting game, it was what they’d eat. Since, you know, this was kinda my thing. So I thought it should be something I could handle. Hopefully.

Turns out, though, there ARE things you can do to get your kids to eat healthy from the start.

Here’s my list of unsolicited advice (the best kind, I know) on how to do just that.

1. Don’t cook separate meals.
   I sincerely believe the biggest trap new parents fall into is cooking different meals for their kids. It’s a misnomer to think our children will only eat chicken nuggets or Mac n’cheese, when the truth is that they have these brand new little pallets, ready to do some exploring. Whatever you’re making for dinner for YOU is what you should make for dinner for THEM. I used to ask them to just try a couple bites of something new on the plate and if they didn’t like it, to move onto the next item in front of them. Even if you think they barely eat anything, the more times you expose those foods, the more likely they are to continue to try them.

2. Have a picnic.
   This was my favorite go-to, on the daily. I’d lay a blanket down on the living room floor, every day after school, and create a platter of “picky foods,” filled with veggies, fruits, proteins, and cheeses. (Much like the photo above.) Or I’d get creative and make “kabobs” out of tomatoes and mozz. Or use a cookie cutter to shape protein waffles. You get the idea. Every single day, that platter would inevitably be cleared.

3. Call foods by names they’ll get on board with.
   Like “apple CHIPS” or “carrot FRIES.” We don’t always have to be super stiff adults when little ones are running around, so get creative with what you call their food. (And, it kinda goes without saying, but actually make the “fries” out of roasted carrots or “chips” out of apples or kale… just as an example).

4. Share your plate.
   I’m not saying kids should take over your meals, but if you’re eating something and you pick up on their interest in it, offer a few bites. More often than not, they’ll say, “Oh, I want that, too.” Then get off your utterly exhausted ass and make it for them, knowing you’re doing it for the greater good.

5. Talk about your food.
   Use your meals with your kids as a valuable lesson in nutrition education. Tell them why it’s good to eat what they’re eating, but put it in kids’ terms. Like, “That steak is going to build a lot of muscle to make you stronger for when you do gymnastics.” Or, “Eating those carrots are going to make your hair nice and shiny and your eyes work reallllly good for all that reading you do.” The more they know why they’re eating something, the better they’ll feel about doing it. MAKE SHIT UP IF YOU HAVE TO. Positive reinforcement, friends.

6. Make it FUN.
   My daughters and I came up with an “Around the World” project, where I placed a bunch of countries’ names on small pieces of paper, crumpled them up, and stuck them in a bowl. Each week, one of them would pull a slip out and read which country was chosen. For that week, I’d make dinners from that cuisine. The girls would help me choose the meals and they ate just about every single thing we created. Some nights (like when Italy got chosen), I’d put music on from that country as we ate dinner, and we’d look up how to say basic words in their language. It was a fun way to get the girls to try (and learn) new things.

7. Let them help you cook.
   Ok, so, I’m a total control freak in the kitchen, so this one was hard for me. HOWEVER, I think back to when I was 7 years old and my mom let me cook with her and because of that, it’s probably the single-most reason why I grew up loving to cook. So I bought kids cutlery, kids cutting boards, small aprons and whatever else I needed to add in some sous chefs. And I’ll tell ya what. Not only were they more apt to eat what they made, but, now, at 13, just-about-15 and 16 years old, THEY MAKE THEIR OWN MEALS. I rely on my girls a lot now to fend for themselves, and it’s pretty awesome to watch them navigate a kitchen. My youngest aspires to be a chef and wants to go to culinary school, so as hard as it was for me to relinquish control at first, it was one of the absolute best things I did.

8. Don’t call food “good” and “bad” or tell them they “can’t have it.”
   I still stand by this. When working with adults, too. I don’t tell my kids they can’t have snacks. Or candy. Or dessert. Or fried foods. Instead, I’ve always told them, “You’re probably not gonna feel great if you eat too much of that, so just portion it.” Of course, Middle Child sometimes wouldn’t listen and she’d hide her stash up in her top bunk, that I’d find when changing the sheets later in the week… and I’d have to have an entirely separate conversation with her, but I digress. It’s super important to create a solid relationship with food when they’re young, so they hopefully don’t fall victim to all the fad diets and yo-yo eating that so many of our generations did. Also, we used methods like “The Switch Witch” for Halloween candy, where I’d let them pick out 10 pieces to keep and the rest would go out on the deck “overnight” for the Switch Witch to take to less fortunate kids who didn’t trick or treat, and in return, she’d leave books.

9. Lead by example.
   I mean… do I need to say this? I sure hope not.

10. Bring them food shopping with you.
    Trader Joe’s used to do this thing where they’d offer small kids carts to push along next to yours. The idea was brilliant and super cute, but the logistics were less “cute” and more “not a single shopper here can get anything done.” I mean, you’ve been there, right? It’s not the largest of markets (although it’s a definite fave). Long story short, I haven’t seen those carriages in a while, but BRING YOUR KIDS ANYWAY. Give them tasks to pick out items. Make it “their idea,” on what to bring home to cook. The more that they’re part of the process, the more likely you are creating little foodies.

    Your children will never eat perfectly, just like you’ll never eat perfectly. Trying to instill the basic fundamentals of healthy eating is what to strive for, so that 80% of the time, they (and you) make decent choices that will fuel their brains, activity, sports, and goals.

    These tips surely helped with my own children, so maybe they’ll be of some use to you, too.