Healthy Family, Happy Family

by Karen Fischer

  7. Don’t say ‘If you eat your vegies you can have dessert.’ These sugar bribes, while an easy solution, don’t send a child the right health message. Saying ‘Finish everything on your plate then you can have dessert’ not only makes junk food sound like a reward, it also encourages unhealthy overeating, which can carry on through to adulthood. Dessert bribes are a short-term, flawed solution and should not be relied on.

  25 positive things to say so your family will eat

  1. Tell your child to eat their vegetables first. It’s a fact of life that many kids don’t like the taste of vegetables and that’s okay. But as we know, they should eat them for other reasons, such as to grow strong and happy. Luckily, there are many things you can say to convince your child to eat up. Try ‘Eat your least favourite foods first and then eat the foods you like best.’ This teaches them to delay gratification. A bit like work first, then play. ‘Eat the foods you don’t like and get it over and done with, then eat the rest of your meal.’ If they don’t eat their vegies, rather than nag, you can make a fun joke of it such as: ‘Beans must be your favourite food as they’re still on your plate!’ When I say this to my daughter she always replies ‘No way’ then she scoffs the remaining vegetables. Then we laugh about how wrong I was. I am amazed at how much she enjoys this challenge. I can never win an argument when it comes to what she should wear, but joke about broccoli being her favourite food and she happily eats it just to prove me wrong.

  Your child may never really love the taste of vegies but they’ll often eat them if you teach them to delay gratification: ‘Eat your vegies first, then eat the favourite foods in your meal.’

  2. Make positive comments about healthy foods. Junk food advertisers talk up their products on a daily basis and you can do the same with fruit and vegetables. For example, you can tell your child something like: ‘I bought the best and sweetest tasting carrots from the supermarket yesterday, and I’ve popped some on your plate.’ Just a word of warning: don’t lie. Make sure they’re actually palatable before you start spruiking.

  3. Blame the vegies. Your son’s team lost their football match? This is a golden opportunity to plant the seed ‘vegies make you strong’. For example, ‘Maybe the other team won the game because they eat lots of vegies?’ Remember to also praise their efforts with something like ‘Good try; I can see you put a lot of effort into the game today.’ Then you could add: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll serve more vegies with dinner this week to help you with the game next week.’ Conversely, you can also blame it on the junk food. ‘Good try. Hey, maybe it was all that chocolate your team ate at the last practice? I could bring some power fruit next time.’

  4. ‘The kitchen is closed.’ Kids are often busy doing kid stuff and they forget to listen to their tummy, which could be quite hungry again by bed time. So it’s useful to give them a ten-minute warning before you stop serving food for the night (so you can finally flop in front of the TV). The ten-minute warning is especially useful for the child who tries to delay bedtime by suddenly declaring ‘I’m hungry!’ as you tuck them into bed. Or the kid who has to continually snack on something while sitting in front of the television. For example, let your child know: ‘Dinner is at 7p.m. and the kitchen’s closed by 8p.m. so don’t expect to eat more food after this time.’ Give them a ten-minute warning: ‘Kitchen will be closed in ten minutes so let me know if you’re still hungry.’

  5. Call it ‘power fruit’. We know that fruit can give a growing body the power to fight cancer but don’t tell your child this. Say ‘Power fruit gives you lots of energy so you can run faster and have a really fun day’ or ‘Power fruit gives you power to skip for a really long time’. Link fruit to a hobby that your child really, really, really enjoys.

  6. Call wholegrain sandwiches ‘brainy grain sandwiches’. Tell your child: ‘I’ve packed a brainy grain sandwich in your lunch box to help you play chess really well at lunch time.’ Do they love computer games? Maybe brainy grains can help them play well? This may sound to you like a lie but it’s not. You can’t tell them that wholegrains have a lower GI so they supply a more steady flow of glucose to the brain for energy and clear thinking. This sounds like gobbledygook to a child. We know that clear thinking can help anyone to perform at their best, even when it comes to playing computer games. So it is the truth, worded in a fun, comprehensible manner, when you say ‘Brainy grains can help you play computer games so I’ve made you a grainy sandwich for lunch.’

  7. Call pesto ‘dinosaur paste’. Homemade pesto is made from healthy anti-cancer ingredients such as parsley, rocket and protein-rich nuts. If you have a boy who’s into dinosaurs, call anything green and healthy such as pesto, peas and spinach ‘dinosaur food’. My twenty-month-old growls like a dinosaur whenever he sees Parsley Pesto, and he gets it out of the refrigerator when he’s hungry. The roaring is very cute (Parsley Pesto recipe).

  8. Call pesto ‘fairy spread’. Got a girl who’s not into dinosaurs? Maybe she likes fairies so you can say it’s ‘fairy spread’. Fairies live in green forests and they really dig anything green. Or try ‘dancing paste’ or ‘magic butter’.

  9. Tell them ‘Vegies can make your bones stronger for jumping and playing.’ According to the research, they can.

  10. When you serve mushrooms with dinner, tell your child a story about how fairies love mushrooms ... ‘They make a wish each time they eat one.’

  11. Say ‘Green beans give you strong arms for playing basketball.’

  12. Say ‘Carrots can help you have really good eyesight and sparkly eyes.’

  13. Say ‘Fish is brain food to help you do your maths homework,’ or ‘Fish is brain food to help you play computer games for a really long time.’

  14. Tell them vegetables could help them improve their skills for things such as computer games. Vegetables can thin the blood and healthier blood travels faster around the body—and theoretically, it could bring oxygen to the hands more rapidly for quick finger movements while playing. ‘Hey Charlie, I’ve got a plate of vegies sticks to give you energy for playing really great Xbox after lunch.’

  15.Tell your child a story. Say ‘The grains in bread are a little bit magic. They can help you think better in class.’ Then make up a story about a child who overcame a minor learning obstacle because they ate brainy grains. Storytelling is a wonderful way to educate your child.

  16. Tell them ‘You can help make the rules.’ If you tell your child a new rule such as ‘Grainy sandwiches for school lunches’, you can also add ‘You can help make the rules by telling me if you want the crusts cut off or left on.’ This helps your child to feel included with the decision making, and thus compliance may be greater.

  17. Say ‘Did you know that eating green vegetables every day can help you be strong and clever?’

  18. Say ‘Bugs Bunny is always eating carrots and that’s why he is the most clever of all the cartoon characters.’ This is useful if your child is obsessed with cartoons.

  19. Say ‘Green vegies are the best. Have you noticed: Shrek likes green; koalas eat green leaves, the Incredible Hulk is green and Popeye eats green spinach to be strong? I hear you’re supposed to eat green foods every day to be strong and full of energy to play.’

  20. Got a teen who is self-conscious about their skin? Help them to gain confidence by saying something like ‘Green vegies and fish can help you have lovely skin.’ Appeal to their vanity and desire to fit in. Healthy food will help them more than any pimple cream or item of clothing. Healthy food can actually improve their skin, their moods and general wellbeing. You will also need to restrict all junk food and high GI foods if you want to get rid of acne (see information on the glycaemic index).

  21. Explain how vegies grow. Show your child the plants in your garden or go to the local nursery where they grow vegetables and herbs. Tell them about the root systems and how they suck up the nutrients from the soil. ‘Vegetables need water to live—just like u
s. The leaves are very clever as they convert sunlight into the green pigment called chlorophyll—when you eat the chlorophyll-rich leaves, it makes your blood flow better and your body strong.’

  22. Talk about wilting plants. I have a parsley plant that has been living in my garden for six months. I water it and it gets sun but never grows any bigger. My mint, on the other hand, is in a pot filled with mineral-rich potting soil designed for growing herbs. So the mint plant shoots up like a caged chicken raised on antibiotics (and that’s fast). But the parsley does not look well. It’s obviously being nourished by the wrong type of soil.

  23. If you have a garden, show your child what happens when a plant does not get enough water or the right vitamins and minerals from the soil. It is a great way to explain why we need to eat vegetables and other healthy foods—so we grow tall and strong.

  24. Scientists from the University of California conducted an experiment to see if first graders would eat more vegetables if they participated in growing their own fresh produce. During the study, the children were taught about nutrition at school and spent time with their parents tending to their own vegie patch at home, growing spinach, carrots, peas and broccoli. The result? The children were more willing to eat vegetables, especially the ones grown at home.[14]

  25. Start your own vegie patch

  Apart from having fresh vegies and a ‘living classroom’, growing your own vegetables is a great way to spend quality time with your child (rather than in front of a screen), and when you grow the foods yourself, you know it’s super-fresh and pesticide-free. So your next recommended activity is to plant a vegetable garden with your child. Children love to dig in the garden and when they water the vegetables, see them grow and later pick them, they’re more eager to eat them.

  If you don’t have room for a vegetable garden, buy potted herbs such as mint and flat-leaf parsley. Children like the mild flavours and they can try them straight from the plant.

  40 things to do so your family will eat

  1. Praise their efforts. You are more likely to get your child eating healthy foods if you use encouraging words. Be specific when offering praise. Try to avoid nonspecific praise such as ‘good boy, or ‘clever girl’. Examples of positive praise include: ‘I like how you tried the green beans.’ Praise is free and it does not pack on the kilos like dessert rewards can. Use praise often but keep it specific and beneficial for your child’s growth and mental wellbeing.

  2. Sample your child’s food. Pick up the cucumber stick and comment on how it’s the best one you’ve ever tasted. ‘Say, I don’t normally love cucumber, but this one tastes really good.’

  3. Finish their food. If your child does not eat all their vegies, enthusiastically ask if you can finish their vegies because you want to be strong like Daddy (you get my drift). Smile, be excited and authentic. No child likes to miss out so they may think twice before saying yes to your request next time.

  4. Serve healthy food at parties. Have you noticed that some foods look better and taste yummier when they’re associated with fun? Fairy bread is colourful and fairies apparently can’t get enough of it. Chocolate crackles are served in fun-looking paper cups and they crackle and taste sweet in your mouth. And these fun foods are served at fun events. But during these parties where are all the healthy foods? Unfortunately healthy foods are banished to the bottom of the fridge in drawers. It’s time to take healthy foods out of the closet and re-work their image so they look like the fun guys too. So in amongst the chips and mini pies at your child’s birthday party, have a gorgeous platter filled with fresh, crisp vegie sticks (must be good quality and well presented) and serve them with a yummy dip. If your child complains, say ‘This is the special platter for the adults and kids who want extra energy to have fun.’ Make sure as many kids as possible hear you say this. Don’t tell them they have to try it. Be cool. Then at regular intervals (and when kids are within ear shot) be heard saying how great the vegies taste. Mmmm ... Also serve fruit and half of the sandwiches on grainy bread.

  5. Have a fruit platter within reaching distance at all times. Marketing cannot work if no one ever sees your products. Fruits are out of sight, out of mind when banished to the bottom drawer in the refrigerator. Keep them washed and ready to eat, either on the kitchen bench, dining table or the most visible shelf in the fridge. A hungry child will often reach for the most convenient food item. (See the Power Fruit Platter recipe)

  6. Have a set meal routine. It can be useful to set specific meal times so your child knows when they can expect to eat. Routine can help them form healthy eating habits—it can prevent overeating and it discourages grazing, which can lead to fussy feeding patterns. Here is an example of a suitable meal timetable:

  • Breakfast time is 7a.m. and finishes by 8a.m.

  • Snack time is 10a.m. and finishes by 10.30a.m.

  • Lunch time is 12.30p.m. and finishes by 1p.m.

  • Afternoon snack time is 3.30p.m. and finishes by 4p.m.

  • Dinner time is 6.30p.m. and finishes by 8p.m. (including dessert if it’s Dessert Day).

  When you tell them ‘Breakfast is at 7a.m. and your next meal is not until snack time at 10a.m.’ it promotes self-discipline when it comes to eating. They learn they just can’t open the fridge door and help themselves whenever they please. All family members should follow the same, or similar, rules as it encourages compliance and feelings of family unity.

  7. You can help enforce this routine by keeping a meal timetable on the refrigerator door. If you have the meal-time rules printed and displayed for your family to see they’ll be less likely to inappropriately request (throw a tantrum) for food. As your child matures, you will need to update this timetable as the meal times will inevitably change.

  8. Set an ‘eat your greens’ challenge. It’s vital to eat green plant foods every day as they are the top foods for good health and wellbeing. They also happen to be the number one most despised food as voted by children. If your child is one of the majority, then you may want to set a family challenge such as to eat one serve of green foods every day. You can use the My Reward Chart as a guide and write ‘One super green food each day’ in one of the first columns.

  9. Speak to your child’s school about introducing ‘Munch and Crunch’ time. A school in Sydney, Australia, has introduced this idea: at around 10a.m., when children can become hungry and lose concentration, the teachers allow their students to eat a small serve of fresh fruit and vegetables while in the classroom. The Munch and Crunch rules are: parents should not pack messy foods and everything must be pre-peeled and cut up so it’s ready to eat during the short break. Munch and Crunch time is a great way to get your child eating healthy foods, because they’re eating alongside their influential classmates.

  10. Use visual merchandising. Store vegetables in attractive, clear containers; serve fruit in gorgeous bowls or plates adorned with your child’s favourite cartoon characters; use fun spoons that are reserved for when healthy foods are served. Children are visual people, so make healthy food look fun with the right accessories.

  11. Stick ’em up. Instead of putting a packet of chips in their lunch box as a treat, let stickers and non-food treats be their reward.

  12. Put food on your toddler’s fork and make aeroplane sounds. Choo choo train noises are effective too. Yesterday my twenty-month-old would not eat his chicken casserole. He is a big eater but that day he was more interested in playing with his toy cars. So I sat with him and called the spoon Thomas the Tank Engine. We filled the spoon with ‘coal’ and then looked for the ‘tunnel’ to hide the coal from the robbers. The tunnel was my son’s mouth and he laughed and then happily gobbled up the food—the whole lot. Food sounds fun when it’s accompanied by choo chooing noises and other playful sounds.

  13. Don’t worry so much. Anxiety never inspired anyone so don’t stand there and fret if your child won’t eat. When you are relaxed and
happy your child is more likely to be relaxed and happy too. And occasionally they won’t eat and they might go to bed feeling a bit hungry. I know this is annoying as it can affect their sleep but this is only temporary so don’t panic and fill them up with rubbish just so they’ll sleep (this only teaches them to complain more and hold out until the treats are offered). Setting up healthy feeding habits encourages good sleep in future. In the meantime, don’t worry—your child will not starve themselves to death and their eating habits will improve with patience and persistence.

  14. Make up fun names. Call chicken rissoles ‘nuggets’. Messy eggs are better than scrambled. Shrek Pasta tastes better than spinach anything. Really Yummy Chicken Casserole sounds more delicious to a five-year-old than Coq au Vin.

  15. Make your child laugh. Tell a joke every time you serve vegetables so you link vegies with laughter and good feelings. This linking method is used by the most skilled comedians. Every time the audience laughs they say a catch phrase such as ‘It’s true’ or ‘I’ll tell you one thing...’ and they do this over and over again. Pretty soon all the comedian has to say is ‘I‘ll tell you one thing...’ and the audience will laugh even before hearing the punch line. Linking vegie eating to joke telling and laughter is a positive way to associate good feelings with eating nutritious foods. To give you inspiration, there are child-friendly jokes adorning the recipe section.