You know about the importance of healthy eating for your foster child, but what do you do if he has become a picky eater and mealtimes are now a battlefield? Your child can develop healthy eating habits with your encouragement and some input from him. Don’t try to force certain foods on your child because he’ll only shut down and not be open to what you offer. Instead, give him different healthy choices a few times and eventually, he’ll want to try them. Here are additional ways to help your foster child eat healthily.
Start With Healthier Snacks
Most kids love snacks, so why not give him healthier ones? Some good options for healthy snacks include:
- Popcorn
- Trail mix
- Pieces of fruit with yogurt
- Nutella with whole-grain crackers
- Oven-baked vegetable chips with salsa
Have The Kids Cook With You
This is another neat way to introduce new healthy foods to kids. If you’re making roasted vegetables with salmon, talk about how certain vegetables and salmon offer a variety of health benefits. Let your child rub spices all over the salmon and vegetables. The kids can even suggest certain ingredients that might make the dish taste better.
Sauce It Up
If it’s a struggle for the kids to enjoy vegetables and certain types of meat, you can prepare sauces to put on top of them. For green beans, green peas, spinach, and broccoli, cheese sauce is an excellent condiment to use. Other good sauces that kids will like include tomato sauce, teriyaki sauce, brown gravy, or Alfredo sauce.
Lead By Example
Let your kids see how much you enjoy healthy meals. Instead of grabbing those cookies, go for the apples and blueberries. Revamp your pantry and toss out the excess junk food. Purchase healthier options and keep them on hand for the family to enjoy.
In conclusion, these strategies help get your kids to eat healthier foods.
If you need assistance with becoming a foster parent or raising your foster child effectively, contact us. We offer the resources you need to begin and maintain this journey well.