I swear… trying to get toddlers to eat good, whole, decent food is a pain in the you-know-what sometimes. Ok, a lot. (Or is it just my picky toddlers?) Let’s talk about what my 2 year old LilMiss says the second she wakes up in the morning: Mama I want chocolate. ?!?!!?? Excuse me? Since WHEN have I EVER given you chocolate for breakfast for you to think that’s even ok to ask for first thing in the morning?!?!? (I know, I know… she’s TWO. But still.) I’m blaming Halloween.
We all know that eating healthy is something that’s taught, cultivated and drilled into kids’ heads over lots of time, trial, error and consistently. And even then it sometimes doesn’t work like we’d like it to. So what everyday healthy eating tips do I tirelessly try to do at home to keep things moving in the right direction? I’m no expert, but I tell you what works for me:
1) Take kids grocery shopping. I’ve taken my girls grocery shopping since they were newborns. (Oh my — I just had a major flashback to 2012: Clicking my infant carseat to the top of the shopping cart while my then 1-and-a-half year old sat in the main cart while I pushed them both through the aisles and loaded groceries on top of her.) Grocery shopping with kids will take triple the amount of time it should take (unless you push that cart at 100mph down the aisles) but I truly believe it’s worth it. It gives you teachable foodie moments with your kids that you won’t get anywhere else… a chance for you to let them pick which “colors” they want to eat from the produce area as well as fleeting opportunities to point out “sometimes-foods” (ie: cookies, candies that you MUST say no to buying on a regular basis). And if you’re like me, totally prevents you from heading down the cookie aisle just for kicks because you don’t want to deal with toddler whining about wanting to buy cookies.
Flashback! Grocery shopping is OUR thing.
2) Promise treats for appropriate times. As someone who lets things loose every now and again (like, yes, eating lollipops during dinner while on beach vacations… see, I can be reckless) I really think it IS ok to give kids small amounts of chocolate and sweets on a daily basis. I said SMALL amounts. I don’t want to totally deprive (because then the pendulum will swing the opposite way, right?) so I like to build up the ‘treat-promise’ to give them something to look forward to. “If you eat most of the colors on your plate, we might get a surprise!” Don’t discount bribery. Most of the time, it works.
3) Get creative with food names. At our house, regular apple slices are known as “apple chips” (we also have “pear chips” and “grape poppers”), mixed fruit salad is known as “Fairy Fruit Salad” (that Tinkerbell herself made, mind you), bananas are referred to as “Oooh-ooh-ah-eee-eee-eee” (ie: the sound a monkey makes), carrots are known as Olafs (c’mon, you know why) and sweet butternut squash is really “candy squash.” Using silly names is just good marketing, people.
Who knew fairies could operate the whipped cream canister?
4) I say NO. I say no – and stick to it – for the purpose of forming healthy habits. I don’t care if they scream and throw themselves on the floor face down and cry and accidentally break the childlock on the pantry door with their freak-strength while trying to bust in (yes, this happened)…. NO MEANS NO. NO, you cannot have chocolate chips for breakfast. NO, we’re not chomping down on extra crackers just seconds after finishing our lunch just to hear the fun crunching sounds. NO, you cannot have a ‘snack’ at 5pm because then you won’t be interested to eat the wholesome dinner I made for you at 6pm. Moderation is good… as long as it’s moderated, I say (I do let my kids have chocolate and crackers and snacks, but at appropriate times y’all).
5) Get smart about snacks. Don’t get me wrong: We love our pretzels, we adore our popcorn and we gobble up those multi-grain goldfish crackers like nobody’s business. But kids also need PROTEIN. And now that LadyP has decided she doesn’t like cheese anymore (a phase, I’m hoping, since that was pretty much the only protein she was willing to eat) I’ve got to come up with something creative to keep her nutrition workin’.
FACT: Today, more kids suffer from obesity than starvation. (That’s nuts. Right?) Why? High sugar and high carb (unhealthy) snack options create conditioned, bad habits in children that leads them down the road to poor nutrition. Pocket Protein KIDZ is a snack OPTION for parents… that’s in production now. PP KIDZ is a revolutionary product that’s low-sugar, low-carb, 7 grams of heart healthy protein and lactose, gluten, and nut free (great for kids w food allergies)… packaged in a 2 ounce foil pack that NEVER needs refrigeration. You can toss them into lunches, backpacks, sports (or dance!) bags and they can be taken anytime anywhere. The object of the game is to pair a PPK with any healthy carb (bagel, apple, banana) for a balanced snack to keep energy and nutrition up. And the really good part is that PP KIDZ is SAFE for kids. Seriously. No weird chemicals, ingredients, questionable manufacturing practices: They went to extra mile to adhere to FDA beverage regulations when they could have taken the easy way out… PPK is as safe as milk or juice (but with 7g of protein!). I’ll be brutal: I don’t buy lots of juice drinks and I’m usually uncomfortable with ‘fad’ drinks that promise nutrients and wholesome energy… but I feel COMFORTABLE giving this drink to my kids because the producers have been developing this for years and have sought approval and endorsement from legitimate health professionals when they could’ve taken the easy way out.
What’s in it? 10% US RDA Vitamin A & E, iron and zinc…. with only 3.9 grams of sugar per serving. Ingredients? Water, apple juice concentrate, bovine protein, erythritol, phosphoric acid, N&A flavors, calcium disodium EDTA, potassium sorbate, whey protein isolate, stevia, beta-carotene (vitamin A), iron sulphate, tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), zinc sulphate. What does it taste like? My four year old will tell you:
Sweeeeeet! Really sweet. Like CANDY… but it’s NOT. (For the record, my LadyP continued to drink her drink, then grabbed mine and then complained about how she wanted more, even though we didn’t have any more.) Here’s the real deal: PPK is just going into production now – this is brand spankin’ new, folks – and there are limited quantities. To get these pocket-sized power-punches onto grocery store shelves (the original Pocket Protein – for adults – is already a success), pre-ordering your own packs will send a big message to produce A LOT more… which is a good thing for us moms who need quick, fast and easy variety and options to boost our kids’ sources for nutrition. From now until December 12, 2014 (as part of their campaign sale to get these out on shelves), you can pre-order Pocket Protein KIDZ and the company will match your order to a child in need (like Tom’s shoes… one for one). CLICK HERE TO ORDER, EASY-PEASY.
So get goin’ moms! Get your pre-order on, throw these puppies in your kids’ snack bags (along with an”Oooh-ooh-ah-eee-eee-eee” banana… and remember to tell your kids that PPK is really sugar-juice… you know… just for ‘marketing’ purposes.
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR KIDS TO SNACK HEALTHY?
DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Pocket Protein KIDZ. All experiences and opinions are my own.
