11 Tips For Your Children To Eat Better
It is important that you apply the following tips so that your children eat better. In this way you will guarantee optimal development and growth. In addition, a proper diet reduces the risk of diseases in the medium and long term, so you will be watching over their health.
11 Tips for your children to eat better
1. Establish precise schedules.
Children need to eat every three to four hours, so ideally meals are divided into three main dishes, two snacks, and a good amount of fluids a day. So that you don’t have to cook many times a day or feed them unhealthy meals, keep fresh frozen foods that they can eat at the times you set.
2. Make an eating plan.
Thinking of a menu for a whole week is a bit exhausting, so in the beginning you can choose to plan two or three days at a time. When planning your recipes, keep in mind that each serving is balanced with a whole grain, fruits or vegetables, and a source of protein. The fiber intake is usually deficient. It is an essential nutrient, which ensures the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, according to a study published in the “International Journal of Clinical Practice”.
3. Serve the same foods for the whole family.
Something that is seen quite often is that those who cook at home prepare different meals to satisfy everyone’s tastes. To avoid that big extra burden, prepare the same menu from the beginning. Try to cook foods that everyone can enjoy and that do not have contraindications with health conditions.
4. Enter new products in the menu.
The vast majority of children are very suspicious when it comes to trying a different food and they get ideas of the flavors just by looking at them. Include these ingredients in small proportions in your preparations; too abrupt changes can cause rejection of the food.
5. Involve your children when cooking.
If your children participate in preparing meals, they will be much more interested in consuming the foods that you have prepared together. Take them to the store to buy the ingredients, let them help you cook and decorate your dishes to make them more attractive.
6. Avoid fast foods.
Remember that the responsibility for choosing food is in your hands, not your children’s. Choose meals prepared at home, without additives and with natural and fresh foods over fast food. If they learn to eat healthily from a young age, they will maintain the habit of eating well. Remember that frequent consumption of fast food poses a health risk in the medium term, as stated in an article published in the journal “BMC Public Health”.
7. Treat them sporadically.
Foods such as vegetables and proteins are foods that should always be present in their dishes, but there are other preparations that you can give them occasionally, such as sweets or cookies. Let them choose these foods when they eat out so they eat them infrequently.
8. Present food in a fun way.
Especially when your children start to eat by themselves, decorate the plates in a funny way, give food names or any trick that makes dinner time fun. If you have fun cooking, they can have fun while they eat what you make.
9. Make sure that breakfast is a very complete meal.
The highest amount of fiber that you include in your daily menu, should be put in breakfast. Choose foods like high-fiber cereals and a fruit or yogurt to start the day with a considerable source of nutrients that give them energy for their activities.
10. Be a model of good nutrition.
If you’re constantly dieting or having messy eating habits, children will grow up thinking it’s normal. They usually eat what they see you eat; Show them that it’s good to try different foods and that there are healthy habits to follow for good health.
11. Make homemade sauces and dressings to disguise the vegetables.
The most convenient food group for your children and, in turn, the one they prefer the least is that of fruits and vegetables. If they’re not easily eaten, come up with a sauce or dressing that you can use to go with them and vary the flavors a bit. Avoid consuming dressings with preservatives and artificial substances that are harmful to your body.
A varied diet to improve health
When planning a meal plan for your child, one of the most important things is variety. It is necessary for the child to consume foods of different kinds, trying to minimize rejection of fruits and vegetables.
A good food education will reduce the risk of aversions in the future. This will lead to good dietary habits that will improve your health in the medium and long term.
