How to get Kids to be Fruit and Veggie Eaters

Let’s face it. When given a choice between a succulent steak and fresh, colourful salad, bet you would make a beeline for that juicy hunk of beef. Kids would too because who wants to munch on lettuce leaves when a steak or a mac n’ cheese just hits that hungry spot?

As parents, we know the value of a good diet which unfortunately means lots of fruits and veggies. Growing kids may know the same thing from school lectures and your incessant admonitions to “Eat your broccoli, son;” but knowing nutrition values versus actually wanting to eat those values are whole worlds apart. Knowing that kids need good portions of plant food everyday in their diet, it’s quite a challenge to convince a stubborn little carnivore to transform into a healthier omnivore without fighting a food war. And in most cases, parents mostly lose the food battle.

So how to get kids to eat their fruits and veggies? Perhaps these tips could help:

Be a Role Model

You can’t expect your children to believe that peas and carrots are great food for them when you don’t eat them yourself. Change your diet ways if you want your kids to follow suit. Clean out that larder of chips and soda and restock with healthy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and high fibre foods. Not only will your family eat healthier; your waistline will thank you for it.

Keep Serving ‘Em Up

Usually children say no to food they have just met at the table. They don’t bother to get to know new food first before they form their gustatory opinion. “That green stuff Mom calls broccoli is as green as those awful tasting spinach leaves she made me try last week. Broccoli must be yucky too.”

According to research, children can be conditioned to like a food or at least give it a chance when they have seen it served at least 8 to 15 times. As a vegetable becomes a familiar sight at the table, children can drop their reservations enough to be curious about it. So, serve up that broccoli every week and eat your servings. Your kids are bound to come around soon.

Establish the “One Bite Rule”

To tamp down constant rejections, implement the “One Bite Rule” that requires the child to get one good mouthful of a fruit or vegetable served in a meal, whether these have been former rejections or a newcomer to the table. Who knows, your little fussy eater may just suddenly like that “bad-tasting” fruit or veggie. If not, perhaps it may just be constant exposure to it that can wear down his palate’s resistance.

Stick of course to the one bite rule. Don’t force three mouthfuls down when the rule clearly states one bite. The aim here is to gradually help the child adjust to the taste and texture of fruits and veggies. Making them eat what they clearly do not like or are not ready to like may let you win that food battle but will definitely cost you that war.

Get Them Involved with Their Food

Children often feel they don’t have a choice; so giving them options is like giving them some control over what they wish to eat. Bring them with you to the market or grocery and make them choose what they want at the produce section. Just letting them have a choice of their fruit and vegetable could very well lend a special interest towards their pick.

Get your children involved in preparing the salad, steaming the carrots, or cutting up bananas. Vegetable or fruit dishes prepared by their own labours will seem especially delicious to your little ones.

An even better idea is to get into vegetable gardening with your kids. If they see the wonders of a growing tomato, what’s not to like?

Keep Fruits and Veggies Very Accessible

Kids are usually hungry and tend to choose food they can grab on the go. Keep bananas, apples, and other fruit in a bowl within kids’ easy reach. Keep celery and carrot sticks very visible and accessible on the refrigerator shelf. Maybe the added sight of a cheese dip may just entice them to choose these veggie stick snacks over a cookie, which by the way, shouldn’t even be seen if you want your fruit and veggie campaign to work.

Sneak The Spinach In

When all else fails because your kid happens to have an extremely stubborn I-hate-veggies streak (perhaps inherited...Tee hee!), it’s time to get sneaky. Hide the veggies in food by blending them into pasta sauce, soups, and even in cupcakes. Whole fruits can be transformed into yummy cold smoothies or sorbets. Use your creativity to get those much needed nutrients in while working on your kids’ vegetarian leanings.

Whatever you do, don’t throw in the towel. Patiently expose your children to healthy food without forcing them. It just takes some time for kids to develop the taste for eating a variety of fruits and vegetables.

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Making Lasting Lifestyle Changes for the New Year

It’s a brand new year, a bugle call to many for starting over or making some changes. If you are one of the 42% of Australians who make New Year’s resolutions each year, you are on the right track. You are galvanized right now for some change; but this time, let’s see how we can make those resolutions stick, shall we?

In order to do this, let us think of resolutions as lifestyle changes, instead of a short-term once-a-year project that usually peters out after a few months. Changing to good habits from bad is always a worthy goal, one that deserves to be a lifetime modification. In this case, take these steps when starting out on one of your resolutions:

Start Small

Losing weight, quitting smoking, starting an exercise program, and even spending more time with the family are resolutions that require discipline and time management. Moreover, these big goals require making significant lifestyle changes. For instance, losing weight, a resolution which tops the list of each New Year’s fervent promises, demands changes in one's eating, sleeping, and moving habits. For most people, these are radical changes that, lacking good planning and an iron will, are bound to be abandoned when the going gets even slightly tough.

The solution to achieving that coveted six-pack is to start small. Make a long-term plan. It may span the year or even beyond. Then write down specific goals. Break big ones into achievable monthly ones. Perhaps the first goal for the month may be to limit your sugar intake by ditching desserts and soda. By this small change alone, you could lose significant weight. When you’ve been rewarded by a dip in the scales, perhaps you could start taking brisk walks 20 minutes a day. The combination of limited sugar intake and increased movement should allow more weight reduction and improved energy levels. When you have got these habits down pat, try to aim for an early-to-bed-early-to-rise routine. All these changes should pave the way for setting up of more goals, achievements of which are simply layered on through time in order to arrive at the main goal--- a svelte, toned new you with a whole new set of healthy habits ingrained for life.

Limit Your To-Do’s

Don’t try to do too many goals at once. Changing habits for the better usually works when done incrementally; although, if you’re the type who needs a radical change to stop bad habits, then by all means take your big goal by the horns. Still, try to limit the number of goals. The best scenario is to concentrate on one goal or resolution because the most important thing here is not to make many promises but to achieve at least one good lifestyle change.

Be Realistic

Now this is a toughie. We want the whole pie but we often can only get a sliver. Making a New Year’s resolution to look and be as strong as Ronda Rousey by the end of the year is sure to get you to swear off resolutions forever. This kind of goal demands years of physical and mental training, dedication, and sacrifice, not something achievable in a year or on a mindset of simply wanting to lose weight and feel great.

Instead, be happy with a realistic sliver of a pie first and then work from there. If weight loss is your resolution, aim for a 30-pound-lighter-you who can run a 5k in decent time by the time December rolls in. Now this may be an achievable goal and one that will make a healthier, more self-assured version of you by year’s end. When the next year rolls by, perhaps you’ll be dipping your toes in triathlons, who knows? But first things first. Think about it.

Be Flexible

Nothing is perfect and so are situations in life. You are likely to fall off the good habit horse at one time or another. If you do, don’t beat yourself up about it or worse, quit while you are already gaining some ground. Just get back on the saddle, and try again. You may be set back from your goal but a little perseverance will get you right back on track. This is why you set your goals and plan your actions with some flexibility. Because life gets in the way...many times.

Ask for Support

If you need help, ask. This seems so logical; yet, many people find it difficult to admit that they need help. Sometimes the stress of trying to meet your goal may, at certain points, prove to be overwhelming. Professional help, group support, or even just a good listening ear can make all the difference.

For this new year, think of committing to a better lifestyle, not just a particular aim of say, losing 20 pounds. Instead, incorporate this specific goal of losing this much weight into a broader lifestyle resolution of living healthier for the new year. Ultimately, you will come to expand your lifestyle resolution into the coming years to see a much healthier, stronger, and better person in you.

Elements of Wellness