I think the majority of families with kids struggle with healthy eating. I know our family does. There are a couple of ways we incorporate getting healthy foods into our diet. The first is to involve our kids in the grocery shopping and cooking. We almost always go shopping as a family and allow our kids to help pick out the fruits and vegetables for the week. We try to make a healthy meal plan that includes at least three meals that we know the kids will like. When time allows I’ll have my kids help me prepare meals. Sometimes it’s washing the vegetables, sometimes it’s helping me add ingredients or mixing. Even if it’s a small task, I find that my kids are more likely to at least try something they’ve helped prepare. Plus, it’s a great way to spend quality time together.
The second way I incorporate getting healthy foods into our diet is with smoothies. While I don’t have a problem getting my kids to eat fruit (they like it better than candy!), veggies are another story. Recently I’ve found a great way to get them to consume vegetables — green smoothies! Spinach goes down easily when it’s blended with fruit and yogurt! There are lots of ways to sneak veggies into your diet and while I think it’s great whenever I can get my kids to consume veggies, even when they don’t know it, I still think it’s important that they get veggies in whole form. We try to put a veggie on their plate every night and encourage them to take at least a couple of bites.
Many of our meals start with rice. It’s a great basic that you can add almost anything to. We like to use cut up chicken and veggies with different sauces and seasonings to mix it up a little. Studies have shown that when you start with rice you end up with a meal that’s better for you. Uncle Ben’s is looking for moms with children age 5-12 to participate in their Ben’s Beginners cooking contest, a fun competition to inspire healthy beginnings. To enter:
- Cook a rice-based dish with your child and help inspire healthy choice
- Film them sharing their enthusiasm for cooking and the fun things they learned.
- Upload video to the Enter Contest page for your chance to win!
Check out the awesome prize:
- $20,000 in cash
- An appearance on The Rachael Ray Show
- A cafeteria makeover for your child’s school, valued at $50,000
You only have until 2/26/12 to enter to win, so hurry! If you need some help getting started, visit the contest page and click on “tips“. I’d love to hear what your favorite meals with rice are (I can always use some new recipes!). How do you involve your kids in your meal plans? What do your kids love to cook and eat? Please share by leaving a comment.
For more info on the contest, please check out Ben’s Beginners on Facebook!
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”