3 Tips to Get Kids Into Healthy Eating for Nutrition Month

Heading home after a grocery shopping trip

Did you know that March is Canada's National Nutrition Month? We all know that healthy eating is fundamental to good overall health. It also follows that encouraging healthy eating at a young age helps kids eat well later in life.

There are lots of ways to have fun with food as a family. Find an activity that works for your schedule & the age(s) of your kid(s). The benefits are totally worth the effort.

Here are some ideas:

Plan meals together. Planning meals together teaches kids valuable life skills such as organizing & budgeting. Kids can help in different ways: older ones can check flyers for healthy foods on sale, help write the grocery list, or put together a folder of favourite recipes.

Turn grocery shopping into a family field trip. Add a fun factor when you take the kids grocery shopping. Let your kids pick out a new vegetable or fruit, or get them to play detective by comparing the Nutrition Facts tables on food products. When I go shopping with my three-year-old, I get him to find specific things as we go through the store. When we're in the produce department, I'll ask him to find whatever fruit or vegetable I'm looking for.

Get your kids into the kitchen & let them get creative. Cooking with your mini chefs will give them confidence in their culinary skills & set the stage for healthy eating as they get older. Kids can measure ingredients, mix, pour & stir from a very young age. Linnaeus has liked 'helping' me in the kitchen since he was about two. If you do a pizza night, let everyone make their own mini pizzas by choosing colourful toppings like red peppers, or broccoli. Don’t worry about the mess, cleaning up is also a useful skill.

For more tips and information on healthy eating, visit HealthyCanadians.gc.ca/EatWell

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