Healthier Eating Habits for Our Kids

Anyone seen the "Little King" Burger King commercial? Burger King is joining in on the challenge of getting kids to eat healthier by introducing apple fries - fresh apples cut into the shape of french fries. I think this is great. Just because you have that occasional, time- saving fast food meal doesn't mean you and your kids can't choose healthier foods.

Eating healthy is something we all want our kids to value, but sometimes it's hard to do. Sometimes giving in to the tantrum for a hot dog and fries is easier and less time consuming than preparing a healthy meal that your kids turn up their noses at.

So, what do we do?

1. Try Burger King's idea with the apple fries - a healthy food cut into a fun shape might just do the trick.
2. For fresh veggies try cutting different, bright colored veggies into sticks(ie: carrots;celery; peppers-red,green,oryellow;etc.) and set up an assembly of different dips to try- ranch, cheese,etc.
3. Use sauces or casseroles to camouflage vegetables. It might sound sneaky, but all's fair when you're trying to get your kids to eat healthy. Plus, you can gradually cut back on the sauce or add more veggies to the casserole as they get used to eating them.
4. Let your kids help cook. They can stir or mix things, shred lettuce for salads, assemble kabobs,the list goes on. Depending on your child's age, they can even help chop veggies for the meal. There are lots of kid safe cooking utensils you can buy to help teach your child the proper way to prepare healthy foods.

Here's a couple of sites you can take a look at for more info:

YUM-O!
This one is my favorite. It's founded by Rachael Ray and gives recipes - some submitted by moms and kids, new ideas to get kids excited about eating healthy, and even a link to shop for those kid friendly cooking utensils.

Kids Health
This one gives advice on nutrition, fitness, and lots more regarding kids' health. They even have a section giving tips about cooking with kids that is divided by age group (preschooler and school age).