Raising good eaters requires commitment and effort.
But with persistence, patience and a bit of trial and error, it can become second nature rather than a challenge and help bring positive changes to your family mealtimes and health!
These seven steps will help you plan healthy meals and create the most supportive environment to promote healthy eating in your children.
You can learn more about planning and creating happy mealtimes in my book Try it, you’ll like it: A parent’s guide to raising healthy, adventurous eaters.
Step 1: Plan a delicious, healthy meal.
There’s no doubt planning helps us make better food choices. It starts at the supermarket. By planning healthy, varied meals in advance, you’re more likely to stick to the plan, to eat better and to save money.
Choose a time every week to plan meals. Include everything you need on your shopping list and stick to it!
If you shop with your children and they are likely to coerce you into buying unhealthy foods, create rules and be strong while shopping. When possible, let them choose.
Step 2: Involve your children.
This is an opportunity to share quality time with your children, to show them you value their opinion, to help them acquire new skills and to have fun!
Children can look through cookbooks and cooking websites with you. Follow their lead and let them decide by giving them a few healthy options. This will help them make healthy choices.
Getting children involved in the cooking exposes them to new experiences and increases the chances they will accept more foods.
Step 3: Serve it beautifully.
Children have the same ability to appreciate delicious and appealing foods as adults have. Plating up food beautifully will inspire them to try new foods, or at least appreciate some of its qualities.
Use colourful ingredients, create difference shapes, sprinkle fresh herbs, stack it up, serve buffet style in the middle of the table, or ask your children for ideas on how to plate up!
Step 4: Create a positive family atmosphere.
Eating together as a family in a positive and engaging environment is the perfect opportunity for modelling and reinforcing desirable eating behaviours.
Limit distractions (turn off the TV!), eat as a family whenever you can. Try breaking the routine with a different table setting, a new recipe, candles, a picnic in the loungeroom, the list goes on!
Step 5: Talk about food.
By taking time to share experiences about the food, you allow your children to reinforce positive affirmations and to address food preferences.
Encourage kids to share their thoughts about the taste and texture of the food, or maybe even share a story about it. Talk about other occasions where you ate the food, or other ways this food could be cooked or presented.
Step 6: Reinforce and reward behaviour.
Let your child know what they are doing right. When your child is trying a new food or sitting nicely, give them praise and tell them you appreciate it.
Playing word games, telling stories or having nice conversations is also a reward in itself – your child will love having your full attention and is also more likely to maintain their good behaviour at mealtime. Sticker charts can also help shape and motivate new positive behaviours.
Step 7: Be consistent.
No matter how enthusiastic you are, you are likely to hit a few bumps along the road.
Have a contingency plan. the better prepared you are and the more decisions you make in advance when you are level-headed, the more chances you have of following through.
The more consistent you are, the more your child will know what to expect and the more they will be able to regulate their behaviour accordingly.
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