Encouraging and introducing healthy eating habits for kids starts early! It's not always easy, but these tips might help you during the next meal time without forcing them!
This is a sponsored post with Stonyfield®OrganicKids®. Thanks for supporting the brands I love!
Every day, I have a magical wish list of things that would make life a little easier: a robotic laundry folder, a floor that scrubs itself, a dishwasher that magically rinses stuck-on leftovers, and a drawer that provides me with all the missing sock pairs. I know, I'm dreaming.
Let's talk about something I do have control over: getting kids to eat more fruits and veggies! Sounds crazy, right? Back in the day, trying to get my toddlers to eat anything healthy was like pulling teeth. Throughout the years, as I've journeyed into parenthood, I've learned a few effective things to not only make mealtimes easier, but also to help maintain a healthy diet.
What you don't want to do is try to create healthy eating habits by bribing and pressuring. Here's a tip: serve a meal that includes one thing that you know your kid will like. When what you serve is the only thing they'll get, then that's it. If they don't want it, save their plate for a little later. If they say they are hungry, warm up the plate again! Changing their mindset to eating food that just happen to be healthier is a big first step!
My toddler absolutely loves Stonyfield® Organic Whole Milk Yogurt Pouches, especially Apple Cinnamon Sweet Potato Whole Milk Pouch and Blueberry Apple Carrot Whole Milk Pouch varieties, so I try to incorporate that anytime I can. They have 35% less sugar than the leading kids' yogurt and are also a great source of Vitamin D. They are great breakfast and lunch options to present my toddler, who typically refuses vegetables. Stonyfield is USDA Organic and non-GMO project verified, and convenient as an on-the-go organic snack!
Keeping a neutral attitude about what they eat or how much they eat is key. Don't bribe them with sweet treats or other rewards for eating! If you keep presenting kids with a healthy diet, they'll learn to eat more fruits and vegetables. Changing their mindset to eating things they like that happen to be healthy should be the goal during every meal.
As parents, we have a huge, daunting responsibility in molding our kids to become healthy adults. I know how hard it is at the end of the day to be able to put more effort into teaching these habits to our kids. There are many days I fail because meal time can be utterly exhausting, physically and mentally. What I have found is that by implementing one small change a week reaps huge benefits later. So keep trying!
