If you’re anything like me, you have probably worried about your kids getting all the nutrients they need to thrive and grow. How do I get them to eat healthy stuff? I’ve actually been surprised by some of the things they will eat, all I had to do was present it to them. Like peas for instance. I don’t like peas, so I never bought them until they were called for in a recipe and my kids ate every last one. Who knew?
I like formulas and structure, so I made one for their lunches. Breakfast is usually a light meal, fruit or scrambled eggs or something such. Dinner they eat whatever my husband and I eat, which is sometimes a big hit and sometimes not so much. Lunch is the meal focused around them and their likes. So of course I hyper focused on it for a while and panicked about their food groups. I had to come up with something that put my mind at ease.
They get a protein, a fruit, a vegetable, a grain, and on occasion a sweet with every lunch. Dairy is usually covered in one of these categories, as would be fats and carbohydrates. Sugars are in lots of other foods we eat so I don’t think they need their own special place on the plate. This covers the food groups pretty thoroughly. We don’t eat exclusively organic, or gluten free food, or stick to a strict diet. For everything in our kitchen I try to buy as close to the source as possible. For instance I only buy meat sourced from farms in the state I live in. This is pretty easy for meat and produce, but I do also buy noodles and canned tomato sauce. I’m nowhere near the point of making my own. We try, but again, we are not a perfect family.
The protein is generally the main course so to speak. Be it a grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets, or a bean burrito. This of course has a lot of variety and options that can change according to what they are into eating at the time. I have not had a problem yet (big YET here) with my children insisting on one specific meal and refusing any other food. Right now, my oldest loves alphabet soup, so we eat that more often. A few weeks ago it was hotdogs. So we mix it up, and they get the variety.
Fruit is pretty much straightforward. I give them a handful of fruit with their meal. I let them pick out the fruit at the grocery store, and they always eat all of their fruit portions. This will change by season and what is available. Bananas though are a staple. We always must have bananas.
Now vegetables are a big variable I am more lenient with. By that I mean I let things slide by as “veggies” when I know they really aren’t. Potatoes are not actually a vegetable, neither are cheese sticks or tomatoes. Corn is a veggie so popcorn totally counts right? My son likes black olives and pickles. So yes, I will serve him cheese stuffed olives and he loves them. They also love hard boiled eggs, and I will serve them an egg with their lunch even though an egg would be a protein. Some actual vegetables they like are peas, like I said before, carrots, green beans, and edamame. My oldest likes peppers and I will feed him those jalapeno poppers, which probably isn’t the healthiest way to eat jalapenos but it’s an excuse for me to eat them too. I still haven’t gotten them to eat broccoli though, so we are definitely a work in progress.
Grains usually come in the form of crackers. Sometimes cornbread or toast, maybe a roll. Nothing fancy by any means.
Now sweets are only for special occasions. Those occasions are I suddenly got an urge to bake 😜 I’ll make cupcakes or cookies and they’ll get a dessert with their lunch for a couple days. This isn’t often as I find sweets addicting, unnecessary and unhealthy. But even I can’t resist cupcakes all the time.
So an example meal I’d serve my children would look something like this: mac & cheese, strawberries, a whole grain roll, green beans, and if it was the occasion, a chocolate cupcake cut in half.
This big thing here is variety and exposure. Keep giving them lots of healthy options, even if they seem stuck on one food. So if your child is stuck on eating alphabet soup every day, serve their soup with some green beans and grapes. Try to get them involved in the food process. Allow them to choose the fruit they want, or the crackers they want. You might be surprised by what your kids will enjoy eating, I know I was!
Dose of Sunshine 