5 Ideas for Encouraging Your Children into Eating Healthy

It’s no secret that some children can be extremely difficult to please in the food department. Dinner time can become a real struggle for the whole family when children are picky eaters. While many people believe you can never let your children pick what they do and don’t eat, some children’s relentless resistance can cause immense turmoil. So, in this article you will find some easy ways to encourage your children into eating healthily.

• Fruit Smoothies… YUM! 
  Fruit smoothies are a crowd favourite! By using your choice of milk, low fat or Greek yoghurt, banana, honey and berries, this will ensure the smoothie is sweet, aesthetically appealing, high in calcium, antioxidants and potassium. Then we can get a little tricky, by adding spinach, celery and some freshly squeezed orange juice you can pump up the health benefits without anybody knowing. The addition of greens and orange juice means that your children are also getting iron and vitamin A, E and C.
• Bake them in!
  Get creative with your baking, grate carrot into your brownies, mash up avocado or zucchini into your chocolate cakes and rest assured they will never know! The beauty of this is that the sweetness of these goodies perfectly hides the flavours of the veggies.
• Mix Healthy Cereals in with the Sweeter ones!
  If your children love Nutri Grain or cocoa pops, that’s okay, they can continue eating them… and some healthier options as well. When you buy your cereals, pop them into a jar and mix in together to create a nice mixture of healthy and unhealthy. For example, you can mix in muesli, cocoa pops and corn flakes for the perfect mix of fibre, antioxidants and sugar.
• Puree!
  When you’re doing your mashed potato and butter and cheese, mash up some pumpkin, sweet potato and cauliflower for some added vitamin c and potassium. If you’re game, mash up some carrots as well for B6 which supports healthy brain function.
• Whole Grains are Crucial!
  Try opting for whole-wheat pita instead of bread for sandwiches and don’t forget about wheat pasta! Wheat pasta is one of the best ways to get in a couple of servings of whole grains – you can always start by mixing in just a little with your regular refined white pasta. Popcorn is also a whole grain, without too much butter and salt, it can be a fun little snack.

This article has provided you with 5 ways to get your children eating the right source of vitamins and minerals without having to cause chaos in your home. Get creative and mix in veggies wherever and whenever you can to keep your children healthy.