How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

As a natural foods chef, it is hard enough trying to get adults to eat healthy. Getting children to eat fruits and vegetables seems almost impossible. If all your child wants to eat are chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, pizza, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes-don't fret and don't beat yourself up! It isn't too late to undo some of the damage. You just have to be a little bit creative, a little bit sneaky and very patient. If you take the time now to incorporate healthy foods into your child's diet-you'll save them from a lifetime of difficulty trying to create a healthy lifestyle. Plus, children who are on a healthy diet have more energy, more focus and are more even-tempered-which is giving yourself a gift too. Here are my suggestions for some fun and healthy eating.

Things You'll Need

• A variety of vegetables that can be incorporated into your kids' everyday favorite foods such as hamburgers, pasta, mac and cheese.
• Fruits and vegetables
• A Taco Bar (meat, tortillas, cheeses, salsa, etc.)
• Chicken Noodle Soup with alphabet or animal-shaped pasta
• Potatoes, butter, milk, salt, cauliflower
• Ingredients that can be pureed and blended into sauces.
• Foods that can be camouflaged by other foods.
• A variety of healthy foods, but use things that your kids already enjoy. If possible, make substitutes for certain items, such as bread. Use a whole grain bread instead of a white bread.

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Instructions

How to Sneak in Healthy Foods

• 1

  Puree small amounts of spinach and add to ground beef in hamburgers, gradually increasing the amount each time. When topped with cheese and low sugar ketchup, there is very little taste difference.

• 2

  Serve with oven-baked fries by thinly slicing potatoes, tossing in olive oil and salt and pepper and baking at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes until crisp.

• 3

  When making mac and cheese, use rice or wheat pasta with lots of cheese, but buy a brand that isn't very dark brown so they won't catch on.

How to Make it Fun and Get Your Kids Involved

• 4

  Cut up cubes of fruit and provide skewers, marshmallows and melted chocolate to make fun fondue.

• 5

  Prepare a taco bar, but let kids decide what to put on their tacos. Provide cheeses, salsa, guacamole, lettuce. You can encourage them to make good choices, but letting them do the actual work makes them feel included and independent.

How to Camouflage Food

• 6

  Incorporate well-cooked cauliflower into mashed potatoes by combining with butter, milk and salt. Mash really well for a healthy starch that will fool anyone.

• 7

  Finely chop red peppers and tomatoes and mix into meatloaf and Sloppy Joes. Kids won't even notice the added vegetables, but will notice the added FLAVOR!

• 8

  For a healthier pizza, puree cooked vegetables into marinara sauce and top with shredded mozzarella on a store-bought pizza dough.

• 9

  Mix corn kernels with finely chopped cooked yellow squash, add butter and salt and revamp a kid's favorite.

How to Work With What They Already Like

• 10

  Add healthy elements to foods your child already eats. There are many kid-friendly foods that have the potential to be much healthier.

• 11

  Blend bananas and antioxidant-rich blueberries into smoothies.

• 12

  Mix real fruits and vegetables such as bananas, berries and mashed sweet potatoes into muffins, and serve with a real fruit spread.

• 13

  Use whole grain bread for grilled cheese sandwiches and toast well so your children won't notice the darker color.

• 14

  Make healthy french toast using whole grain bread dipped in egg and covered with fruit, powdered sugar and maple syrup.