6 ways to help your family eat healthier.
Photo by Stefan Vladimirov on Unsplash
We can freely say that taking care of our loved ones and keeping them healthy is truly a full-time job, but you know what? It doesn’t have to be as challenging as you probably think, so keep on reading and learn about the six ways to help your family eat healthier. Check them out and get down to business right away!
Start taking serving plate off the table
Let’s be honest – overeating is often inevitable when you place heaping bowls of food on the table. Just think about it. Are you more likely to overeat when there’s a bunch of food within arm’s reach, or when you have to stand up, leave the table, and get more food for yourself? The answer is quite obvious, and some studies even show that people tend to consume more food when it’s served family-style. So, the first thing to do is to keep the food on the stove or counter and spoon it out onto plates from there. Everyone will start to consider their hunger levels more carefully before leaving the table for another round of food, which is exactly what you want!
Don’t dine in front of the TV
Bonding over dinner is quite common these days, especially when both parents have full-time jobs and kids spend a lot of time in school, but you know what? Dining in front of the TV should be avoided at all costs, and the reason for that is more than good. When you’re paying attention to the screen, it’s highly likely that you won’t pay attention to what you’re eating and how much food is going into your mouth. This can easily lead to overeating and gaining weight over time, so be sure to always eat around the table. Apart from allowing everyone to connect and catch up, it’ll also teach you to eat more mindfully, and that truly matters a lot.
Meal prep is always a good way to go
In case you weren’t aware of it, meal prep is the art of planning and preparing some, or all of your meals in advance. This can mean a lot of things, from making your lunch the night before and cooking in batches to precooking all your food and portioning it out in appropriate containers for the upcoming week. Needless to say, meal prep can easily adapt to your lifestyle, cooking skills, and personal dietary needs, so all you have to do is to plan everything in advance. This is a great option for days when you simply can’t manage to prepare fresh meals. Besides meal prep, you can also order healthy meals online and get freshly prepared meals delivered to your address. Does it get better than that? We don’t think so!
Don’t serve food after 8 p.m.
For parents with full-time jobs, getting dinner on the table at traditional dinner time can be extremely challenging. This is particularly true nowadays, when a lot of people are working extended hours, which can have a negative impact on weight among many other things. In order to keep your family healthy and trim, you should rely on the aforementioned meal prep and cook meal components such as veggies, protein, and brown rice in advance. If you prepare them over the weekend, you can mix and match them during the week without spending hours in the kitchen. This tactic will get your meals on the table in no time!
Remember the plate rule
Instead of completely changing the ingredients of your meals in order to make them healthier, you should definitely start with adjusting the portion size of each component. For example, non-starchy vegetables such as peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and leafy greens should fill half of your plate. On the other hand, unrefined carbohydrates such as beans, whole grains, and sweet potatoes should fill a quarter of the plate, whereas the last quarter should be reserved for protein – lean meats such as chicken, turkey, or fish. Nuts and seeds will do the trick if you’re on a budget as they’re rich in protein, too. Just stick to this plate rule and you won’t make a mistake!
Be a good role model
Last but certainly not least, being a good role model for your kids should be your top priority in all aspects of life – healthy eating is included. First of all, you can’t expect your kids to be happy to eat broccoli, cauliflower, and kale if you aren’t eating those either. If you love to eat pizza, hamburger, or French fries in front of your kids, you can’t really teach them about the importance of healthy eating habits, right? So, make sure to be a good role model and eat exactly those things you want your kids to eat – a lot of protein, fresh fruits and veggies, and other healthy stuff. Once you do that, you’ll see a fantastic improvement!
As you can see, there are a lot of amazing ways to help your family eat healthier, but these six are undoubtedly the best ones out there. All you need to do is to stick to our tips and you’ll make that happen, without a shadow of a doubt!