Encouraging Your Child's Lifelong Love of Healthy Food

I love eating healthily and trying different varieties of fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, beans and pulses. This did not come about by sheer chance though. My parents instilled in me and my two older brothers a love of fruit and vegetables that we still possess to this day. I can still vividly recall our weekly shop and how the majority of items we bought were mainly fresh fruit and vegetables. Our staples were apples, pears, oranges, bananas, tomatoes, onions, carrots and lettuce. We also tended to buy items that were in season, as they were not only cheaper but tastier too. I do not remember my parents bribing us to eat any of these items or promising us something "better" later on if we ate our greens when they were offered. We simply ate the food that we were given and we enjoyed it.

My mother was a creative cook who could turn any vegetable into a tasty delicacy. Take for example the humble cauliflower. It may not seem to be a particularly exciting vegetable, but she would cook it in a stew with chicken, tomatoes, carrots and onions and it tasted really delicious. By the time it was cooked, it was tender and it went well with the other ingredients. So do not just place a soggy piece of cauliflower in front of your child's plate and expect them to enjoy it. Dress it up a little! Brussels Sprouts are another vegetable that can be hard for children to accept. But have you ever considered removing each individual layer and stir frying the shredded Brussels Sprout with some Oriental vegetables, garlic and ginger for a tasty alternative? Are you familiar with Continental breakfasts? The French are adept at the culinary arts and will include fresh fruit, yogurt and fruit juice to breakfasts, as well as eggs, toast, croissants, various breads and cold cuts of meat. It might be worth while adding some of these items to your breakfasts. Carry this over to lunchtime by adding an apple and vegetable sticks to you child's packed lunch. Encourage them to take them along, even if they eat a hot meal at school. By all means, peel, and slice fruit so that it is handy to eat straightaway. Peeling or slicing fruit can be a chore for children.

Watch the treats and snacks you offer to your children too. If children receive salty food or chocolate as a snack on a regular basis, then they will associate these items with good food choices and will look forward to these times more so than when they eat fruit or vegetables. I am not advocating getting rid of these altogether, as it is right and proper to have a varied, balanced diet. I am just saying it is wise to cut these down and to reserve them as an occasional treat. Use snack times as an opportunity to experiment with different taste sensations, such as carrot and celery sticks dipped in low fat peanut butter or hummus. Or try a simple fruit salad consisting of apples, grapes and pears drizzled with a little lemon juice to preserve the appearance of the fruit and a small dash of honey for sweetness. As children get older, they can have a whole apple, orange or other piece of fruit as a snack. As I mentioned earlier, variety is important. So do not expect your child to want to eat apples every day for the next eighteen years or so, as they will soon grow tired of them. Have a variety of different fruits in your fruit bowl that they can choose from. Make eating them a joy. I remember going strawberry, blackberry and raspberry picking as a child. Harvesting these fruits seemed to make them more appealing. I would also harvest asparagus that used to grow wild outside my home and enjoy eating it lightly stir fried with some scrambled eggs.

As a child, my parents hardly ever took us to a fast food restaurant. We would mainly eat home cooked food from scratch and use fresh ingredients. Fast food restaurants are not all bad and can be used as an occasional treat by those who want to lead healthier lifestyles. I am impressed with how many chains are now including fruit, vegetables, yogurt and granola on their menus. This is a great way to get your child to eat healthily. We live in different times now and we are busy, so slaving away for hours in the kitchen is not only unappealing to modern day parents but also virtually impossible. One way to overcome this is to plan ahead. Weekends may be the only opportunity to cook for the upcoming week. If so, invest in this time wisely by planning the week's meals and cooking them ahead of time. Make double portions and freeze half of the food into individual freezer containers that can be quickly reheated in the microwave during the week. Cook stews and casseroles with a generous helping of different vegetables than you used last week. For quick and simple salads, pre-wash and chop vegetables, adding it to zip lock bags in the fridge and make the dressing yourself. Many store bought dressings are packed full of salt and sugar, even if they are fat free. Either use these sparingly or add lemon juice, or vinegar mixed with olive oil and sprinkle with some fragrant fresh or dried herbs. Try to make salads interesting too. I hate to go into a shop and see a mountain of lettuce with a tiny amount of tomato and cucumber added on, almost as an afterthought. I don't call that a salad. A rabbit would find the lettuce medley more exciting. Instead, add a generous amount of vegetables and vary the ingredients you use. Add a can of drained and rinsed pinto or kidney beans for added protein or some chopped up turkey from the deli counter. Don't forget the presentation either. A nicely presented salad is more likely to tantalize the taste buds, rather than a few limp vegetables tossed together. One of my favourite salads was my Mum's warm potato salad. Put the cooked potatoes into a large bowl and add some finely chopped onion, slices of egg (if you like), black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil too. It is delicious and best served hot or at room temperature. Adding potato to any other type of salad will make it a much more substantial and satisfying meal. Even now, I cannot add mayonnaise to a salad without feeling that I have ruined a good meal. Let the natural flavours infuse and you will appreciate the end result more. Your child will too.

For those who eat meat, try to have at least one day a week that is meat-free. There are many great products on the market now that are low in fat and high in protein that do not contain meat such as tempeh, tofu and soya products. You might want to invest in a good vegetarian cook book for some extra meal ideas. The view that a meal is not complete without meat is not as highly valued as it once was. The traditional Japanese diet is an excellent source of protein and other vital nutrients, with an emphasis on freshness and the use of soya products. You may want to look into it. A family can eat quite healthily with meat-free alternatives. Some parents are under the impression that if fruit and vegetables are not freshly bought and cooked that they are no good. This is not true. Frozen vegetables are more likely to contain more nutrients than "fresh", as they will have been frozen soon after harvesting. So keep your freezer well stocked, particularly during times that certain food items are out of season and opt for steaming rather than boiling the vegetables, in order to preserve the nutrients. Do not neglect canned food too. It can be bought cheaply and it is still nutritious. Try to go for the "no salt added" varieties and eat before the expiry date. Canned beans, peas, fruit and vegetables are quick, convenient and definitely worth buying. If you are in a hurry, you can even make a meal out of a few cans and other items! A bean stew with carrots, onions, mushroom and tomato will taste great and quickly fill your child up. How about a new twist to traditional mashed potatoes? Use any white variety of potatoes, add sweet potatoes and butternut squash. You can add onion too for some crunch. Your child will most likely enjoy the different combination of ingredients.

Encouraging your child to develop a lifelong love and enjoyment of healthy food really has to begin early on at home with you as parents or guardians. If you eat what you encourage your child to eat on a regular basis, then that is what they will want too. Personally, I find that if I go away somewhere for a few days and I do not eat enough fruit and vegetables that I start to feel lethargic and ill. So try to maintain a good, positive influence in and out of your kitchen, starting with making right food choices from week to week and making vegetables the focal point of a meal, rather than the meat. This will have to be done from earliest infancy for the greatest benefit to your child. When you wean them onto solid food, gradually introduce different types of mashed up fruits and vegetables, rather than relying solely on the processed alternatives sold in the shops. They may not like what you give them at first. But persevere and they will soon come round. Eating healthily need not be a chore, but the beginning of a long and healthy life you you and for your child.