MomiverseTV: 5 tips to get your kids to eat healthy food

To support childhood nutrition education, we’ve partnered with Hidden Valley to promote their upcoming Lunch Break for Kids national fundraiser (October 15-19). This event highlights ways for parents and kids to come together with chefs and schools to learn more about how simple, good food can make healthier bodies and stronger family connections. We encourage you to check out local fundraising events in your area. Proceeds will support the American Culinary Federation’s Chef & Child Foundation to create resources for nutrition education programs.

Keeping childhood nutrition education in mind, we answered a question from MomPulse:

How do you get your kids to eat healthy food?

If you ask ten different Moms that very same question, you’ll probably get ten different answers. Watch this video for a few tips:

http://youtu.be/0WyEAC7M8BI

Here are the tips mentioned in the video:

1.  Buy healthy foods.

It seems pretty obvious, right? Don’t give your kids the option to eat unhealthy snacks. If you only buy healthy food, you can tell them that’s all you have in the house.

2.  Start young.

Teach your kids how to eat right at an early age. Only give your kids healthy snacks and they won’t know any different. Teach your kids to read labels and that it’s important to eat foods that help your body grow and stay strong.

3.  Set an example.

Your kids want to be just like you. Ok, maybe not so much when they’re older. But show them that you eat healthy foods too.

4.  Make it fun.

Let your kids create food art with their food and turn snack time into fun time. Pinterest is a great place for ideas on how to create fun foods for kids (and you).

5.  Be sneaky.

If all else fails, it’s your job as a Mom to employ Covert Action. Yes, you need to sneak healthy foods into their meals and snacks. For example, use a food processor to chop vegetables and add them to sauces for spaghetti or lasagna. Shakes and smoothies also provide an awesome opportunity for covert action. You can make them non-dairy and/or add extra fiber, vegetables, protein powder. The options for ingredients are endless.

Food manufacturers know how to use psychology to get our kids to like their foods. In fact, it works on adults too! How many times have you been sitting in front of the TV watching The Biggest Loser, eating a bowl of ice cream when a fast food commercial makes you crave a bacon cheeseburger? Maybe you’ve even run out to buy that bacon cheeseburger at the next commercial?

Researchers have also found that the foods kids eat before the age of three set their taste preferences for the rest of their lives. If your child is older than the age of three, don’t be discouraged. Continue introducing new foods and keep putting healthy foods on your family’s table. You’ll help your kids to develop taste preferences for healthy food that will last a lifetime.

Don’t forget to check out Hidden Valley‘s upcoming Lunch Break for Kids national fundraiser (October 15-19)!

Tell us in the comment section below: What tips and tricks do you have for getting your kids to eat healthy foods?

The Hidden Valley^® Original Ranch^® dressings & dips has provided Momiverse Media Group, LLC with free product to help with preparing this article, but anything we receive from Hidden Valley does not affect our thoughts on its company or their product.

Charmin Calamaris

Charmin is a wife, mom of two boys and creator of the Momiverse. The Momiverse is an online magazine for busy moms (is there any other kind?) dedicated to helping moms make time – and take time – for themselves. She traded in her career in land use planning and environmental policy to become Chief Executive Navigator of the Momiverse. You can connect with Charmin in her "online office" on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

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