Meal Planning Tips for a Healthy Family

It is never being easy feeding an active family with a healthy and nutritious menu, especially when you have picky eaters around you and the time is short. Here are some healthy meal planning tips snacks that will help you nourish your brood.

The breakfast

Yes it is very hard to overstate a healthy breakfast, and it gets even harder when you have to feed your kids, well you don’t have to worry any more.

Take a look at following tips:

• According to research kids who eat breakfast regularly are more likely to fulfill and meet their recommended intake dietary of vitamins and minerals.
• Children typically do not recover the lost nutrients at other meals of the day when they skip breakfast, so it is important for kids, never to skip a breakfast.
• Children, who skip their breakfast meal, tend to fill up on nutrient-poor snacks at school and are less likely to consume the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables their body needs.
• According to research, eating a healthy breakfast has positive effects on cognitive function and academic performance in children.
• A good breakfast not only plays a vital role in physical health, it also enhances emotional stability and mental alertness.

Okay, so breakfast is important. But what kind breakfast is the best?

The ideal breakfast should have plenty of fiber and whole grains in it, add some protein and good fat, and as little added sugar as possible.

Many typical breakfasts are short on protein, so consider the following rich in protein foods to give you the energy you need:

• Eggs are good option, doesn’t matter how you cook them (we recommend hard-boiled eggs, they are easy to have around for a quick protein boost).
• Yogurt (unsweetened) or cottage cheese with berries.
• Burritos with eggs or beans and cheese on whole grain tortillas.
• Hummus on whole grain or corn tortillas.
• All types of natural meat, such as breakfast steaks, or turkey, they are rich in protein.

Need breakfast on the run? Here are a few that are fun.

• Smoothie + a dollop of favorite nut or seed butter.
• Hard-boiled eggs + whole grain crackers + fresh fruit
• Whole grain toast + cream cheese + sliced strawberries

Healthy Lunches & A Lot of Fun

It is not a hard and fast rule to have a peanut butter and jelly in a kid’s friendly lunch. Foods like kabobs, pizza quesadillas and noodles are as easy to make as a sandwich. You will be surprised how much kids love these healthier meals.

To give your kids a sense of control and a vested interest in eating their healthy lunches, do involve them in the prep work and decision making about what goes in their lunchboxes. The best way to do is on the weekends to avoid the dreaded morning meltdowns.

Try these ideas for a little something different:

• Cheese triangles with pepperoni and whole wheat crackers for stacking.
• Baked corn chips with black beans, cheese wedges and fresh pico de gallo.
• Whole wheat tortillas spread with peanut butter, sprinkled with raisins or dried cherries, rolled up and cut in two.
• Chocolate almond butter with graham crackers.
• Tuna salad with grated carrots, served with crackers or in a pita.

Healthy & Delicious Dinners

Always eat dinner with your family or whenever possible! It is proven that eating dinners with family have benefits beyond nutritional requirements. Children who eat meals with their parents have healthier eating habits than those who do not. Families who eat together at home consume less fast food and more fruits and vegetables, and preparing meals at home gives parents to control over both the quality and quantity of food. And of course, it is a great way for their families to regroup and relax together.

With childhood obesity is on the rise in the USA, experts recommend:

• Serve sensible portion sizes so that kids know that “supersized” isn’t normal.
• Help kids make understand to eat until they are comfortably satisfied, not stuffed.
• Not to force kids to clear their plates, instead encourage them to judge fullness by physical rather than visual cues.

Tips for making dinner a group effort:

• Have family members check out cookbooks or online recipes and choose a few new recipes to try out.
• Set some specific days of the week and times for family meals and stick to it. If something comes up, make it into a family event so you still end up sharing a meal. Like, if your daughter’s soccer game is scheduled on a family dinner night, everyone goes to the game and eats together afterward.
• Take pride in your dinner table. Decorate the table more elaborately, or at least have one of the kids set it for the whole family. Add cloth napkins, placemats or flowers.
• Turn off the phone, television and other distractions while having a dinner.