Preparing healthy recipes for kids is a daily struggle many parents face. You’ll need to consider the eating habits, food preference, and taste of each child. However, the payoff in making your kids eat healthy foods is when you finally see them loving what they are eating and appreciating wholesome food. To make this come true for you, here are some tips and ideas on how to get your kids on board with the food you make plus a few quick and simple recipes you can prepare for them!
Tips on How to Make Healthy Recipes for Kids
1. Remove Junk Foods
Eliminating junk foods at home will make it easier for you to divert your kids’ attention to healthy foods instead. It’s easy for kids to get hooked on the attractive packaging and the convenience of it all, so you have to nip it in the bud. Clean out your pantry and weed these items out of your grocery list gradually or slowly wean them off by limiting their intake.
2. Make a Schedule
It is ideal for children to eat every 3 to 4 hours, that is, 3 meals, 2 snacks, and lots of water, juice, and milk. This way, your kids’ diet will be balanced and they’ll be less cranky because they are always full! You can put a cooler stocked with some water, yogurt, pretzels, and carrots in your car whenever you’re traveling with them to make sure you’re not caught empty-handed.
3. Meal Plan
Planning healthy recipes for kids every week can be daunting, so start small by even prepping for just two to three days in advance. Have a set of go-to recipes with pasta, rice, or whole-grain bread, some veggies like broccoli, plus beans, cheese, and lean meat for protein.
4. Slowly Introduce Healthy Recipes for Picky Eaters
It’s natural for kids to be resistant to new foods, so you need to introduce healthy foods slowly to them. You can do it with the help of some encouragement they’ll understand like “Moana eats beans because she needs to be strong enough to find Maui!” You might be surprised at how quickly your kids gobble up their dinner!
5. Dip It
Most kids don’t like eating veggies and if your kids are no different, try experimenting with cut-up veggies and dips. You can serve carrot sticks or broccoli florets with some ranch dressing or cheese sauce!
6. Consider Soy
Soy milk is a great, nutrient-rich substitute for dairy milk. You can try giving soy instead of regular milk or try mixing it into oatmeal.
7. Allow Treats Sometimes
It’s not a bad idea to allow your kids to have some sweets sometimes. Letting them consume a moderate amount of candies at times will not deprive their cravings for less healthy snacks. And during these times, you can take the opportunity of educating them that it’s okay to have some treats sometimes as long as they’ll eat healthy foods more often.
8. Get Them Involved in Preparing Their Food
Enlist your kids’ help in preparing and choosing the healthy ingredients for their food! This will make them more interested in eating what you made for them. You can bring them with you to the grocery or farmer’s market, so they can see all the wonderful colors and interesting shapes they’ll be eating!
9. Become a Role Model
This is the most important thing in making healthy recipes for kids! Little ones love copying what their parents do, so show them you practice what you preach. It makes it so much easier to reinforce the message that healthy food is good for you!
What are Good Healthy Recipes for Kids?
Sticking to the balanced diet is good for your kids but making it creative and fun will make it more enticing to them! Why not try bubble and squeak Shepherd’s pie? This recipe is not only packed with healthy vegetables but also very delightful. It’s very easy and quick to make too! You can keep some extra and freeze it for those nights you don’t feel like cooking. You’ll only need to reheat the dish and you’re all set!
If you prefer preparing a soup for your kids, you can have immune-boosting chicken wild rice soup. It’s also simple and quick to make! Turmeric makes this recipe immune system-boosting and adds color to the soup. Your kids will surely have fun eating this colorful and flavorful meal!
Watch this video from Care.com for more recipes your kids and the whole family can enjoy:
It makes your life easier if you effectively prepare healthy recipes for kids and the whole family. You can be sure they’re growing up healthy and strong. So do your best to overcome the healthy-eating hurdle, and the benefits will surely make all your struggles worth it.
What are your thoughts on how to make your kids love your healthy recipes? Let us know in the comments section below!
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