Snotty Noses Happy Parents Raising Healthy Kids by Dr Orlena Kerek, Paediatrician

You know those times when the kids are clamouring for snacks? You riffle through the cupboard and what do you find? Biscuits. Or you want to make a healthy meal but all you can rustle up is a frozen pizza? Your healthy eating intentions are good, you’ve just been let down by the empty cupboards. You need to prepare your environment so that it’s EASY to offer your kids healthy foods.

If you want to change your habits into healthy eating habits, you need to tinker your environment. You need to set yourself up for success. One awesome way is to use a “quiet day” for a bit of preparation. To do things that will help you stick to those healthy eating habits during the week.

Personally, I love Sundays. To me, Sundays are a time for pottering, enjoying your family and just relaxing. Those days when you chip away at little jobs, enjoying the ride.

Quiet days are a great time to set up your week. With a few little preparations here and there, you can make the week ahead so much easier in terms of providing healthy food for your kids.

Healthy Eating Habits

Healthy eating is just a matter of habits. Your children need to be in the habit of eating healthy food, but you need to be in the habit of providing healthy food.

I start my Sunday with a trip to the market. I love to get up early, before the crowds arrive. I have time to chat to the stall holders, practice my catalan and fill up on healthy fruit and veg for the week ahead.

I trudge my way home and then think about what I’m going to prepare for the week ahead.

I don’t do all of this every Sunday, but just doing one or two things can really help me prepare healthy food during the week. When I have healthy food to hand, I don’t reach for the biscuits so much.

1. Make stock. I love fresh vegetable stock. It takes around 2 minutes of my time. (Say 5 including draining it and putting it in the fridge.) I keep it in the fridge for the week and use it when I need it.
2. Meal Plan. There are different ways of meal planning. I’m a “have it all in my head person” which I suspect is not the easiest way. If I were more organised, I’d write down a proper meal plan. Just thinking about it for 30 minutes can save me hours mulling it over during the week.
3. Make Soup. The kids love soup and it’s so quick to make but during the week, I hardly find time. If I can do it on Sunday, I can whip it out and have a hot lunch on the table in minutes. Two of our favourite are turnip and red lentil and spicy tomato.
4. Cook Tomatoes This is not for everyone. I love to buy overripe tomatoes from the market and then cook them and jar them. It is a bit of a faff, but it doesn’t really take up much time. If this isn’t something you can be bothered with, I don’t blame you! When I’m feeling lazy, I do just put them in the freezer. Peaches are another great thing to jar if you’re into jarring.
5. Stew Fruit. I like to take all of last weeks fruit and cook it up (mainly apples and pears.) Just chop it, perhaps add some cinnamon and a splash of water. Stew it for 10 minutes and store it in the fridge. You can use it throughout the week on breakfast, as a snack or in some cooking.
6. Make a Healthy Snack. I like to cook a healthy cake or snack as a treat for the kids. This helps to give us variety in our snacks and stops me from resorting to packaged food (again). Check out heaps of healthy snacks here.
7. Cook with the Kids. The weekend is an ideal time to do some cooking with the kids. No week-night pressure. You can take your time and enjoy it. Perhaps you can even make a healthy snack for the week.

All these little things that we do add up to one big healthy eating change. One small change here, another there and before you know it, you’ll have a family who loves healthy food.

Healthy Snack Guide for Children

If you find it really difficult to provide healthy snacks for your children, here’s the perfect answer. My simple guide to how to make snacks healthy will show you how to make easy and simple snacks that are healthy. Simply enter your email address (which will sign you up to my newsletter). You’ll receive your guide plus you get weekly tips from me to help encourage you. If you ever want to unsubscribe, there is a link in every email.