Are you being a healthy role model for your children?
I believe in an instantaneous society. A society where conveniency is priority over being healthy. Driving by the fast food restaurant to pick up a few dollar items off of the menu will provide more time for you once you get home and settled for the day. Think about the money that we spend and if the food we are purchasing is really good for us. Now don’t get me wrong, I may swing by a restaurant for some fast food every so often but only because I have taste for it and not because it is more convenient for me.
I am not here to judge because I am one to tell you from experience how I use to be. My mom used to tell me, “when you know better, you do better”. The more information that I found out about healthy eating and how important it was to provide a healthy diet for my kids, the more I started to implement healthier eating habits. Change isn’t always fun and easy but most times, change is necessary. It’s hard when it’s only you and money may be low, not enough time to cook meals when you get home but believe me it’s doable. Listen to my podcast with the registered dietician about some steps we can take to create healthy habits for our family. Here are some tips that I implemented in my daily routine:
- Plan for weekly meals – Sunday was my prep day! I made pancakes, breakfast tacos and froze them for the kids to pull out from the freezer. Spaghetti sauce, taco meat, rice, a pot of beans and my favorite was soup.
- Involve the kids– there is no reason why you have to do everything all by yourself. Although it will take some patience in having the kids helping in the kitchen but in the long run, you will be glad that you did. Provide them the basics knowledge of cooking and if you don’t know, maybe the family can take an online class together in learning the fundamentals of cooking.
- Introduce new types of foods- we can get set in our ways and not want anything different than what we know but not being open minded to new things can make us miss out on wonderful foods. Introduce one new food a week or month but remember just because you don’t like a certain food, doesn’t mean your kids won’t.
- Keep snacks in the car – when I lived in Texas I kept a cooler in the trunk with water, carrots, yogurt, sandwiches and fruit. Having the cooler with snacks and drinks saved me from spending unnecessary money on fast foods or junk. If you know that you will be out at an event for most of the day then pack a lunch box or cooler with healthy snacks or sandwiches to hold you over until you are able to have a decent healthy meal. Please do not talk down on certain foods just because you don’t like them, be neutral and let your kids decide if they like the food on their own.
- Be creative! – there are so many resources online on how to make healthy snacks out of real food. I’ve seen people make gummy bears out of 100% juice, make your own granola bars, cookies and bread. Have your kids to pick out recipes that they are willing to try and see how much more they will start eating healthier foods.
Basically, we are the key to our family being healthy. We buy the food, bring it in the house and allow our kids to eat it. Now is the time to start being in control of what your kids are eating around you so that when they are not around you, maybe they will choose to make the healthier food choice. We have to change first and implement the changes into our daily family lives and the kids will then watch and see that we are serious.