If your child is anything like mine, sometimes it feels like everything is a battle. Bedtime...battle. Picking out clothes...battle. Fixing hair...battle. Getting in the carseat...battle. I'm trying to work on ways to not make these situations battles but at times it can be rough. One area where I never wanted to be a battlefield is mealtimes. Sometimes it's easier said than done when you work so hard to provide healthy nutritious meals for your kid and they turn up their nose to you, push their plate away and say "I don't like that. It's yucky!" Grrr!!!!! Anyone with me on this? Anyway, here are some of my best tips on how to provide good nutrition to your child, staying away from junk, and avoiding the mealtime battles.
1. It's your job to offer healthy food. It's their job to eat. Just because your child would rather have french fries for every meal doesn't mean that's what you should feed them. Offer a variety of healthy food and options for them to try. They may eat it, they may not. Your job is to offer them healthy options. They'll eventually eat something when they are hungry. Don't stress about what they are or aren't eating.
2. Offer choices. Kids like to feel like they are in control so let them have a little. Give them a choice so they have some power but make the options ones that you approve of. For example, "What would you like for a snack? An apple with nut butter or yogurt with blueberries?"
3. Don't let them fill up on liquid. Bailey was drinking so much milk and getting the bulk of her calories from milk that she would eat like a bird. We limited her milk consumption and her appetite doubled. Also juices are loaded in sugar. I'd almost say cut them out completely but if you must serve them to your child, try diluting it and limiting what they get. The whole fruit is a much better option instead of the juice.
4. Model good eating habits. If you eat fast food every night, why would you expect your kid to eat anything different? Kids are very much Monkey see-Monkey do. Eat the kind of food that you want your child to eat. Be adventurous and get out of your own food rut. Your kids will eventually follow suit.
5. Don't be a short order cook. Feed your child what you eat, but it doesn't always have to be in the same form. I like to also put one or two things extra on their plate that I know she likes. For example, last night we had stir fry. I gave her stir fry, heavy on the broccoli and carrots because she likes those best. We had eggs in our cauliflower fried "rice" and I knew she wouldn't touch them if they were in that so I saved some eggs on the side for her. I also let her choose a fruit of her liking. She chose bananas. So she had something she likes (eggs, carrots and broccoli), something she chose (banana) and something I wanted her to try (other veggies in the stir fry).
6. Keep the junk out of your house. If it's not in the house, they can't eat it. Same goes for you!! Raid your pantry and fridge and get rid of all the processed junk! You don't need and neither do they. You know what I'm talking about. Convenient cakes, candy, cookies, chips, etc. GET RID OF THEM! Here's an example. Bailey was on a big chocolate milk kick for a while and it was getting out of control. I was starting to tell a big difference in her behavior because of the excess sugar. If I would tell her no when she asked for it she would just keep nagging me and would even pull stools up the cabinets where she knew it was and would try to climb and get it. So what did I do? We just stopped buying it. Problem solved. If it's not there, you can't feed it to them and they can't eat it. She eventually stopped asking for it.
7. Smoothies are your friend. Most kids love them. They are like a shake and you can pack it with all kinds of fruits and veggies. Bailey will often turn her nose up to fresh spinach but she loves a "green" smoothie with spinach in it. Things we put in smoothies: bananas, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, yogurt, spinach, coconut milk, etc. I often ask her what color of smoothie she wants and make it heavy on that color of food. It gives her a little power that way.
8. Swap out the bad snacks for the good snacks. Kids love to snack and actually probably need it. Do a food makeover and swap out the bad for the good. Here are some of our favorite snacks: fruit of any kind, yogurt, nut butter (almond is my favorite), cheese (real cheese-not the processed kind), cottage cheese, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, raw veggies in dip, smoothies, raisins, homemade healthy cookies made with nuts, raisins, nut flower and eggs.
9. Make the food look fun! I won't go into great detail on this because I'm just learning this myself but if it looks exciting and appealing they are more likely to eat it. Cut fruit, cheese and sandwiches in fun shapes with cookie cutters. Put fruit and veggies on skewers. Put food in muffin tins or ice cube trays for a different presentation. Your child will love the new set up and it might encourage them to eat more. Google "Fun Food Friday" or "Cute Food" for some great ideas.
I hope this helps you diminish your mealtime battles. Don't stress and have fun with your food!
