ENCOURAGING HEALTHY EATING HABITS FOR KIDS

 AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Whether they're toddlers or in their teens, children develop a natural preference for the foods they enjoy the most. To encourage healthy eating habits, the challenge is to make nutritious choices appealing.

1. Focus on the overall diet rather than specific foods. Kids should be eating more whole, minimally processed food—food that is as close to its natural form as possible—and less packaged and processed food.

2. Be a role model. The childhood impulse to imitate is strong so don't ask your child to eat vegetables while you gorge on potato chips.

3. Disguise the taste of healthier foods. Add vegetables to a beef stew, for example, or mash carrots up with mashed potato, or add a sweet dip to slices of apple.

4. Cook more meals at home. Restaurant and takeout meals have more added sugar and unhealthy fat so cooking at home can have a huge impact on your kids' health. If you make large batches, cooking just a few times can be enough to feed your family for the whole week.

5. Get kids involved in shopping for groceries and preparing meals. You can teach them about different foods and how to read food labels.