3 Simple ways to help your kids make healthy choices as they go back to school
We are already prepping for back-to-school here in Arizona, and as excited as I am for my kids to be back in school, the summer-to-school transition can be a bit overwhelming. Mornings are chaotic packing lunches and getting everyone out the door. And then my afternoons are full of coordinating and taking kids to all their after-school activities, pushing through homework and trying to make sure everyone is fed before bed. It’s a lot for one mama! I’ve found that one of the best things I can do to set my family up for success during the school year is to make sure everyone is eating well.
Nutrition is important for your entire family. Proper nutrition gives your family the energy to keep up with school, activities, work, and everything else they have going on during the school year.
As mamas, we’re our kids’ first teachers. We need to teach healthy habits by leading by example. If we want them to eat healthy, then we need to teach them how!
I spent way too much of my adult life in the binge, restrict, diet cycle. And it hurt me for so long. I want to prevent that for my kids which is why I’m teaching them now how to utilize nutrition to live their best lives while they’re young.
Now, just because I’m a nutrition coach, it doesn’t mean my kids love eating healthily. I get the eye rolls and the “Mom, we know!” anytime I tell them they need to think through their nutritional choices, but nutrition is just like any other lesson we teach our kids. They might not appreciate it now, but one day they will.
Today, I want to give you some tools and resources to help you and your kids make healthy eating simple! If you start teaching your kids about nutrition with these tips and tricks you’ll set them up with healthy habits that will last a lifetime! Plus, what I’m going to share with you might take some of the stress and responsibility off your plate, so that heading back to school is a little easier!
Give them a formula for building a healthy meal
If you’ve ever struggled with healthy eating it’s probably because you’ve only been told what you can’t do. You can’t have carbs. You can’t have fat. You can’t have treats. When you look at nutrition like that it doesn’t sound like something you want to do, right? Well, your kids are going to feel the same way!
Instead of focusing on what you don’t want them to have, let’s focus on what they can have! I created a simple formula to teach my kids how to build a healthy meal.
Protein + veggie + Carb + sweet treat OR sweet drink
This formula gets kids to eat some of the things they don’t naturally reach for, but are so important for their development.
Protein is one of the most essential nutrients. It plays a role in every single function of our bodies. Plus it’s the most satiating macronutrient, so if you feel like your kids are eating all the time, they probably need more protein to keep them full!
Veggies are full of micronutrients like vitamins, fiber and even water. Vegetables can help improve mood, concentration and energy which will help them succeed academically. We know how important veggies can be, but the real problem is getting our kids to eat them! I don’t suggest forcing your kids to eat their veggies, but always offer something you know they’ll eat and don’t be afraid to introduce new veggies to your kids!
When you introduce new veggies ask them to just take one bite. If they hate it, they don’t have to do more. Another tip that’s helped mamas in my Macros Made Easy Program is teaching your kids that taste buds change over time, so even if they didn’t like something last time they tried it, their taste buds may have changed so it’s a good idea to try again!
Carbs are also really important for a balanced diet - for you and your kids! The brain’s first source of energy is carbs so it’s really important that kids eat enough carbs, especially while they’re at school! We want them to have the mental energy to learn!
Finally, sweets! This is an area where parents tend to restrict food for their kids. And I get it! I don’t want my kids loading up on sugar either! I know sweet treats don’t have a lot of nutritional value, but sweets are fun and it’s ok to eat fun foods! Remember, restriction usually leads to binging; so instead of restricting them, teach them how to balance sweets in their diet!
I like to give my kids a lot of choices in their diet - no one likes food they’re forced to eat! So when it comes to sweets I have them choose a sweet treat or a sweet drink. If they want a cookie with their lunch, that’s fine! They can have that, but that means just taking water instead of a Capri Sun or Gatorade.
When you give your kids this formula instead of a list of can haves or can’t haves, they’re able to practice choosing healthy foods for themselves! This means you won’t have to fight them over food all of the time! Woohoo!
I have a free resource that maps out this formula and gives you lots of ideas for each of these categories to make packing lunches or planning meals even easier! Head to my free Facebook group, Busy Mom Simple Nutrition if you want it!
Prep ahead of time
Are you a morning person? I’m not! I don’t enjoy waking up and having to jump right into mom mode. I need a slower start if I want to have a good day, so I like to prep anything I can ahead of time to make mornings easier.
I’ve found with my family, and with almost all of my clients, when you prep meals ahead of time it makes healthy eating so much easier!
Let’s start with the obvious meal first: dinner. If your evenings are busy like mine, then feeding your family a healthy dinner can feel impossible! When I’m running all of my kids to practices from 3-9 p.m. the last thing I want to do is cook an elaborate, healthy dinner. But I know that we all do better when we eat a healthy, home-cooked meal. So I plan and prep for this.
Over the weekend I plan my meals out for the week, order groceries and then I prep as much as I can ahead of time. I will bulk-cook proteins so that I don’t have to worry about pulling things out of the freezer and cooking them the day of. I’ll cut up fruits and veggies ahead of time. Basically, I’ll prep as much as I can so that all I have to do each day is put it all in a pan and cook it! It saves me so much time.
Now, let’s talk about the other meals throughout the day that you might not realize can be prepped ahead of time.
Every night I have my kids pack their lunches for the next day. Yep, I have my kids pack their own lunches! I started having my kids do this in kindergarten and each year they become more and more independent. They follow the formula I gave you above, which makes it super easy for them to do all by themselves!
I should be 100% honest with you, they pack healthy lunches most of the time. There have been a few occasions where they’ve tried to sneak a few extra treats into their lunch boxes, but they’re kids and they’re learning boundaries so I don’t worry about it too much. The important thing to me is that they know how and why they need to pack a healthy lunch.
Having them take responsibility for their lunches takes a lot of stress off of my plate! Plus it gives me some extra time to prep breakfasts too!
A lot of people don’t think about meal-prepping breakfasts ahead of time, but it can be a huge time saver, especially for those of us who aren’t morning people! There are so many great recipes out there for make-ahead breakfasts, but here are a few of my favorite ideas.
Breakfast burritos
Overnight oats
Egg Bites
Breakfast casserole
Smoothies
Breakfast sandwiches
Protein waffles/pancakes
Anything that can be heated up in the morning and eaten quickly or on the go is my jam! If you have a few options available in the freezer it also gives your kids some autonomy to choose what they want, but because you’ve already prepped it you know it’s going to be nutritious and keep them going for the whole day!
Another thing I like to have prepped is snacks! When I get my groceries each week I wash and prep all the fruit and veggies I can so that they become grab-and-go snacks! Having pre-bagged snacks that are nutritious is a game-changer for my busy family! I also like to make up things like protein bites for my kids so that they can have a little pre-workout snack to fuel them before practices and games.
Anything you can do to make your week run smoother is worth it mama! Take a little time over the weekend and work as a family to prep as much as you can ahead of time!
Stock your home with fun, healthy foods
Changing your habits can be hard. I know that cravings for Oreos and ice cream don’t go away just because you’ve committed to living healthier. And your kids are always going to ask for more junk food thanm you want them to have. The easiest way to keep your family eating healthily is to keep it out of the house!
Not having junk food in your pantry makes it harder to eat it. Plain and simple. You are the mom. If you’re the one meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking, then you’re the person who controls what comes into your home and if you feel strongly about certain foods, then you have the power to stop it from coming into your home!
That being said, I don’t want you falling into the restriction trap when you’re revamping your kitchen and pantry with healthier foods. You don’t need to always be taking things away! I have the kid basics like fruit snacks, cookies, and chips in my pantry - but I also have a lot of healthy options available too.
Your kids will eat whatever is available to them, and if you’ve already prepped fresh fruits, veggies and protein-packed snacks, then that’s what they’ll eat!
When I talk to mamas who want to help their families eat healthier they tell me coming up with ideas of what to offer their kids is one of the hardest parts. So I asked the mamas in my Busy Mom Simple Nutrition group for their kids’ favorite healthy foods and I put together a quick list for you!
Clementines
String cheese
Organic yogurt tubes
Skinny pop popcorn
Fruit cups
Bananas
Cheddar cheese/goat cheese
Bell peppers (or minis are always a fun variation)
Hummus
Cottage cheese or yogurt
Homemade gummies with grass-fed gelatin
Beef jerky
Pretzels
Fruit with cool whip
Homemade smoothies (strawberry, blueberry, lime, so many options!)
Mangos
Cucumbers
Mixed nuts with mini dark chocolate chips
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be all organic. It doesn’t have to be perfect! As you model healthy eating habits to your kids you’ll all start laying a foundation for a healthy life!
That being said, if healthy eating has felt overwhelming or stressful for you, then let me help you simplify it! I can teach you how to eat healthy without giving up your favorite foods. And then you can pass down healthy habits to your kids so they can avoid diet culture. Book a healthy mama bluepring call with me to start incorporating healthy habits into your life before the school year gets started!
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