7 surprising ways to get your kids to eat healthy food recipes

Eating healthy food recipes doesn’t always mean giving up your favorite foods. But your favorite recipes can be adapted easily to provide healthier alternative. For example, use non-stick to reduce the use of oil or frying, rather try steaming the vegetables. There are many ways to make the food healthier by moving to low calorie food recipes, limiting fats, sugar and salt and including green leafy vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy in your cooking.

Adults can be absurdly stubborn about eating the healthier food and vegetables. But when it comes to the picky eating, kids take the cake. It is not impossible to get kids to eat vegetables and healthy meals. But you know it requires consistency and persistence from parents.

Let’s discuss some proven ways and tips to get kids to eat healthy meals and green vegetables:

1. Set an example: Eating patterns of parents are the best predictor of a child’s eating behavior. If vegetables and healthy foods are relegated to an afterthought in your household, then it is really tough for kids to accept them. Kids eat what they know and they won’t ask for the special meal.
2. Make food fun: Kids love to play and love games. Relating healthy food to fun things that your child loves and turning that in a game is great way to get a few bites of greens.
3. Involve your kids in cooking: If the child helps in preparation, he is more interested in having that meal. Taking your kid to the grocery store and letting them pick some food items to cook for dinner can make them more excited to eat it later. Let them clean carrots, mix the dressings, snap beans and set the table that will give them a sense of pride and make them more cooperative at the meal time.
4. Use the "one-bite rule": Many parents have had success with the one-bite rule which requires the child to taste one solid mouthful of the rejected food whenever served. After enough exposures the food will become familiar with the child and gradually they begin to eat that.
5. Offer diverse food colors: Children love colorful food items. Expose them to more colors by adding more vegetables to their food plate. Make separate dishes of different colored vegetables instead of mix vegetables.
6. Arrange food in patterns: Shape healthy food recipes in heart or smiley face, they will like it more. This is another way to make fun with food.
7. Give rewards besides food: This is an important step to take with the kids. Let’s replace healthy meals and healthy food recipes as rewards at dinner table. These rewards can be a family outing, a new book, bike ride, visit to zoo etc.

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