Looking for some meal-time inspiration? MyPlate Kids’ Place has recipes and meal-planning information geared to different age groups. It also has advice on making healthy meals, cooking at home and developing healthy eating habits.
“Parents should understand that it’s not what you say that matters, but what you do. Your kids are watching what you do. So if you don’t eat healthy foods, they won’t either,” says Leila T. Beker of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “If you don’t eat your vegetables and if you don’t have a balanced diet, why would you expect your child to do any better?”
Then add some fun. Studies show that children will eat more fruits and vegetables if you make it interesting for them, says Shirley R. Blakely, a senior dietitian with FDA’s Office of Nutrition, Labeling & Dietary Supplements. Give them fruits and vegetables they like; add some dressing for dipping.
Replace French fries with a baked potato jazzed up with cottage cheese and cherry tomatoes on top. Mix unusual foods together, such as apples and peanut butter dip. Cut fruits and vegetables into bite-size pieces and fun shapes.
The trick is to give your kids a variety of good foods that are good for them. An apple one day; a pear another; then an orange. Variety isn’t just the spice of life; it’s important for developing healthy habits.
Cutting portions for kids:
Kids need smaller portions. Think quarter-cups, tablespoons and half-sandwiches, depending on your child’s size, age and activity level. For a toddler, think tablespoons—not cups.
Cut sandwiches in triangles, Beker says. That reduces the portion and increases the fun. What’s a reasonable portion? Think finger foods that are easily grasped by little hands: cut-up carrots and apples.
“Don’t expect your child to eat as much as you eat. If you do, they will get frustrated, and you’ll get aggravated. They will also be eating too much and won’t develop a healthy habit of eating to satiety. Instead, they will learn to eat by volume,” Beker says.
Families should let children serve themselves at the table for better portion control, she adds.