Hi, I am Claire Turnbull, Nutritionist for Healthy Food Guide Magazine. Today I am here to share some fabulous tips with you which will help your children establish healthy eating habits.
- Firstly, be adventurous! One of the best gifts you can give your kids is training their taste buds to enjoy many different flavours - not just relying on sugar, fat and salt. Offer them new things to try new things and praise them when they eat new foods.
- Encourage your children to eat 5 or more different coloured foods each day. Use a variety of fruit and vegetables and try keeping a record of the colours they eat on a chart with different coloured stickers.
- Another great idea is planting a veggie garden or growing your own herbs? This is a great way to show children where food really comes from!
- Keeping kids well hydrated is really important to help them concentrate and for their bodies to work well. Water and low fat milk are great choices. If they enjoy juice, make sure it is diluted down with water.
- Breakfast is really important for children. Create a routine with breakfast and if it is a struggle to get cereal or toast down, try a banana or yogurt.
- Encourage your children to eat at the table. It not only reduces snacking, grazing and the risk of choking, but it also teaches social skills such as table manners, how to use a knife and fork, how to talk over a meal and patience to wait while others finish.
- Another great tip is to get children involve in cooking not only teaches them a fantastic skill, but may also help them to become more adventurous eaters. Encourage making savoury foods not just sweet things so they know what cooking isn’t just about biscuits and muffins. Try homemade pizza, meatballs and spaghetti, lasagna or mini pikelets.
- Finally, when it comes to healthy habits, don’t forget being active! Regular exercise, whether it’s organised sport or active play, is a vitally important habit to build into your children. It keeps them fit, builds strong bones, tones up muscles, burns excess energy and helps them maintain a healthy weight. Try going with your kids, walking them to school whenever possible, limiting TV and computer time or even taking them skating, rock-climbing or tramping!
