With the arrival of the new year, millions of families around the world renew the illusion of meeting the already mythical new Year's resolutions. One of the most common and also the least accomplished is the purpose of improving nutrition. It is important to differentiate between dieting and eating healthy, since the former is something that some people need, but the latter, we all need it.
Especially when there is a child at home, adopting healthy lifestyle habits is essential. Not only so that children eat well, but also, so that they learn to do it correctly even when they are not at home. One of the most important tasks of education and that we often forget, is precisely feeding. It happens in many families, children eat well at home because everything is put before them. But when they grow up and it is time to feed themselves, they are completely lost.
Family involvement
That children get used to eating healthy is a matter for the whole family. As they say, the elders are the ones who should lead by example. It is useless to teach your child about the benefits of vegetables, if later he sees how you reject them, and also with disgust. Therefore, we are going to take advantage of the new year to make some changes at home.
Radical changes are only capable of causing the opposite effect, anxiety and the need to return to bad habits. Thus, it is preferable to start with small steps And once they are established, introduce new changes for the whole family.
Clean the pantry
The first step to improve family nutrition consists of clean the pantry and fridge. Especially after the holidays, where surely you still have traces of typical sweets, processed products, bag snacks, etc. All of these are products that ruin good intentions at a stroke. If you have them on hand, it will be much more difficult to resist them. Even the children will be able to see that they are there, and they will try to take them all.
Eliminate from your pantry everything that is not healthy, you do not have to throw it away, you can always find other people who need it or take it as a detail when you visit friends or family.
Once your kitchen is clean of unhealthy products, you can fill it with rich, seasonal foods and ideal for feeding and caring for the whole family.
Forget about false beliefs
Many times parents tend to think for their children, based on their own experiences and even, in popular beliefs. These are some examples:
- Eating healthy is boring. It will be if you do not vary in the food, in the way you cook it or how you accompany it. Healthy eating can be as fun and creative as you want. In this digital age where you can find thousands of recipes in just one click, you have the opportunity to take advantage of everything that other people create and kindly share.
- Eating healthy is more expensive. Natural foods have a cost, which in some cases can be higher. But bags of snacks, processed foods, ready meals, and so on, aren't much cheaper. On the contrary, its price at first glance may seem lower than that of a fresh piece, but with that product you do not feed a family and perhaps with the fresh piece, if you can. Therefore, in addition to being less expensive, it is much healthier because you eliminate unhealthy substances that home cooking does not add.
- Children need sugar because they use a lot of energy. True, children endure large doses of physical activity every day and therefore their energy expenditure is greater. But sugar as such is not the solution, what children need is foods that naturally provide energy long-term, such as fruits, cereals or dairy.
Include in shopping cart seasonal food, fresh and delicious products. Little by little, the whole family will get used to this new and improved way of eating. Your health will be improved in no time.