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Ready, set … crazy! Back-to-school is HERE, and that means rushing to get up, get dressed, pack backpacks, catch the bus, run to practice, finish homework, go to bed, and start the whirlwind over again. And again.
It’s a wonder that anyone remembers to eat anything at all!
How to feed the gang healthfully when everyone is on the go? Teamwork is the key to soccer wins and putting together nutritious meals and snacks that everyone loves. So what’s the trick for enlisting kids to help make good food choices? Maria G. Boosalis, PhD, MPH, RDN, LD, professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University’s College of Health and Wellness, has several easy-to-implement suggestions for busy parents:
Parents provide the options, kids make the choices.
No one enjoys dinner table power plays or arguing about treats. Dr. Boosalis likes to point parents to choosemyplate.gov to help parents compile an array of nutritious foods that they can then coach their children to mix and match.
- Plan to have an assortment of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and protein foods on hand to build balanced meals and snacks. Definitely include healthy dips like hummus because kids love to dip!
- Allow kids to build-their-own lunches by choosing one food from each category, and include a little treat to prevent the lunchroom trade of healthy foods for less than healthy items.
- Print this healthy snack tip sheet and let kids choose a new one to try each week.
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Mix old favorites with new foods.
We all know that it takes a few tries before we like new foods—as true for adults as for children! By introducing a new food alongside a familiar favorite, you can ease the transition and up the likelihood of at least a taste or two.
- Dr. Boosalis suggests that small healthy tweaks can be easier to implement than big overhauls—and small changes really do add up fast. If your kids enjoy pasta, try swapping in a whole grain pasta for 1/2 of the regular pasta in a spaghetti dinner. If they love ice cream, try also offering plain Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and a little whole grain cereal or granola for building a yogurt sundae.
Bonus points for creativity and fun!
- Colorful lunch boxes that keep foods from touching and dips dip-able make packing lunches a blast.
- Crunchy finger foods are just plain fun to eat. If your kids love trail mix, help them make a nutritious (and delicious) version with toasted nuts or seeds, whole grain cereals, favorite dried fruit, and a few dark mini-chocolate chips.
- Storing foods in labeled, clear glass containers - on shelves and in the fridge - help kids see what’s inside. Color-code the containers by fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein foods and make building balanced meals and snack choices even easier.
- If your kids enjoy the planning process, Dr. Boosalis suggests introducing them to the Choose MyPlate Plan. This interactive plan works for the entire family—where individual members can put in their numbers and then it maps out customized nutrition targets or daily goals for all the various food groups. It’s a fun way to learn about nutrients and how a day’s worth of food stacks up.
- There’s even a Kids’ State Dinner Cookbook with recipes written by children representing each state of the union. Alexandra’s Refreshing Watermelon Salad—the Minnesota entry—would be a perfect addition for dinner tonight.
Dr. Boosalis is a big fan of having and offering a variety of healthy choices from each of the food groups because it not only teaches kids to make healthier choices for a lifetime, it helps make healthy eating choices easier for all members of the family.
Go team, go!
Located in Bloomington, Northwestern Health Sciences University is a pioneer in integrative natural healthcare education, offering degree programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, nutrition, post-bac, pre-health/pre-med and B.S. completion. Their clinic is open to the public and provides chiropractic treatment, massage therapy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, and physical therapy.
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