Summer is a perfect time to teach your kids about nutritious foods and
eating healthy. Obesity in children is a growing problem, so it’s important
that your kids learn early in life how to eat healthy. The sooner they
learn how to develop healthy habits, the better. Involve them in meal
planning, grocery shopping and preparing healthy foods. These lessons will
equip them with the ability to make healthy food choices at a young age,
which will influence their eating habits for life.
The Nutrition Facts Label
While grocery shopping, teach your kids how to read a nutrition facts
label; if you take your kids to a restaurant, show them where they can find
the nutrition facts information. If your child suffers from food allergies,
being able to understand food labels will help him recognize ingredients he
needs to avoid.
The nutrition facts label on packaged foods and drinks lists the serving
size, number of calories and amount of nutrients (fat, carbohydrates,
sugar, fiber, protein, and so on) per serving, and the ingredients. Focus
on one or two aspects of the nutrition label at one time, so as not to
overwhelm your kids. This will also help create interest and hold their
attention. Repeat information often so that healthy eating and nutritious
food choices become habit.
Start by pointing out the serving size and how many servings there are for
a food product. Also show them how to compare calories per serving of
similar products. Serving sizes can vary, so make sure your kids know to
look at the number of grams per serving for each product. Point out the
number of grams of carbohydrates, fiber and sugar and explain that a higher
amount of fiber and lower amount of sugar is usually healthier than the
opposite.
Some healthy foods are very calorie dense and too many servings can add up
to a lot of calories. Remind your kids that serving size is important and
to always look at how many servings are in the food product. Familiarize
them with what a serving size looks like, especially for calorie dense
foods like peanut butter, nuts and dried fruit.
Explain to your kids that the ingredients are listed in descending order by
weight. If you’re reading a cereal label, tell them it would be best for
the first ingredient to be a grain – not sugar, fructose or high-fructose
corn syrup, or another sweetener – and that the grain is a whole grain.
Teach your kids about grains and how to spot a whole grain in the
ingredients list. Show them examples of whole grains (oats, barley,
buckwheat, whole wheat flour, brown rice and so on) and processed grains
that are not whole (rice flour, enriched wheat flour or white flour).
Show them how to spot trans fats (partially hydrogenated oil or anything
that has been hydrogenated), and that it’s best to avoid, or at least limit
them. Also give examples of ingredients that contain a high amount of
saturated fat (butter, palm kernel oil) and explain that these need to be
eaten in moderation. Show them examples of healthy fats in food labels and
also educate them about foods that are good sources for healthy fat.
Farmers Markets and Local Farms
You can teach your kids some important lessons by taking them to a farmers
market. Ask the farmers where their farms are located so your kids will
understand that the food is grown local to where they live. You can share
with them the importance of eating locally-grown foods to financially
support the farms and local community, and to reduce environmental impact
by purchasing foods that require less transportation to get from farm to
market.
Educate your kids on the differences between organic and conventional
farming and foods. Also teach them about seasonality. Not only will they
learn about the availability of certain foods at different times of the
year, but they can learn why. Encourage them to ask the farmers questions
about why foods grow better at certain times of the year.
Your kids are more likely to eat a fruit or vegetable if they know what it
is. Help them learn what all the fruits and vegetables are – show them what
a turnip looks like, what it’s called, where it grows and what it tastes
like. You can also enlighten them with the knowledge that most fruits and
vegetables are available in many different varieties – including turnips.
As you walk through the farmers market, let your kids help you pick out the
best-looking fruits and vegetables and be involved in planning meals for
the next few days. Show them what to look for so they can learn how to
choose the freshest produce. Then pull up your favorite recipe app on your
smartphone and let your kids help decide what meals to make using the fresh
produce at the market.
Visit a local organic dairy farm that offers tours. Explain to your kids
what it means for milk, yogurt or cheese to be pasteurized and organic, and
what growth hormones, antibiotics, GMOs, pesticides and herbicides are.
Also explain why they should care what the cows eat, and that some farms
allow their cows to feed on fresh pasture, while other farms feed their
cows GMO corn and soy.
Healthy Foods at Home
Summer is a great time to make meals and snacks that are loaded with all of
those fresh fruits and veggies you bring home from the market. For a fun
summer dinner, make grilled pizzas. Let your kids choose the veggies and
cheese they want for their own pizzas. For a healthy snack, make whole
wheat zucchini bread – low fat and loaded with fresh zucchini.
Bake low-fat cookies and treats using whole grains and healthy fats. Find
recipes using healthy oils or avocado in place of butter and whole wheat
flour or other whole grains in place of white flour. Use your
fresh-from-the-market fruit in nutritious fruit shakes, lassis and fresh
fruit salad. Make a watermelon slush by blending together ice, watermelon
and a small amount of sugar in a blender. Make your own healthy Greek
yogurt ice cream: blend together yogurt and fresh fruit and freeze in the
blender or food processor; remove when frozen and re-blend for a creamy
texture.
Encourage your kids to eat healthy by keeping your kitchen stocked with
lots of healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables washed and cut and
kept in baggies or food storage containers; hummus, Greek yogurt dip and
other healthy dips to go along with the fruits and veggies; whole grain
crackers and a few different cheeses; light popcorn; dried fruits and nuts;
and nut butters made without hydrogenated oils.
Children’s food tastes are often times related to foods their mother likes
and dislikes. By choosing healthy foods to eat, you’re likely setting your
kids up for healthy habits down the road. With all this said, have a burger
and some ice cream! Show them that it’s fine to eat indulgent foods too –
it’s part of celebrating and enjoying life – so long as they know they
should be eaten in moderation and in an appropriate portion size, and that
healthy foods should make up the bulk of their diets.
