- Have a fruit bowl permanently available – full and sporting ripe and fresh fruit.
- Don’t allow chocolate, sweets, cakes, crisps and other junk foods to become everyday foods. Just get them in for special occasions only.
- Encourage them to drink water and enjoy it, by serving water with every meal. Put water in a jug with some ice and have nice glasses/beakers to make it more appealing.
- Make sure every meal comes with at least one sort of veggie or salad accompaniment. Don’t make it unusual for a vegetable to turn up on their plates!
- Have a think about your cooking and see about ways you could reduce the fat, salt or sugar content of your meals.
- Help children build on their knowledge of healthy eating by talking about what a balanced meal is. The 5-a-day message is obvious, but discuss other aspects of healthy eating too (for ideas, see my other blog posts).
- Aim to make healthy alternatives to favourite ‘junk’ food. Have a home-made-takeaway night and make your own version of pizza, burgers or Chinese – with a healthy twist of course.
- Offer some choice, but within a healthy range. Children like to feel in control without realising you’re influencing what they eat.
Hayley Kuter
Paediatric Dietitian
www.blossom-consulting.co.uk
