Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/117128
A la Carte By Shana Hopkins, MS, CN; WAC Nutritionist Healthy eaters Put your kids on track to a well-balanced diet G etting your child to eat a healthful diet can sometimes be a challenge. Here are some useful tips for helping your child approve��� and eat���the meals you prepare. First, don���t fret when your child turns their nose up at healthy foods. Keeping them exposed to good food is key. It can take 10 to 20 times for children to start liking different meals. Because vegetables are often the most challenging, try cooking them in unique ways and prepare a variety of veggies for your child to choose from. For instance, your child may refuse to eat plain-cooked broccoli. If you blend it with a creamy broccoli soup, however, they might love it and forget they���re eating broccoli. You can also get inventive with storytelling. Act like you and your child are dinosaurs on a quest to devour a mini broccoli forest. Make eating greens fun. Planned meals and snacks are also essential to young ones��� nutrition. Children need consistency and tend to eat better when offered food at scheduled times. The optimal eating pattern for kids involves three meals and two to three snacks per day. Try these healthy snacks for kids ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� Cottage cheese and pineapple Apple slices with almond butter Super smoothie using blueberries and Greek yogurt Turkey roll-up in a whole-wheat wrap Celery with peanut butter Hard-boiled egg with sea salt 12 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | APRIL 2013 Keep meals and snack times regular and don���t offer food outside of designated times. This allows the child���s appetite to build. Also, understand that it���s natural for children to go through phases. One day they are picking at their food, and the next they are eating like there���s no tomorrow. Remember that young children require fewer calories than adults. Consequently, their portion size should be smaller. Start with small portions and allow them to get seconds when they request. Also, allow your kids to push away from their plate when they say they���re full. Don���t force your child to finish everything on their plate. Doing so can create negative attitudes and behaviors around food and eating. Think of snacks as mini-meals. A lot of snack foods are carbohydrate-heavy. Popular snacks, such as animal crackers, dry cereal, and fruit roll-ups, contain minimal amounts of protein and fats. This can leave children hungry for more, making them eat large volumes of a single food item. Also, these snacks don���t contain the good nutrition that protein and fats give them. Conversely, snacks such as apple slices dipped in almond butter or string cheese offer a wellbalanced mix of proteins, carbs and fats. Finally, sit down to eat meals as a family. Meals aren���t just for eating, but also for teaching appropriate behaviors and sharing valuable time together. Try planning meals the whole family can eat. Don���t fix separate meals for the children. It���s important to introduce children to the same foods adults eat. As your children grow, their food preferences will expand and planning family meals will become easier. Starting healthy habits early can make a world of difference. ���Shana Hopkins is a certified nutritionist and holds a Masters of Science. She can be reached at 206.839.4782 or shopkins@wac.net.