You will understand the importance of healthy eating of course.
When you eat foods that are nutritionally good for you, your chances of a longer and healthier life will be increased, and you will have more energy on a daily basis too. This is why you might spend a lot of time obsessing over food, as you will want to make sure you’re eating everything you should be.
But what about your kids? Are they are as mindful about healthy eating as you are? Or do you regularly catch them scoffing on a bag of potato chips instead of the apples you have carefully arranged in the fruit bowl? If it’s the latter, it might be time to pass on a few healthy eating habits to them. Here are a few examples.
#1: Eat five colors a day
A balance of fruits and vegetables can help us meet our ‘five a day’ targets. You can apply this to color types, as different colored foods have different health effects. Of course, your kids will try to convince you they are already meeting color targets with a bag of Skittles! However, you can tell them there are different ways to eat the rainbow!
Check out these colored foods for some positive examples and encourage your kids to eat at least five of these a day. If you have young children in your house, you could incentivize them with the corresponding colored sticker for each colored food they eat. You could then give them a reward, but preferably something healthy and not a bag of Skittles!
#2: Eat breakfast
Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day as it can give us the energy to get through our daily schedule. For your kids, breakfast will power them up for what they need to do at school, both giving them energy and feeding their brains for better academic results.
So, don’t let your kids skip breakfast, and be mindful of your own actions too. Even if you’re in a rush, you should set a good example and eat something that will benefit you. Check out these healthy breakfast ideas for both you and your family and set everyone’s alarms so they all have time to eat in the morning.
#3: Eat a nutritious lunch
You can help in this regard as you can make healthy packed lunches that your kids can take to school. But if you have teens who fend for themselves at lunchtime, it might be that they need reminding to eat healthily. Point them towards the direction of healthy food shops that are near their school and warn them about the dangers of fatty fast foods. Or make a packed lunch for them anyway, as they might still eat it if it’s not too child-friendly.
#4: Only eat when you need to
Many of us eat because we’re bored and looking for something to do. We also tend to eat snacks when we’re watching TV and playing video games. You might be guilty of this eating habit and your kids might be too! However, you should remind yourself and your kids that they don’t need to eat when they’re not hungry. Not only will eating between meals spoil their dinners but if they turn to unhealthy snack foods, it can also harm their health.
So, remind them to listen to their bellies and tell them that just because there is food in the house or at the mall, they don’t need to eat if their belly isn’t rumbling.
These are just a few good eating habits – you can probably think of others – so pass them down to your kids to ensure they don’t fall into bad eating habits instead.
