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November 13, 2009
How to Avoid a Food Fight With Your Kids
Create a healthy home
• Keep junk food out of the house, or at least out of sight.
•Limit TV, and endless commercials for junk food.
• Plan ahead to avoid buying fast or processed foods: Pack a lunch before school or an outing; keep chopped vegetables in the fridge for quick snacks.
Avoid power struggles
• Praise kids for taking even a tiny taste.
• But don't use sweets and dessert as a prize, especially as a reward for finishing healthier foods.
• Meet kids halfway. Mix half a bowl of sweetened cereal with a whole-grain cereal, for example.
• Dish out kid-sized portions, not intimidating mounds. For a 1-year-old, a single serving is just two to three broccoli florets or one skinny stalk of asparagus.
• Don't react, even if kids make a fuss about refusing food. Don't make them clean their plates, but don't cook them anything else, either.
Make every calorie count
• Blend vegetables, such as pureed eggplant or peppers, into spaghetti sauce. Add shredded vegetables, apples or other fruit to meatloaf and meatballs.
• Sneak vegetables into soups, lasagna and even desserts, such as carrot cake, pumpkin bread or even spinach brownies.
• Make your own fast food, such as chicken nuggets or fish sticks coated in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
•Avoid juice.
Posted by Lisa at November 13, 2009 11:00 AM
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