For many of us, we have seven weeks until school starts again. Some of you may be thinking, “Only seven weeks?! Summer is almost over! There’s so much I want to do!” Others may be thinking, “Seven weeks?! These kids are already bored and making me crazy!” Either way, the school year is coming and with it will come packing lunches, after school snacks, crazy schedules, breakfast they may not want to eat, and dinners every night. How does this look for you? Are you on top of your meal planning and making sure everyone is getting in their fruits and veggies? Are you scrambling some nights trying to get a meal on the table between activities and laundry and getting kids to bed at a somewhat reasonable time? Maybe you are somewhere in between–most of the time you are on track, but sometimes it’s just winging it with whatever snack they want from the gas station and ordering pizza from the softball field.
I’m here to tell you that no matter where you are on that continuum, you may be thinking that you want to change something. Maybe you want to get better at getting those veggies at least in front of the kids to try. Having healthier snack choices. Not relying on ordering food or frozen pizzas. I think that all of us feel some sort of guilt from time to time about what, how, and when we are feeding our families. I haven’t even touched on those picky eaters who want nothing to do with anything that may remotely look like it is healthy for them. We feel rushed for time, pressure to make something “homemade and healthy,” frustrated trying to find a somewhat healthy choice for a snack that your child will eat, and often overwhelmed by all of it.
The start of a school year is a good time to implement new habits and changes in the foods you are serving. That said, kids may not always respond the best to a bunch of food changes being thrown at them right as they are starting a new grade or new school. They already have enough anxiety and excitement at the start of a new school year and trying to convince them that this new lunch you packed is going to taste great and be healthier is the last thing they want to deal with.
If you have been thinking about making some changes, now would be the time to start and to start slowly. As you run out of one food that your family normally eats but that isn’t the best choice, replace it with something that is a better choice. Let’s say you are a chip family. Everyone likes chips. You have them for meals, snacks, on road trips, at the ball field. Once that bag of chips runs out, try not replacing it. Instead, look for a whole grain cracker or trail mix for a snack. Are your kids going to be thrilled about it? Probably not. Some kids may just roll with it when you tell them that chips really don’t have any nutrition in them and that the new food is a better option to give them energy. Others may straight-out refuse to have anything to do with the new options. Reassure them that chips aren’t gone forever; they just may not be in the house all the time from now on. For us it was ice cream. I quit trying to keep ice cream in the house a long time ago because if my kids know it’s there, they will eat it every day until it’s gone.
Maybe you are trying to add some things in like more vegetables. Start with a veggies you know your family already likes and serve that a couple times a week. Slowly start introducing other veggies prepared in different ways. Asparagus is good grilled, sauteed, or boiled with a Hollondaise sauce. Dips are another great way to get kids eating veggies. Just remember that dip isn’t a food group, and they don’t need more than a tablespoon or so of it.
Working on changes during the summer can be helpful for having some of that foundation in place to start the school year. Remember that the keys are to start slow, use “replacements” that are kid-friendly and still providing nutrition, and to take an approach that your family will respond to. Some kids will do well if you make a big deal out of trying something new. Let’s pick it out! Try it together! Everyone help make it! Others will do better with a nonchalant approach where you just matter of fact make a small change and act like it’s no big deal. You know your family best and what will work best. No matter what you choose to work on or how you choose to approach it, think about how you will feel once that new habit is in place. One less thing to worry about or feel guilty about. You are putting the health of your family first, and that is something that feels great!
Peace from The Edge,
Julia
