As I have stated before, when one member of a family chooses to make a lifestyle change, it always seems as though the entire family does too. Often times this is difficult for families to adjust, but when taking into account the importance of family meal times, creating healthy meal plans for the family will be much more rewarding.
If you are a family with children, always remember the importance of what you teach them about food. If they learn that vegetables are a good thing at a young age, chances are they will carry that through their adulthood. This makes for a healthier society.
Get the kids and your partner involved. There is absolutely NO reason why the healthy lifestyle change should be a one sided situation. Get the family involved, and it will make for a healthier family life as well as healthier habits for everyone.
Studies have proven that children who actually have dinner with their families are more likely to graduate high school, they are less likely to use drugs, and they are more likely to set goals and accomplish them; now what more could you ask for? Nothing. And on top of all of this they will be learning a healthy way of life.
Now, lets talk about a healthy meal plan for a family.
Include vegetables with every meal. Steer away from the added butter and oil. You want your children to actually learn to enjoy the taste of real vegetables. If they really need extra flavour, use some extra spices or even a touch of cheese.
Salads- these are one of the best ways to get the kids involved. Let them cut up the lettuce.. with a butter knife, let them toss up the spinach, or even shave the carrots. You will be EXTREMELY surprised at how quickly they learn, and how much MORE they will enjoy the food if they actually prepared it THEMSELVES!
At every meal make sure there is some sort of a lean protein. Growing families need this. Make protein choices like boneless skinless chicken breast, lean steak, extra lean ground beef.. and if you opt out of the meat all together, choose soy bean products or quinoa which are both complete proteins in themselves.
Another important factor for growing bodies are your healthy carbohydrates. Make sure that you are incorporating healthy carbohydrates that the kids will enjoy. Get them to peel the sweet potatoes.. then you cut them up, and toss them in the oven for 30 minutes with some olive oil and spices. This is something that the children will love.
If you all choose to have desert, make it something interactive, let the kids put the cookies together and then on the cookie sheet COOKIES??? This sounds absurd. BUT, your family needs to learn the importance of moderation. Bake the cookies and have ONE.. not the entire package. If this healthy relationship with food isn’t there yet, try something like a fat free yogurt parfait with berries and granola.
