Help Kids Embrace Eating Clean and Eat the Rainbow of Healthy Foods
- Holly Larson, RD
How to teach our kids the importance of clean eating? This is part two in our series on teaching kids to embrace clean eating. Learning to cook and eat healthy foods is a journey that you and your family get to travel, together.
Sugars are added to our foods and drinks at an alarming level. Look at nutrition fact labels to see how many grams of sugars are in soda, cookies and treats and measure out that amount of sugar. One teaspoon of sugar is the same as four grams of sugar; practice your math as you measure out the teaspoons of sugar in drinks, desserts and ketchup.
The best drink is water. Ask your child if their urine looks more like lemonade or apple juice; being adequately hydrated means that their urine will look pale, like lemonade. If your child is dehydrated, work together to problem solve. Would it be helpful to pack a reusable water bottle in their backpack? How about a big glass of water first thing in the morning?
The natural colors in fruits and veggies offer huge health boosts. Aim to increase the colors on your plates. After a colorful meal, encourage your kiddo to color an Eat the Rainbow sheet and post it on your fridge!
Our children learn by example; your children will mimic the habits they see at home and at school. Parents who follow healthy eating habits are more likely to have children with the same habits.
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