How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy: The Desperate Parent’s Guide

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The Importance of a Healthy Diet

If there’s one thing I hear most when talking to other parents, it’s how to get kids to eat healthy because all parents understand the importance of a healthy diet especially when it comes to young, growing bodies.

It seems like there are so many families struggling with this challenge. From not wanting to sit still, to being incredibly picky, or simply refusing to eat any type of vegetables, moms and dads put in a lot of effort with their kids that seems to go nowhere sometimes.

Growing up, I ate healthy foods all of the time. It seemed like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and legumes were always available to me, and I was more than happy to eat them.

I will never forget the summers I spent at my aunt’s lake house running around all day catching buckets full of baby frogs and chasing butterflies. We were always snacking on fresh bing cherries and corn on the cob straight from the Farmer’s Market.

And in the mornings my aunt would serve us quiches loaded with fresh veggies. It was a completely normal way to eat in our eyes.

I didn’t even know other kids were growing up on boxed foods full of sodium, artificial ingredients, and preservatives until I was a teenager, and I realized just how delicious chips and sugary cereals were.

But it wasn’t long before I started to realize that I didn’t really feel all that well after eating junk food. I didn’t have the same energy. And I started putting on weight the more I hung out with friends and could drive to the gas station for snacks by myself.

I quickly went back to eating whole foods and feeling better than ever.

Did You Know?

• Real food doesn’t have an ingredients list.

• Real food is mostly found on the outer edges of the grocery store.

• And real food is only slightly more expensive by weight than processed food. According to a study done by Harvard, a healthy diet only costs $1.50 more per day than unhealthier choices.

So even though it’s harder to find coupons for whole foods rather than for boxed food-like products, the cost difference is minimal and the health benefits are immeasurable.

I was so blessed to be provided so many delicious, healthy choices by my aunt and all of my other relatives growing up. And I also know that there are many reasons why other kids are not always able to receive the same high-quality meals that we were.

Here are some of the additional challenges parents face when trying to feed their families:

• Food deserts are a huge issue in the United States. According to the USDA, 54.4 million people live in an area that has little to no access to healthy foods.
• Transportation to grocery stores as opposed to convenience stores
• Parents working more than one job and lacking the time to cook healthy meals
• Kids spend a lot of time with caregivers who may not provide healthy choices
• Parents not being properly educated on healthy lifestyles
• Misleading labels on processed foods
• The misunderstanding that processed foods are cheaper than whole foods
• It’s easier to give in to what kids want
• Kids relying on free and reduced meals in schools

As a teacher, I worked in several urban school districts with 100% of students who qualified for the free lunch program. So I saw firsthand the breakfast, snacks, lunches, and sack dinners that were sent home with my students.

It broke my heart.

Just like most other teachers in this country, I spent a ton of my own money filling in the gaps between what my students needed and what they actually had available. And this included healthy snacks.

Last year, I had a pregnant student in my 8th-grade class who would walk in every morning and hand me her school-provided yogurt cup or a well-known brand cereal bar that were both loaded with sugar because she knew I would hand her an orange, baby carrots, or a healthy breakfast bar instead.

She pretended like I was making her give up something she wanted at first, but she would smile at me in the front row as she ate her healthier snack each morning.

We have to do better for our kids.

None of us can fix everything alone, but we can all do something to help those around us.

And the easiest place to start instilling healthy eating habits is at home.

If you’re ready to take the first step, I’m happy to share my tips on how I get my own children to eat healthy foods regularly at home.

How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy

Learning how to get kids to eat healthy certainly comes with its challenges. But these 10 tips will help you get your kids to start making healthier food choices today.

1. Start Young

The younger your kids are when you start to introduce them to healthy foods the better. Babies and toddlers are happy to try anything, and they have not yet decided to be picky. Whatever you feed them when they first start eating solid foods, is what will naturally become a habit for them later.

2. Provide Variety

Kids get excited to try new things in life and that includes food. Make a habit of helping them pick out new foods to try at the grocery store and try the same healthy options prepared in different ways.

3. Use Repetition

If your child does not like a certain food once, it doesn’t mean that they will not like it again a week or a month later. Kids’ taste buds change, and the more often you prepare foods, the more likely they will grow accustomed to eating those foods.

4. Use Reverse Psychology

Reverse psychology works extremely well with younger kids and picky eaters. Putting a certain food on the adults’ plates only or even asking them if they are big enough to try a new food before the meal works wonders. Younger kids want to feel like big kids, and they will try something and possibly like it just to prove that they’re old enough.

5. Stock Up on Healthy Foods

People of all ages are more likely to grab a bag of chips over a bag of baby carrots when they’re both in the house. So regularly stocking up on healthy foods at the grocery store and only buying unhealthy foods on special occasions will ensure that your kids eat a healthy diet.

6. Give Choices

Kids are told what to do by adults all day long so they love it anytime they’re given choices. Ask them what veggie they would prefer for dinner or what healthy meals they would like to have later in the week.

7. Give Control

Kids also love it anytime they’re given control over something so allow them to make their own plates. This works especially well when there are several healthy options available to them, so no matter what they choose, they will be getting a well-rounded meal.

8. Lead By Example

Your kids are constantly listening to what you say, and even more importantly, watching what you do. If you want your kids to lead a healthy lifestyle, they need to see you setting that example daily.

9. Get Them Involved

By the time your kids are in upper elementary, they’re perfectly capable of helping you make grocery lists and prepare meals. Now is a great time to teach them the difference between whole and processed foods, the costs of foods per pound, how to read labels, and kitchen skills like knife safety, temperatures, and using appliances.

10. Allow Them to Develop Their Tastes at Their Own Pace

No matter how many times you introduce a new food or prepare it differently, there will be foods your kids simply don’t like. Allow them to develop their tastes at their own pace. It’s okay if they hate Brussel sprouts today if they are happily munching on spinach. And it doesn’t matter if they think papaya is disgusting if they want an apple at snack time.

Healthy Snack Choices

Preparing healthy meals is a great way to get your kids to eat wholesome foods, but their diets can easily get derailed at snack time. Here are 10 healthy snack choices to try in your home.

1. Trail mix
2. Greek yogurt-dipped fruit
3. Fruit and cream cheese dip
4. Date and nut bars
5. Veggie chips
6. Veggie sticks and dip
7. Veggie sticks and hummus or baba ghanoush
8. Veggie sticks and peanut butter
9. Roasted chickpeas
10. Protein balls

The best part of eating healthy snacks is getting your kids involved in making them. Both of my kids help me in the kitchen regularly.

It gets them off of technology, teaches them valuable life skills, and it gives them ownership over what they put in their bodies.

So make a grocery list as a family, pick up whole food ingredients, and spend an afternoon making a batch of healthy snacks together. When healthy snack choices are readily available in your home (and chips and cookies are not), your kids will eat them.

How to Make Healthy Meals

Learning how to make healthy meals at home doesn’t have to be a difficult, time-intensive process. And you don’t need to have professional culinary training to prepare meals.

Here are 5 tips for making healthy meals at home easier.

1. Buy Whole Foods

Whole foods are just like the name implies. They are whole. Foods are the healthiest when they’ve had little to no processing, and you can be assured that they’re whole if they don’t have a list of ingredients.

2. Limit Processed Foods

Processed foods are also just like the name implies. They have been taken from their original form and have been processed in a plant. Minimal processing can include freezing or canning, but highly processed foods have unhealthy ingredients added to them. If you pick up a box or a bag and it has a long list of ingredients (most of which you can’t pronounce), it’s highly processed and it’s definitely not your best option.

3. Make Plant-Based Foods Your Primary Focus

Plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, oils, and beans are the healthiest foods you can eat so load your plate up with these options as much as possible.

4. Make Animal-Based Foods Your Secondary Focus

When it comes to eating animal-based foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy, simply flip your plate. Having a smaller portion of animal-based foods and a larger portion of plant-based foods is a healthier way to eat. So think of your veggies and beans as the main course and eat meat as a side dish.

5. Buy Organic Non-GMO Products Whenever Possible

Organic, non-GMO products are more expensive than conventional options. However, pesticides are toxic chemicals created in a laboratory to make bugs infertile or to kill them. And genetically modified foods have been shown to harm humans. They’re even banned in most European countries because of it.

So ingesting these chemicals and GMOs over a lifetime will guarantee that you are being exposed to these toxic chemicals and health risks at every meal.

Whenever possible, avoid pesticides and GMOs to lower your risk of getting cancer, and check out the dirty dozen list to see which foods are at the highest risk for pesticide exposure.

Healthy Eating Hacks

The best healthy eating hacks are those that work well for your family. And each household is different, so try a few healthy eating hacks and see which ones work best for you.

Here are 15 healthy eating hacks to try out in your home.

1. Search for healthy recipe ideas
2. Plan a menu ahead
3. Make a grocery list and stick to it
4. Try one new healthy food per week
5. Don’t shop when you are overly tired or hungry
6. Buy mostly whole foods
7. Limit your purchase of processed foods
8. Wash and cut up fruits and veggies for grab-and-go snacks
9. Make batches of healthy snacks together
10. Teach your kids how to prepare healthy meals
11. Give kids choice and ownership over what they eat
12. Make plant-based foods the main dish and animal-based foods the side dish
13. Eliminate sugary drinks
14. Don’t wait until you are starving to eat
15. Make food fun. Create bars and bowls with many healthy options.

My favorite healthy eating hack by far is #15. We regularly prepare bars and bowls in our home, and the kids love them.

Basically what we do, is prepare one fish, lean meat, or other protein and lots of veggies, grains, and legumes to choose from so that everyone can build their own custom dish.

Examples of bars and bowls are:

• Potato bar
• Salad bar
• Taco bar
• Meat, cheese, and veggie bar
• Salmon bowls
• Tuna bowls
• Quinoa bowls
• Hummus bowls

Lastly, I read an awesome book on this topic over the summer that I want to share with you. It’s an easy read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s ready to learn more about our bodies and just how important a healthy diet truly is.

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What are your best tips for how to get kids to eat healthy? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.