Healthy eating

Making sure your children eat nutritious foods is important. Many times, this is easier said than done. Here are a few tips you can follow to help keep your children on the path to a lifetime of healthy eating habits:

• Remember that you are a role model for your child’s eating.
• You have a strong influence on his or her food choices and habits.
  
• Plan for three meals and two snacks each day.
  
• Make sure your child eats breakfast. Breakfast provides the energy that your child needs to make it through the day.
  
• Offer your child a variety of foods based on the food pyramid, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, beans, and lean meats.
  
• Involve the whole family in eating healthy. Don’t make separate meals for family members unless they have dietary restrictions.
  
• Read food labels. Check the serving size on the label for consistency.
  
• Cut high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces so your child will eat fewer of them.
  
• Encourage your child to stop eating before he or she feels too full.
  
• Choose healthy food preparation methods. Cook with less saturated fat. Try baking or roasting foods instead of frying them.
  
• Use only heart-healthy oils like corn, soybean, canola, and olive.
  
• Add herbs and spices to meals to improve taste without increasing calories.
  
• Offer your child healthy snacks instead of candy or processed snacks. Healthy snacks include fresh or dried fruit, low-fat yogurt, air-popped popcorn, whole-grain crackers and bread, peanut butter, pretzels, and low-fat cottage cheese.
• Limit the amount of sugar in your child’s diet, including soda and fruit drinks. Choose foods and beverages that don’t list sugar as one of the first ingredients.