7 Easy Ways to Teach Your Kids About Healthy Eating

7 Easy Ways to Teach Your Kids About Healthy Eating
7 Easy Ways to Teach Your Kids About Healthy Eating

I am constantly trying to teach my children that real food -- before it is muddled and over processed -- is the best choice for their growing bodies. We go to farmers markets, and they see the beautiful displays of fresh strawberries, blueberries, avocados (this is LA, after all!). Visiting a farmers market is just one way to teach your kids about healthy eating and shopping for healthy foods. Keep reading to find out how to turn a visit to your local market into a teachable moment and for 6 more ways to talk to your kids about healthy eating.

1.Go to your local farmers market
Farmers markets make me so happy. There are the samples of fresh fruits offered up for the taking, fresh cut sunflowers bigger than my child's head, and smiles all around. As I explained to my kids, the foods that are offered are seasonal, because growing them depends on the weather and the seasons. Believe me, a Los Angeles kid doesn't know on season from another, so we give the lessons when we can.

2. Point out all of the colors present in nature

The bright reds, deep blues, and rich greens were not concocted in some laboratory somewhere, but grew in fields that real people tended to. I always introduce them to the farmers because making a commitment to eating healthy involves meeting the people behind your food.

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3. Choose foods that go bad
Foods with long shelf lives make me wary. Our children do not need all of those additives and preservatives. Thankfully, we live in a place where food is in abundance, so we don't need to stock up.

4. Try something new
Try introducing a new fruit or vegetable into your child's diet. Don't get stuck in the macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets rut. If you cut up a fresh salad and have your children help you prepare the vegetables that they picked out that morning from the farmers market, they will be much more inclined to eat it. Trust me.

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5. Avoid foods with multiple ingredients
Pick up a box of cookies at the supermarket, and take a quick glance at the ingredients. You will see that there is nothing speedy about this process. The ingredients list is exhausting and mostly unintelligible to the naked eye.

6. Limit or eliminate processed sugars
I have a killer sweet tooth. SweetTarts were going to be the death of me until I had a major intervention (self-imposed), and I swore off processed sugars. You know what happened? Fruits started to taste so much more amazing and sweet. I bit into an apple and it tasted like it was the best apple I had ever eaten, period. I can't look at a SweetTart the same way anymore.

Related: 8 easy ways to get picky eaters to try new food

7. Plant a backyard garden
Plant a garden in your backyard. Believe me, I don't have a green thumb (I've managed to kill cacti, seriously.), but rosemary thrives in our yard. We have tomatoes and basil growing at a rapid rate. Bruschetta, anyone? Once we have a better understanding of all of nature's gifts, we will be less inclined to muddle with them. After all, why mess with a good thing?

-By Eva Glettner

For 3 more practical ways to teach your kids about healthy eating and food shopping, visit Babble!

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Eva Glettner is a Los Angeles mom of three boys. She is eagerly trying to get out of her minivan lease and bring some sass back into her life. It's time. In her free hours (ha!), she loves to read, run and Pinterest (is that a verb?).

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