With so many different dietary theories out there, each one vying to be dubbed the ‘best,’ it can sometimes be difficult to know what to eat for health. However I think that Michael Pollan said it best when he said “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.” That, in a nutshell, is what constitutes a healthy diet (Psst! I would like to note that mostly plants means mostly fruits and vegetables, not grains. And if you do choose to eat grains, at least make sure to soak them for goodness’ sake!)
Now, in one short paragraph, we’ve summed up healthy nutrition. However, the challenges don’t stop there. What about those of us that have 
kids? Kids that grew up on pizza and Tyson chicken nuggets, Hostess snacks and sugary cereals? After we’ve been feeding them flavor-enhanced, toxic pseudo-foods for a while, they get used to highly intense flavors and their taste buds begin to adjust. No longer does a piece of fruit satisfy like a Twinkie does. This is because their taste receptors have dulled over time due to the continual overstimulation that processed foods provide.
Once you them get off the sugar, high salt intake, MSG, and other intense flavor-enhancers, their taste receptors begin to readjust and taste the delicious decadence of real food. However, in the beginning, real food might taste a little dull in comparison. As adults, we know that our health depends on our nutrition habits and by steering clear of flavor-enhanced pseudo-foods, our taste buds will begin to return to their attentive state. After a period of eating whole foods, we will begin to enjoy a properly seasoned piece of protein or a piece of dark chocolate just as much as all those artificial foods that line store shelves, jumping out at us with their bright boxes and false health claims.
Children, on the other hand, aren’t thinking about their health when they eat. They’re thinking about what tastes good. This means it’s the job of parents to introduce and emphasize whole foods in their children’s diets. I recently received a request from one of my clients to help him find some healthy kid-friendly snacks and meals that his children would enjoy. I’m so glad he did because I found some great ideas!
Here’s a list of my favorites:
Paleo Parents has a free ebook on how to get your children to buy into the idea of eating real food and how they got their children eating Paleo. It’s one of the best resources I’ve seen.
Check out NomNom Paleo’s Week of School Lunches for school lunch ideas.
Peggy at The Primal Parent shares a day of meals for her daughter.
Main Dishes:
Crispy Chicken Cutlets
Chicken Fajitas
Swedish Meatballs
Bacon Chicken
Banana Pancakes
Paleo Sloppy Joes
Crockpot Chili
Mandarin Chicken
Purple Sweet Potato Stegosaurus Plates
Veggies:
Sweet Potato Chips
Sweet Potato Gratin
Yuca Fries
Honey Glazed Grilled Carrots
Eggplant Fries
Maple, Turnip, and Carrot Mash
Snacks:
Fresh or Dried Fruit
Almond Butter and Apple Slices
Almond Butter Celery Logs
All-natural Jerky
Raw nuts
Dark Chocolate Banana Bites
Coconut Pecan Date Rolls
Grain Free Granola
Paleo Crepes with “Nutella”
Ah! Here it is! I finally found what I’ve been looking for. Thank you for sharing this Shamra. For a long time, I have been wishing to have healthier food served on our table and I am very grateful that I came across your ideas here. I will definitely try all of these recipes–my kids will surely have a new favorite.
I am so glad you found it helpful! In my experience, the Purple Sweet Potato Stegosaurus Plates are a huge hit! Brittanie, the brilliant mind behind the dish, says that it’s because of the dinosaur lingo – her kids will eat anything if it sounds cool and prehistoric. I think the meal is just amazing
Excellent article! As a senior, with no grandkids to remind me, it’s easy to forget the youngest when offering advice on nutrition. Yet this is a subject that many mothers ask me about – often a greater concern to them than their own nutrition. I’ll be passing along this article quite often I’m sure.
It’s even easy for me to forget sometimes! Luckily, I have wonderful clients to remind me
Wisdom to live by
I would love to have you share this on The HomeAcre Hop!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/the-homeacre-hop-3.html
Thanks so much for letting me know about this, Lisa! I went ahead and shared
Thanks for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop! So glad to have you join me
Can’t wait to see what you have to share next week!
This is super!! Thanks for linking up. I’m featuring this post this week, so will also share on FB and Twitter. Be on the lookout.
What wonderful news! I will keep my eyes peeled for it. Thanks so much for the feature!
You’re welcome! It’s scheduled to go live this afternoon at 4pm CDT on FB.
Great post, it is always a challenge to get our children to eat healthy. Thank you so much for celebrating TWO YEARS with FULL PLATE THURSDAY, I appreciate your visit!
Come Back Soon
Miz Helen
Love this post! Having made the move to healthier eating, it’s difficult to watch others fill up on fake food. Not that we eat perfectly all the time, but compromise doesn’t come quite so often now that we know how bad the bad is and how good the good is! Blessings!
Thanks for the link to my banana bites. I’m going to check out some of the other recipes now. Have a blessed day!
GREAT resource!
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
On the Gluten Free Fridays tab we have new badges for you to display on your blog. There are a few different choices for you. There are varying sizes as well. If you’ve had a featured recipe in the past, feel free to grab one of those badges as well! They are free for the taking; use as you wish! Thanks for supporting our GF community and spreading the word!
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
See you at the link up this week!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
When someone writes an paragraph he/she maintains the plan of a user in his/her brain that how a user can know it.
Therefore that’s why this post is perfect. Thanks!