How To Make Healthy Eating Fun For Your Kids

 As an adult, you’re likely well aware of the importance of following a healthy diet. After all, healthy eating can: 

• Improve your mental wellbeing 

• Help you to maintain a healthy weight

• Ensure you have enough energy to get through the day

• Improve your sleeping patterns 

• Boost your immune system, helping to prevent and fight off sickness

However, this is knowledge that you have acquired over time - which means it's something you are responsible for passing on to your children. After all, the earlier they learn about and understand the importance of healthy eating, the easier it will be for them to adapt to this lifestyle.

Of course, the biggest challenge associated with healthy eating for children is that it often does not seem as ‘fun’ or exciting as other options. For example, children are less likely to reach for the fruit bowl if they also see candy on the counter. 

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

With that in mind, here are some simple ways to make healthy eating more fun when looking after your children's health! 

• Lead by example. Your children pay more attention to your habits and behaviors than you may think - and will often try to emulate them in an attempt to be more like their parents. As a result, one of the easiest ways to get them invested in healthy living is to lead by example and ensure that you also improve your daily diet too!

• Find ‘fun’ ways to serve fruit and veg. Experts recommend that we should have five servings of fruit and veg in a single day - something which many children will try to avoid. However, by finding fun and inventive ways to serve up fruit and veg, you can gradually encourage them to up their consumption of these foods. For example, if they don’t like the texture of certain fruits but love the taste, you could make a puree. You can find out how to puree strawberries here. 

• Cook together. Cooking or trying out new recipes can be a lot of fun for the whole family, as it allows you to spend quality time together away from distractions such as TV screens and mobile phones. It can also be a great way to help children learn how to cook for themselves too, which is a skill that will never go to waste, especially as they get older. 

• Remember, healthy food = plain food. There’s a common misconception floating around that suggests following a clean, healthy diet means that you have to eat bland or flavorless food - but this simply isn’t the case. In fact, healthy food can be just as tasty as unhealthy food. You simply have to find ways to add flavour to your diet. For example, instead of boiling your vegetables, roast them with garlic and other types of seasoning - not only will they taste better, but they’ll also have a nicer, crunchier texture! 

• Make room for treats. Healthy eating is about enjoying things in moderation, which means you should also enjoy some treats from time to time - and teach your children to do the same. For example, you could have a weekly movie night where you load up on snacks such as candy and popcorn or order a take-out. This is a great way to show children that healthy eating is about finding a balance rather than viewing it as a way to deprive themselves of something they enjoy.

• Let them choose what to eat. Giving children a few different options on what they’d like to eat for lunch or dinner is another great way to make healthy eating more fun. This is because they feel they have a little more agency and, as a result, are less likely to suddenly decide they “don’t like” what you have cooked. For example, you may want to give them a recipe book and let them flip through it until they find something they like, or give them a list of dishes to choose from based on what ingredients you have in your home already.

• Try a range of recipes. While you may already have a list of tried and tested recipes that each of your family love, a varied diet is often the healthiest. This is because it is often the most balanced. It can also help prevent boredom! As a result, you should try out at least one new recipe each week so you can add a new dish to your roster. You should also ensure that you try foods from different cultures too, as this is a great way to discover a new family-favorite recipe that you may not otherwise have thought to try.