Twitter: Follow TBOmom on Twitter

How to break your kids’ bad eating habits

Posted Jun 28, 2010 by Beth Gaddis

Updated Jun 28, 2010 at 11:43 AM

If your kids are like mine, you know it can be a challenge to get them to eat healthy.

In my case, it’s my own fault.  It’s just easier to serve chicken nuggets, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese when my kids are starving.  I’ll toss on a slice of cheese and add a glass of milk for dairy. My 4-year-old loves green beans, so that’s his veggie most of the time.  My 2-year-old eats black beans and rice, so he gets that. 

A survey by Country Crock of 1,000 moms found 93 percent think their child needs to eat better during at least one meal a day. 

How do you do that?  Here are some tips from Ruth Carey, a dietician with 30 years of experience.

Let kids plan a meal.  Pull out a food pyramid and have them plan one meal with all the food groups.  My 4-year-old loves Buzz Lightyear, so we created a space-themed meal with a chicken breast rocket, carrot burners, blueberry sky and a star-shaped scoop of rice.

Let them prepare the food. For example, they can wash and peel the vegetables.  “If you can, get them to grow vegetables,” Carey says. “Plant a seed, watch it grow, harvest it and pick it. They’ll get more excited about it.”

Make it appealing. My mom gave my oldest a “Food Face” plate.  You use the food to create the hair, moustache, beard, hat.  My son loves it.

Make it colorful. Maybe your child balks at eating fruits and veggies, but will she eat a rainbow made out of blueberries, strawberries, oranges, green beans and yellow peppers?

Add a dip. If your child likes ranch dressing or ketchup, let him put that on his broccoli, Carey says. (Here’s hoping your child outgrows this habit before his first date.)

Avoid foods that come in bags. Replace chips, cookies, chicken nuggets and other processed food with fruits and veggies, peanut butter and whole grain crackers, low-fat yogurt and other healthy snacks.

Limit liquid sugar. This one struck me, since I give my kids Capri Sun juice boxes every day.

Start mealtimes earlier. “One of my clients is a busy working mom who on her way to school and day care gives her kids packaged food in the car,” Carey says. “I said wake them up 15 minutes earlier to give them cereal and low-fat milk.

“One of the most important things that parents need to understand is that you are the one who is in charge,” Carey says.  “You are in charge of what comes into the house and what you put on the table.  It’s the kids who are in charge of what they eat and how much they eat.”

If you’re looking for ways to serve healthier food without spending a fortune, here are some ideas:

Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly if you don’t want to spend the money on organic. If you can afford it, spend the money on fruits and veggies that you don’t peel, such as grapes, strawberries and blueberries.

Buy fruits and veggies in season.

Buy frozen vegetables that are out of season. “They’re often picked and frozen close to the source, and the nutrients aren’t lost during shipping that way,” Carey says.

Shop for specials and use coupons.

If you’re not used to cooking for kids, here are some websites with great ideas:

Parents Magazine: www.parents.com/recipes/

Disney Family: family.go.com

Home & Family Network: www.homeandfamilynetwork.com

TBO Flavor: Search recipes