Get Your Children Begging You for Fruits and Vegetables

Explain that candy can make their belly feel sick, rot their teeth, and can stunt their growth. Explain how candy can lead them to gain weight, which in turn can cause kids to bully them and even worse health effects as they age.

Keeping your explanations age appropriate is important as fearing your child into doing anything is wrong however lying to them is worse. For my 3 year old I simply tell him it will make his belly hurt if he eats too much. For my 6 year old I got into greater detail sharing how his daddy struggled for years with poor self confidence because he ate too many sweets and not enough nature treats. I tell him I love him very much and the last thing I want to happen to him is him having years of being mad fun of for being fat.

Unless those treats or deserts are healthy alternatives to sugary over processed artificially colored, and flavored garbage. I tell my sons if they eat all their dinner they can have a healthy treat or natures candy. I have watched my some finish all his spinach because I promised him he could help me make a fruit smoothy if he finished it all.

They say it takes 7 weeks to build a habit but children adapt quicker and you will find that they will soon start asking for those healthy treats when the option of unhealthy is taken away.

I still allow my kids to take part in Halloween but they are only allowed 3 candies on Halloween night and one a day for the rest of the month. (offer the one candy after they have eaten dinner and healthy desert.)

At Christmas they get more then enough chocolate from family and friends. At Easter my wife and I have a fondue the night before and lightly cover blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and apple slices with high grade milk chocolate with no added sugars. Then we wrap the chocolate goodies and put them if the freezer until the morning. These cut more then half the calories yet still let them enjoy chocolate at Easter.

So yes it is possible to have your cake and eat it too!

Tell them when you are eating fruits and vegetables how it will help give them more energy to do better and sports. Explain how carrots help your eyes work better, oranges and clementines help prevent colds, and how all veggies that are dark green are full of vitamins that will help make them "super speedy" as my son says.

Get them involved at the grocery store by quizzing them which foods are healthy and which are not. When you are eating something not as good, like say whipped creamed with mixed berries, tell them that because the whipped cream isn't very healthy we only use a little. Sticking to propper portions is the trick to eating well when not at home.

Allow them to put the peppers on the pizza, peel the carrots (my son begs to do this as soon as he sees me take them out!), husk the corn, or if like us you have a garden you can let them pick berries. This will perk their curiosity and everyone loves eating foods that are fun to make.

Gradually introducing newer fruits and veggies is also important as doing too many changes all at once can be a turn off for young children. Always listen to a child if they absolutely have tried a new food a few times and have told you they just don't like it don't force them to eat it.

If they love peanut butter, try putting it on celory.

If they like chips, try dried crisp apple or banana chips.

If they love ice cream, try putting yogurt in the freezer then serving an hour later.

If they like sugary fruit snacks, try fruit bars made by Sun Ripe or any company who doesn't add sugar and corn syrup.

Also if your young ones love to dip finger foods as much as mine try baby carrots, celery, or cucumber dipped into light salad dressing.

Always lead by example. This is possibly the most important part as it has been shown in numerous studies that kiddies are more likely learn from watching instead of listening.

This is not just about looking good but as a reformed burger and chocolate junkie I can contest how much better I have felt much better mentally and physically and what parent wouldn't want that for their kids?