One of the biggest challenges parents, caregivers and teachers face is getting children to eat healthy. As babies, my kids ate almost everything: peas, carrots, beats, strawberries, green beans, sweet potatoes…. Why then is feeding them nutritiously so difficult when they get a little older?
Think hotdogs, French fries, prepackaged cracker/cheese/meat lunches and fast food. Truth is, children do what we do. We eat on the run, we eat convenience foods and we eat for emotional needs more than hunger a lot of the time. It’s not that any one of the food types mentioned is horrible….well, let’s just say not completely without merit, but we tend to make these the building blocks of our eating habits instead of once in awhile treats.
We are born with coding to know what our body needs. And try as we might, we don’t ever obliterate that intuitive sense. If you’ve ever just absolutely craved a salad or needed a hamburger you know what I’m talking about. You body sends messages all the time about the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that you need. We coat that system with preservatives and sugar creating a scenario where we think we need preservatives and sugar, but listen a little deeper and you will find that you really want an apple with peanut putter, a vibrant salad, pasta with veggies….even that protein and iron rich hamburger on occasion.
Help your children hold on to their internal menu guide by having them play a conscious role in food choices. Let them help you pick out fruits and veggies at the supermarket. Make a menu with food choices that are easy for you to prepare and have them check off a food from each group (bread, fruit/veggie, protein and beverage) for breakfast and lunch. Lead them towards healthier snacks like nuts, dried fruit, crackers and cheese, a scoop of peanut butter, yogurt and granola etc.
Tell us about your favorite healthy snack?
Little Soul Productions 
Since we are living in a country that does not have easy access to the kind of “quick and healthy” snacks that I would probably rely heavily on in the US (i.e. natural fruit leather, hummous and baby carrots, organic granola bars, organic fruit, etc.), I have had to go back to basics. That means I cook 90% of our food from scratch (even pre-made soup-in-a-box that isn´t filled with unecessary extras can be hard to find here!).
Our favorite and most used quick snacks are rice cakes with cheese, or a for an extra special treat spread with honey; also fresh fruit, or a handful of mixed nut and raisins. Occasionally we also bake a quick bread together, like a healthy zucchini/banana bread with whole wheat flour and oats.
http://www.recipezaar.com/Healthy-Low-Fat-Banana-Zucchini-Bread-239027
We just keep it simple, and keep away from processed, prepackaged foods and that is what my 5.5 and 3 year know to eat.