Healthy food for kids – you can make it happen!

A parent could be forgiven for thinking that the idea of healthy food for kids is a contradiction in terms. Is there any such thing? Advertisements on television, on the Internet, in magazines and newspapers (anyone remember those?) make it seem like the only thing a kid will eat these days has to come either from a fast-food drive-through or from a box. Surrounded and dominated by the media and pressured by peers, kids often get short shrift from frazzled over-worked parents trying to just get food of some sort into them, while also hoping to keep them from becoming statistics on the overweight kids graphs. Granted, convenience is a big part of the whole business of eating these days, but you can start to accept the idea of healthy food for kids if you are willing to put a bit of effort into the process.

A pretty Good Idea!!!

We all have a pretty good idea of what is not healthy food for our kids, but let’s review anyway. Fast foods are generally not healthy, even if you really believe that a side salad with fat-free dressing is going to cancel out all the bad stuff. Kids especially tend to eat the very worst of fast food, and despite attempts to add items such as apple slices and fruit and yogurt, mostly they aren’t buying it. Fast foods have too much fat, too much sodium, too much processed flour and sugar, and so on. Processed foods are not healthy – anything that has a list of ingredients as long as your arm and comes in a box probably isn’t good for your kids. Most items in the snack aisle of the grocery aren’t healthy – too much salt, processed flour, sugar, and fat. Of course soft drinks of all kinds, either diet or sugared, are out, but those sugar-filled juice drinks and even those other beverages that claim to be filled with vitamins and supplements are also on the bad food list. And don’t even get me started on energy drinks!

What is healthy food for kids?

Well, it’s pretty much the opposite of the bad ones listed above. Food made at home from scratch using fresh ingredients is a start. Organically-grown produce and meat from animals raised without antibiotics or other inducements to growth are increasingly available at the local grocery. Real fruit juices and good old water are wonderful beverages, and snacks such as home-made popcorn and organic potato and tortilla chips can be part of a diet of healthy food for kids. All of which is well and good, but how do you get them to eat all this great stuff?

A good approach is…?

Making such a major change is to take it slow. Start by making a list of your kids’ favorite foods (and drinks) and of yours as well – after all, you’re all going to be eating healthy. Do some thinking and some research and begin to take a favorite meal or item and make it healthy. Fast food burgers can be reproduced in a slower way at home with better ingredients, and with better choices available for trimmings and condiments. If there is a favorite box food on the list – hamburger helper or macaroni and cheese from a bag or a box – try to make it from scratch and see if it can hit the spot. Soft drink addictions are notoriously hard to kick, but start by finding juices or teas that the kids like. Then slowly introduce a new food once in awhile – the stealth method can be effective. A vegetable that hasn’t been on your table before can be dressed up and given the cheese-sauce treatment – it’s better than no vegetable at all.

Getting your children involved…

In thinking about healthy food for kids will be a big part of your efforts. Older children can help with the favorites list and contribute ideas about ways to make these foods healthier. Using a diary or journal to keep track of everyone’s food intake can help and involve kids of all ages. Meal preparation and cooking should be a family affair whenever possible, and having the kids participate in everything from making the grocery list to serving the food will go a long way towards getting them to eat the result. After all, healthy food for kids is not just an idea, it’s a real requirement for a long and happy life.