Junk food + healthy eating ? What? I know I will use this title to get some people’s attention.
Don’t worry-I won’t give my boy artificial colorful candy bombs and broccoli and brown rice. I know very well that when they say “Eat Rainbow”, they are not referring to SkittlesTM.
But how to manage junk food as part of a healthy diet , I really want to talk about how candies and junk food play a role in our children’s healthy lifestyle. Because there is junk food there. Just like you want to hide it, junk food will come to your child. birthday party. Holiday. holiday. grandparents. You know what happened.
So don’t pretend that we never let our kids have those terrible things, let’s tackle the elephant in the room and talk about how to make some junk food in most cases a healthy diet-because I believe it can!
Serve food and lazy food # I will never forget the day my eldest son tasted ice cream for the first time. He was very young and gave him a seemingly innocent taste. His eyes lit up, and he immediately moved forward – look – he was fascinated!
From the taste of the original sugary yogurt to the first greasy dinner on the side of French fries, the appeal of sugar, salt and fat is eye-opening.
Of course, when your children are really young, you have complete control over what they eat, so you can choose to keep sweets and junk food. As your children grow up, you need to teach them how to make good choices for themselves.
As our children grew up, the concepts of energy food and lazy food became our mantra. Motivational food can help your body become strong and powerful. It provides you with the ability to run, ride a bike and play games with friends.
Lazy food will not help your body. It tastes great, but if it is just what you eat, your body becomes lazy and you don’t have the energy to do all the interesting things you want to do.
A simple concept, but very powerful.
Powerful foods and lazy foods help our children understand why they can’t eat sweets and snacks all day, which lays the foundation for the importance of healthy eating. They may not like it, but they understand.
Moderate mindfulness
Since our boys are getting older (young people), our mantra has changed a bit. The child’s terminology has been updated to a more mature concept:
This can be applied to many aspects of life, but what does this mean for our food department: pay attention to your food choices. Pay attention to the impact of choice on health. Enjoy the healthiest food. Eat unhealthy foods in moderation. enjoy life! (Please read more notes on moderation.)
As they grew up, I was impressed by the boys’ interest in healthy eating and junk food self-regulation. They all admit to eating sweets, but occasionally they will occasionally apply sugar-free weeks on their own to break this habit. Recently, after indulging in mini doughnuts and fried food at the Minnesota State Fair, the boys admitted that they were ready to resume a healthy daily life. Usually, their favorite food is fresh fruit (watermelon and mango!)
We also talked a lot about food with the children. We talk about the benefits of healthy home cooking, we talk about the health risks of eating too much sugar and other junk food. Fortunately, we like to cook, and our kids have been helping us in the kitchen since we were young!
Most of the sweets and snacks we eat are healthier versions-such as homemade desserts and organic snacks, but I also admit that occasionally making and buying things that are not healthy. All this is to balance my friend!
So yes, my child eats SkittlesTM every once in a while. This is their junk food of choice. They understand that this is a lazy food. They know that it contains artificial colors and other unhealthy ingredients. I know I cannot control everything they eat. They have their own money, and I am not always with them. But I teach them to pay attention to their choices. This is a powerful thing.
Use your influence.
Maybe your kids will never eat traditional sweets as they usually do, but I bet they are proud of what they eat. Maybe it’s potato chips. Maybe it’s a two-layer cookie. Maybe this is a non-organic milkshake from a fast food store. Hey – we all have different environments and different lives. We are not perfect.
We should not feel embarrassed and refuse to talk about it. We should be open-minded and pay attention. The best thing we can do for children is to teach them the value of healthy eating and how to make the right choices. Their choices are not always good, but they will learn from them. Here are some ways to influence children’s eating habits:
Educate them about food-healthy food and unhealthy food.
Lead by example. Don’t eat donuts for breakfast, but don’t tell them-hey! Try to eat healthy most of the time.
Let them cook and participate in the kitchen. Starting from a young age, they will eventually cook the entire recipe by themselves!
Talk about the food you eat at home and outside.
Teach them to pay attention to their food choices as well as their diet.
