  Family Meals  Be a Role Model  Involve Kids in the Process

 Important to sit down together at meals o Discuss the day o No television or electronics  Can be comforting for both kids and parents o Kids look forward to it  Kids are more likely to: o Eat fruits, vegetables, and grains  And less likely to: o Eat unhealthy snack foods o Smoke cigarettes, use marajuana, or drink alcohol  Tips: o Let kids invite a friend to dinner o Involve your children in planning and prep o Keep mealtime calm and fun- no arguing or lectures

 Eat fruits and vegetables o Don’t overindulge in unhealthy foods  Serve appropriate servings o Don’t overeat  Talk about feeling full o Say things like “This is really good, but I’m full, so I’m going to stop eating.”  Also, don’t talk negatively about your body o Continuous dieting can enforce the same values in your kids

 Let kids help plan o Planning healthy, well-balanced meals o Even shopping Teach them to read food labels  Give kids age appropriate tasks in the kitchen-only as long as they want to o Praise them when they are done  Getting kids involved can teach them and prepare them to make healthy choices when they are older.

Apricot Walnut Cereal Bars Strawberry-Orange Muffins Quick Breakfast Tacos Pizza Roll-Up Bento Lunch Mozzarella-Stuffed Turkey Burgers Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers Frozen Chocolate- Covered Bananas Chocolate-Banana Grahams

 Gavin, M. (2014, May 1). Healthy Eating. Retrieved November 24, 2014, fromhttp://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_ center/healthy_eating/habits.html  Healthy Kids Diet Center. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 24, 2014, fromhttp:// healthy_kids_diet_center  Nutrition for Children and Teens. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from eating/nutrition-for-children-and-teens.htm