Watch what you Eat: Raising up Healthy Children through Food

Children are notoriously picky eaters.

That’s not an understatement. When given the choice between junk food and celery, children will almost always choose the junk food. It’s important then to have a diet that instills health in them, but one that they will also choose on their own to each.

This is one way of letting them develop an appetite for that food on their own. Here are the other ways on how you can do it.

Idea/ Grain on Pizza

No kid in his or her sane mind would say no to pizza, but they might think twice about this one. Instead of purely meat, you substitute that with healthier choices—like say, vegetables, leafy greens, as well as fresh tomatoes on to of tomato sauce. You can also replace the crust with a grain base and the sauce with pesto.

Idea/ Grain Cookies

Children will always choose cookies over anything else, so incorporate something healthy to those sweets. Instead of the usual chocolate chips, you can change it up with raisin or oatmeal. Just make sure that your kids aren’t allergic to raisin; otherwise, you can always have them eating with oatmeal on your cookies.

Idea/ Healthy cake

It’s sin without the extra sugar. You can bake a cake using cinnamon, nuts, whole wheat flour and yogurt. When it’s done, it looks like and tastes like the real thing without all the calories. You’ll be feeding something healthy to your kids and at the same time, you won’t feel guilty about feeding them junk food. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone.

Idea/ Mushroom burgers

Try to wean them in with some vegetarian burgers made with mushroom. If your child plays Mario or is a video game fanatic, you can get in some bonus points and say that the patty is created using the same mushroom in that game that makes Mario grow. Serve them between buns made of whole wheat and you can also add in some sweet potato fries on the side.

Idea/ A coconut and banana mix

If they’re really craving for sugar, give them a treat by using fruits rich in natural glucose. Marinate and coat the banana and the coconuts with sea salt and lemon. You can also substitute honey for caramel and glaze the mixture with it. The kids will surely love the sweet, sugary flavor of honey and you won’t feel guilty since it’s au naturel.

Isn’t it a delight when you know you’re feeding your kids something healthy that they love at the same time? Make them grow and glow with these food choices and you’re well on your way to understanding what it takes to be a better parent.