There are very few parents out there who have never succumbed to the time-saving convenience of the “golden arches”. I’m as guilty as the next mom. Don’t beat yourself up over it. When it’s late and you’re tired and you know your entire family is hungry, that big yellow M becomes as tempting as Matthew Mcconaughey standing shirtless on the side of the road, looking for a ride. (Sorry to my male readers!) But, if you’ve fallen into a rut of feeding your family fast food, it’s time to move on.
Your first action in making fast food less enticing is to stop making excuses for yourself. Everyone is busy and tired. There are very few people I know who don’t have 20 to 30 minutes to cook dinner.
If you are one of those people who truly doesn’t have 20 to 30 minutes to cook dinner during the week, then this next action is imperative. Plan ahead! Make your list for the grocery…you can’t cook a healthy dinner if you don’t have healthy food in your fridge and pantry. Try cooking two meals at once. It usually only takes a few extra minutes and gives you an extra meal to serve if you’ve got a busy night coming up. Or try cooking 3 or 4 meals on Sunday afternoon (or any day that you may have a little extra time). Once again it doesn’t take that much extra time. You don’t have to cook several entire meals. For example, if you’re planning on grilling or baking some chicken breast for dinner one night, throw some other lean meats, such as turkey burgers, in with it.
Keep your meals simple. No one expects a gourmet meal in 2o minutes and most kids prefer simple meals. A few examples: Grilled chicken breast with green peas and corn on the cob, chicken salad made with light mayo (see a recipe here) with a simple side salad, turkey breast sandwiches with cut up raw veggies. Keep a variety of herbs and spices on hand as a simple way to help change up the taste and provide some variety.
Practice what you preach and be honest. Don’t tell your kids and your spouse to eat healthy while you eat donuts for breakfast. Trust me, they’ll know. And if you don’t like the taste of something healthy, but you eat it anyway, be honest about it. I used to tell my son how great the vegetables I served with dinner tasted even when I didn’t really like what I was serving and I never got him to eat anything other than his usual carrots and celery. When I got married, my husband would openly discuss the fact that he didn’t really like vegetables. My son asked, “Then why do you eat them?” My husband said very matter-of-factly,
“Because they’re good for me.” And voila’, my son started experimenting with new vegetables.
Be flexible. If one or all of your kids insists on only eating carrots as their vegetable or will only eat turkey sandwiches, then let them. Sure, variety is better, but as long as they are willing to eat healthy food, that’s okay. I would recommend, at least occasionally, putting a taste of something different on their plate for them to try. Keeping stress to a minimum at the dinner table is almost as important as serving a healthy meal, so don’t make trying new foods a huge issue at the dinner table. Been there, done that…and discovered that eating while in tears isn’t that much fun. You can discuss the importance of trying new foods at other times when there’s not as much “on-the-spot” pressure.
Consider involving your kids with menu planning and cooking. Put together a few options for them to choose for the meal and if they are old enough and so-inclined, allow them to help prepare it. Feeling like they played a role in preparing the meal will usually encourage them to eat the meal.
While eating healthy is important, remember that it’s okay to have treats. You can even turn it into a family outing. For example, instead of keeping ice cream in the freezer, take everyone out for an ice cream treat.
