REAL FOOD FOR HEALTHY KIDS
Eating healthy is something important to all parents. We know our kids sleep better, are more calm, and enjoy their play/learning more when they eat healthy foods! Focusing on nature's food, real foods provided to us by our beautiful mother earth, and very hard workers who help bring us the food.
REAL FOODS KIDS LOVE
I've always tried to incorporate as many real foods into my kids' diet but it turns out, kids are picky eaters. Here is a list of the real foods that most kids like. Introduce these tastes and flavors as young as possible and it's never too late to make them a normal part of the diet.
- Berries- raspberries are the favorite for many kids and we like to call them nature's candy! Blackberries, blueberries (fresh or frozen), strawberries, sungold raspberries, and more! Who doesn't love berries? Making berry smoothies or just having a big bowl for dessert, berries have incredible amounts of antioxidants and vitamins and I never feel guilty about them eating them!
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Cucumber- many kids love salt on theirs!
- Nuts-cashews, almonds, peanuts, and more.
- Oranges
- Red bell peppers
- Edemame
- Snap Peas
- Lettuce salads- fresh and locally grown with just a hint of olive oil and salt is a great way to start
- Carrots
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Pears and Apples
- Seaweed
- Salmon
- Squash/zuchinni- sauteed with olive oil or butter, and a little salt
- Eggs
- shredded chicken
- Watermelon- a fun summer treat!
- Cantaloupe
- Real fruit juice popsicles
- Seaweed
- Spinach - simmered in butter & cream. mmm!
FARMER'S MARKET
Your community farmer's market will have wonderful produce that is local and it is so important for kids to see where real foods come from and what they look like.
PICKY EATERS
It can be tricky to navigate healthy eating when your kids are picky eaters. Introducing new foods again and again because it takes twenty tries to like a new taste. Make sure you expose your children to foods and flavors you don't necessarily care for, you never know, ya know? Childhood is a great time to begin life long healthy habits and just enjoying the real flavors of natural foods (not food from a box) you are setting them up for a pallet that enjoys healthy foods forever.
PICKY EATER TIP: ONLY INTRODUCE ONE NEW FOOD AT A TIME,
ALONG WITH OTHER FAMILIAR AND LIKED FOODS.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
For many children, they feel the one place they have true control and autonomy over themselves in this very adult world is what they choose to eat. They are right! So what do we do to encourage the healthy eating habits? Give them healthy choices, yet still choices. Put several real foods out for snack or lunch and let them pick which they would like best!
NOT TOO RIGID
It's important not get intense or go overboard about diet with young children. Just keeping these real foods around, growing them in the garden and showing them where they come from- local farms and farmer's markets and keeping it all fun. Of course there's a time to let kids have unhealthy kid food but just making that occasional but not making a big deal of it. Just like with yoga, everything balanced.
Just for fun and to see what other parents are experiencing, here's a favorite food survey to ask your child!
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I hope that you have enjoyed this post, Real Food for Healthy Kids, Nature's Candy and Superfoods kids love! I hope you learned a few healthy food ideas for kids in this Nutrition post and a few ideas for feeding your children healthy foods in a fun way! If you liked this post and would like to join the newsletter, please click: Start Here. The newsletter will send you a monthly notice of the new activities, book lists, poses and more.
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