6 Painless Ways to get Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

If you are dealing with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity or heart disease the last thing in the whole world you want is to have your children in the same predicament in a few years, but let’s face it, if things don’t change that is a very, very real possibility.

It’s very wise to get the kids on board with your healthy eating lifestyle as soon as possible, but how?

You are going to have to throw away a lot of what your parents tried with you. The world is a much different place now and those outdated tactics will do nothing but fail. Gone are the days of fussing and fighting and sitting at the dinner table until midnight or until you clean your plate, whichever comes first. You need your babies to know and understand what healthy eating is with experiences they will keep with them for the rest of their lives, instead of nasty food nightmares.

So, here we go.

Don’t declare your healthy eating intentions.

Don’t tell them that you’re going to switch them to a more healthy diet. If they are old enough to understand your prediabetes, it’s ok to let them know that YOU are going to be eating healthier so that you can live a longer and better quality life, but let them draw the conclusion about their involvement themselves.

Definitely don’t gather up all their junk food in the house and trash it like the wire hangers on Mommie Dearest. Slowly reduce the amount of junky snacks (chips, cookies, store-bought cakes and pies, and candy) by replacing them with less and less each time you shop. For example, if you normally buy 2 bags of chips every week, next week buy only 1. You may or may not be able to completely eliminate all the junk right away, but just keep up this strategy. It works! There’s one exception though. Soda. Get rid of all the soda in your house and don’t buy (for the house) it again.

Vegetables are important but start with fruit.

First and foremost, do not worry about the sugar content of whole fruit and its effect on prediabetes. (For full-blown type 2 diabetes sufferers, please consult your medical professional first). Whole fruit contains high levels of fiber, which prevents drastic spikes in blood glucose.

“Dr. David Ludwig, the director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that sugar consumed in fruit is not linked to any adverse health effects, no matter how much you eat. In a recent perspective piece in The Journal of the American Medical Association, he cited observational studies that showed that increased fruit consumption is tied to lower body weight and a lower risk of obesity-associated diseases.”

~Sophie Egan, NYT, The Case for Eating Fruit 

Buy fruit, eat fruit, and always have some fruit available in your kitchen. In fact, just having a fruit bowl on your kitchen table or countertop greatly increases the likelihood of it being eaten by you and your family. Keep in mind, that some fruits may age faster out at room temperature, so only put a few to be eating within a couple of days (if they even last that long without being devoured)  and keep the rest in the fridge. Summer fruits like plums, peaches, nectarines and in some cases cherries are tastier when left at room temperature anyway.

Do not nag the children to eat fruit. Trust me, that will surely backfire. Instead, the best way to encourage them to eat fruit is to not say a word, and eat fruit yourself. Trust me, even if it doesn’t work the first day, eventually it will.

Help the babies love vegetables.

For younger children toddler to 5 or 6, take them on food adventures with vegetables but don’t mention the vegetables. For example, tell them you want to experiment with grilling recipes. Buy some meat, fish, fruits or whatever you normally grill and also some vegetables. Direct their attention to helping you with a marinade or glaze. Then when everything is done, encourage them to try everything that you grilled so they can give you feedback on how well the marinade or glaze worked with each item.

There are very few vegetables that can’t be enjoyed raw. Be creative and cut up some colorful vegetables for yourself and maybe some guests. Make some homemade dips, and if curiosity befalls them, let the children help you or make it themselves. Don’t let them do the tasting with fingers or a fork, require that they test it on the actual vegetables. Ask them, does it need more pepper? More lemon juice, and after each change let them taste it again.

For older kids, enlist their help with seeking out new recipes that include a vegetable or several that you or they choose. For example, maybe you want to find a recipe that has spinach and mushrooms. If they’re not interested, don’t fuss. Just do it yourself and maybe they will become interested but if not, don’t worry.

Do not become a short order cook, preparing separate meals for them and you. You’re eating as a family and eating the same things. But still, don’t make a big deal and give them something to rebel against. They’ll need to understand that because of the state of your health, this will be the new normal. And remember, throughout this whole process you will need to do less talking and more doing.

Cook at home.

If you’re a foodie this won’t be as much of a challenge for you as for those who aren’t. But anybody can BECOME a healthy foodie if they want to. So if you’re just in the learning process, take the kids with you!

Task them with picking out the recipes, but guide them on how to balance a meal. Make it fun and exciting by choosing dishes from different countries. Forget those boring-ass healthy eating cookbooks. Go for regional ones that don’t necessarily mention “health” in the title. One of my favorite cookbooks of all time is “Mediterranean, Food of the Sun” by Clark & Farrow. My absolute favorite online recipe source is Immaculate Bites: Easy to Make African & Caribbean Recipes.

If you’re even more adventurous, learn to cook healthy dishes without recipes. I’ll be focusing much more on this in the coming months on my blog. But my favorite non-recipe cooking resource is The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Page and Dorenburg. It’s somewhat Western World centric but it’s still helpful.

Make home cooked meals more convenient.

Sometimes you are just gonna have hectic days. But some are planned, like parent-teacher night or after sports or arts activities. You can avoid swinging by the fast food drive thru by preparing a simple dish a day or two before and have it waiting in the fridge just to be heated when you get home. Try to make these dishes a treat, so they will have a chance competing against Happy Meals. Everybody has a signature spaghetti dish, right?

Change your mindset, change the children’s mindset.

• Never use food as a bribe or reward. 
• Don’t try to force feed your children.
• Make sure that healthy eating doesn’t become a stressful experience.
• Flavor first! Nobody’s gonna eat nasty ass food, even if it’s supposed to be healthy.
• Don’t allow others to ruin your fun. What works for them might not work for you and vice-versa.
• Get out of your comfort zone.

And finally, and most importantly, just because you have your health at stake and front of mind doesn’t mean that healthy eating should be all clinical and unfeeling. What hasn’t changed is that

Food is Love

Food is Life

Food is Nourishment

Food brings Joy

~LifeBliss Lisa

Use this time as an opportunity to make your kitchen and home life what you’ve always wanted it to be. Bring back some family traditions and create even more. 

All this sounds easy but I’m not gonna lie, it can be complicated. You can get help by first signing up for a free strategy call with me to map out a way forward to bringing back your health, your family’s health and joy into your kitchen.