As a parent you are most responsible for what and when your children eat. Kids have very different food requirements than do adults and, while it is certainly true that both adults and kids benefit from a “good” diet, children’s bodies are much more susceptible to changes in diet than are adults.
Generally, a healthy balance of food groups for children consists of 25% meat, 50% carbohydrates, and 25% fruits and vegetables. This isn’t an absolute rule, many meals can contain more of one and less of another without harm but it is an overall goal. At the end of a normal week, if your kids have eaten about these percentages then you have done a great job parenting!
I will say that it will be much easier both in terms of logistics and family harmony if you change your eating habit to match what you are asking of your children. When the whole family eats the same healthy meals everyone benefits.
Many children are very picky eaters and that can be a real problem. But there are no guaranties that being a parent is easy and you must rise to the occasion. You are the authority and, if necessary, you must issue an ultimatum about meals and what types of foods they eat. It may not be easy but it is for their benefit and they will thank you in years to come.
Your first ultimatum must be to ban sugary and fatty foods from your pantry. No more sugar laced cereals with toys inside and no more fatty after school treats. If you do have to have soda in the house it must be “diet” or “0″ calories. The point here is to have only healthy foods on hand. Here’s a tip: replacing these unhealthy snacks and cereals with fruit smoothies will lessen the griping.
If your kids are a bit older you aren’t going to be able to prevent the occasional soda, candy bars, and fast foods but you can make your home a fat free zone. There is just no reason to spend money on foods that have little or no nutritional value and contribute heavily to childhood obesity.
A really good way to ease the challenge of getting your kids to eat healthy is to put the fruits and vegetables into smoothies. Smoothies are almost always very easy to make and are a lot of fun to eat. By using low or no fat ingredients along with either fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables smoothies provide a very low calorie and low fat treat that easily replaces soft drinks and sugary cereals.
You have posted a wonderful collection of fruit smoothie recipes on this website. The variety of recipes and flavors are awesome! I plan to try several.
I am writing a blog post about fruit smoothies and plan to recommend this site as being very creative.
Jackie
http://www.ValensLife.com