Creating Healthy Eating Habits

Prevention of childhood obesity and chronic disease can start in the kitchen.

Teaching healthy eating habits from a young age will help save your child from the effects of processed foods. There is a strong connection between food and health.

First, learn some simple steps to prepare healthier meals. You don’t have to prepare gourmet meals every night. Easy recipes and simple prep tasks work well for busy families. Develop a taste in your young ones for healthy food.

Second, it’s never too late to help a picky eater. Physical symptoms may have led to picky eating, if some foods were previously uncomfortable to eat. Getting a physiological diagnosis can help guide a joyful food experience. It may take 15 tries to enjoy something new. Tasting small amounts of new things makes food introduction easier.

Finally, encourage your children to be part of the food preparation process. Create a small garden and tend it with your kids. Knowing where food originates contributes to a joyful eating experience. Start with an herb garden and work up to a small, raised garden that works well with the space and sunlight available to you.

Listen as Dr. Nimali Fernando joins Dr. Holly Lucille to share tips on encouraging healthy eating habits in children.