Fix Your Kids' Bad Eating Habits (And Your Own!)

A lot of parents feel powerless to change their kids’ bad eating habits, and most kids have a biological craving for sweet, salt, and fat (and so do adults). And many times, kids get a hankering for fast food, candy, soda and other foods they taste at school, parties, or even in a second-hand way by watching television commercials.

Frozen meals, take-out, and chain restaurants can seem convenient, but the sooner you start serving easy, healthy, and delicious homemade meals, the easier it is to set kids up with cravings for healthy stuff that will stick with them for a lifetime.

1 | Monkey See, Monkey Do

Many kids eat “by example” so if you want your kids to eat more vegetables, be certain that you’re putting them on your own plate as well! Try slowly integrating more vegetables directly into your meals. Good recipes to start are one-pot meals that family and kids alike love like bolognese that has grated carrot and broccoli in the sauce and my chicken enchiladas that have spinach tucked into the tortillas.

2 | The Ideal Intro

The best way to introduce new foods, is placing it on the dinner tables along with other, more familiar dishes that kids love. “I’ll have what she’s having” many people say if someone else has a good-looking dish. Sometimes it works for kids too, so try taking a bite of the new dish before offering it around the table.

3 | It’s All In A Name

When I worked at a private chef, I got tired of making just plain old chicken fingers for the kids, so I cut up chunks of Tilapia and salmon, breaded them and mixed them in with chicken nuggets. The kids loved them and called the salmon chunks “pink chicken fingers”. They’ve been eating fish every since!