13 Stress-Free Ways to Get Kids Eating Healthy Food for Life

Parents, do your kids gladly eat vegetables and shun pizza? If you said yes, congratulations. If you said no, join the club. My husband and I eat a diet rich in farm-fresh seasonal vegetables, but our 5 year old is not quite as keen. Never fear! There are a few simple, low-stress ways to encourage even the pickiest of eaters to hit the healthy stuff, and shape a lifetime of good eating habits.

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  Try Again, and Again, and Again

  Repetition works (serious repetition--as many as 20 times). Kids will often shun the unfamiliar, but, over a really long period time, what was once strange and vaguely disgusting, can transform into a delicious dinner option.
  More ways to get kids eating healthfully from Babble
  Image: USDA
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  Make One Dinner

  We all want our kids to eat dinner, and no parent wants to send a hungry kid off to bed. But it's important to only serve kids one dinner. Catering to kids' picky tendencies only reinforces bad habits. Make one dinner, and be clear with kids that that's all there is. Avoid struggle at the table, and let kids make their own choice. The dinner mantra in our house is, "The next meal is breakfast."
  Image: USDA
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  Bribe 'Em

  That's right. Studies show that bribing kids, either with stickers or effusive praise, is a great method for getting them to eat their veggies over time.
  Image: USDA
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  Offer Only Fruits or Veggies As Snacks

  As Michael Pollan says, if you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not that hungry, and that's sound advice. Try setting up a station with carrot sticks or fresh fruit, and allow kids free access to these foods between meals.
  Image: Kander
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  Limit Sugar

  Sugary snacks and treats are foods that should enjoyed only occasionally. I try to really limit my family's intake of sweets and candy, and am continually shocked by the amount of junk strangers, friends, and schools are pushing toward our oldest. But, limiting the sweet stuff will reduce sugar cravings overall, and frequent consumption of sugar is most definitely not great for us, so it might be worth seeming like the crazy health-nut lady (or gentleman).
  Image: USDA
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  Offer Two Vegetables with Lunch and Dinner

  Making a commitment to, and habit of, offering varying vegetables will instill good eating habits in you and the kids. And the frequent rotation will ensure they are exposed to a wide variety of flavors and textures.
  Make green bean and tomato salad
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  Don't Use Food as a Reward or Punishment

  It's tempting to use the promise of sweets as a reward for good behavior, but doing so can contribute to unhealthy attitudes toward food, making unhealthy foods even more appealing and making kids feel like they deserve empty calories for doing good work. On the other hand, using healthy foods as a punishment makes it almost certain they'll never seek those foods out on their own.
  Image: USDA
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  Get Kids Involved

  In the kitchen or garden, empowered, knowledgeable kids are more likely to opt for vegetables and fruits. Help kids to understand where food comes from and how it's made; visit a local farm even! They are way more likely to try something they've made, picked, or grown than something that effortlessly appears before them.
  Head out to the farm!
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  Ketchup Works

  Recently, a good friend whose healthy eating prowess I greatly admire, mentioned that her kids sometimes have their veggies with ketchup. Mine too! Like, all the time! You know what? It's OK. Let them have the ketchup -- it's all about establishing healthy habits, and eating veggies with ketchup is better than no veggies at all.
  Make your own ketchup
  Image: Julie Van Rosendaal
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  Water Is Important

  Basically, over the course of a lifetime, the main thing we should all be consuming is water. Get kids accustomed to drinking the healthiest beverage of all by limiting daily drink options to water or plain milk.
  Image: Derek Jensen
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  Play with Color

  Kids love color, and vivid, brightly colored foods are especially appealing to them. Get them trying healthy foods by opting for vibrant veggies and technicolor fruits. You can even play up a favorite color -- purple peppers anyone?
  Eat the rainbow: 11 healthy, colorful foods for kids
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  Keep It Positive!

  There are lots of delicious foods that are also healthy, so it's important to keep the emphasis on all the great foods that are great for you rather than focusing on what foods you shouldn't eat. Healthy eating is about making good choices, not depriving yourself.
  Image: iStock Photo
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  Live a Little

  Since eating healthy should be fun, offer healthy treats, and even not-so-healthy ones, now and again. Smoothies, whole grain fruit muffins, or even sweets shouldn't be contraband. Situations will also come up where the food on offer, whether it's at school or a friend's house or somewhere else, is not the food you would choose -- do your best to relax and let your kid be part of the fun.
  Make a strawberry watermelon frosty
  Image: Kathy Patalsky
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Image: iStock Photo

More from Brooklyn Supper on Babble:
Baby Food Gets Lively: Spiced Moroccan Carrots
10 Easy Ways to Green Your Kitchen (And Save Money Doing It!)
Chill Out: 20 Cool and Fruity Treats You Can Make with Kids

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