Grow a Healthy Eater

Raising Healthy Children Wednesday

This exert is from my son's phonics lesson today.

Just like us, kids need to be taught how to eat healthy in our culture. It is normal to want to choose sugar over the vegetables, but it is very possible to grow a healthy eater.

Taydem's Story

Our oldest son began the first 3 1/2 years of his life eating the Standard American Diet (SAD). As a result of our sugar, grain, and processed food diet along with damaging spinal misalignments, he was sick often, at the doctor frequently and on various medications. However, with spinal corrective care and a whole food diet he is a different child! He, and his brothers, have not been to the doctor since or needed a medication. And because of their life style their risk for diabetes, cancer and any childhood sickness or disease is lower than ever. I tell you this to ENCOURAGE you. It is not always easy to grow healthy kids, you have to work at it, however, it is truly worth it.

It was a process to change our families eating habits. A process we have been working at for 3 years and continue to work at. I would like to share with you some tips to start your journey to the health of your families dreams!

1. Why do I want my kids to eat healthy?

It is vital to have a WHY. This will help you resist the drive through, the convenient junk food or handle an objection to a new food. For more on finding your big WHY read here.

2. Understand your plan

Healthy habits are formed through a process. From the beginning you must understand what you are working for. It is vital to know what are good nutritious choices and you should set goals for what nutrition guidelines you want your family to follow.

Our Plan: We will eat a wide variety of natural, whole, nutrient dense foods. Our animal products, fruits and vegetables will be organic and naturally raised whenever possible. We will consume healthy fats, a moderate amount of protein, and small amounts of grains. Our carbohydrates come mostly from raw vegetables and fruits.

3. Start Adding Good Foods

Begin offering and having healthy foods available for your kids. If their normal breakfast is a sugary cereal, add a piece of fruit with it. Or if the typical after school snack is chips, add guacamole. The more your kids eat the more they will want and crave those foods. Aim for adding 5 good foods a day.

4. Within Reach

Keep nourishing foods within reach. Fruit in a basket, veggies cut up, trail mix in a jar. Make healthy food quick and easy to grab. Stock your kitchen for success.

5. Educate Your Children

As you learn more about why good nutrition is important and the problems with processed and altered foods, share this with your children. Avoid teaching them good nutrition is only for weight loss but rather that good nutrition will help prevent them from getting sick or a disease. Be honest and relate to them at their level. Let them know that eating healthy will help them be healthier so they are able to do the things they enjoy to the best of their ability!

Teach your kids how to make healthy choices so they can help you fill your cart and plate with nourishing foods. If they can read, let them read the ingredient labels as you shop. Remember you will not always be there to watch over them, give them the tools they need to make healthy choices when you are not around.

6. Replacing Unhealthy Food with Healthy Food

There are healthier versions to every junk food. You can look at you local health food store or make things at home using better ingredients. Replace white pasta with whole wheat pasta, replace white rice with brown, look for chips and cookies that use natural ingredients and no hydrogenated oils. My family loves pizza! Now instead of ordering out we make our own with whole wheat crust, organic tomato sauce, grass fed beef, raw cheese and fresh vegetables. See the Kids page for more suggestions.

7. Reduce or Eliminate Processed Foods

Work at this one. It took us over a year to get to the point where we did not stock any processed foods at home. With diligence in adding healthy foods and replacing processed foods your kids will get to the point when they rather have whole real foods.

8. Plan Vacation Meals

Your kids are going to be exposed treats and snack you may not approve of. If you know that there will be cake and ice cream at a birthday party this weekend, avoid the desert during the week. Save treats for special occasions.

What tips do you have for Growing Healthy Kids?