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Eating Tips and Tricks 

Matt Hanses, Abby Arrisher, Tierney Tatosian, Jackie Carty 

“Health is a relationship between you and your body” 

Terri Guillemets

MyPlate

MyPlate is a breakdown of how our food groups should be portioned to have healthy plate. 

Fruits and veggies should take up half of your plate. While grains and proteins should take up about a quarter each of the second half of the plate. When eating grains you should try to make half that intake whole grains.  With a side of some kind of dairy to balance it all out. 

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FUN AND ENGAGING HEALTHY EATING ACTIVITIES 

MyPlate Match Game

HEALTHY FOOD SING ALONG

HANDS-ON INTERACTIVE ACTIVITES 

Holding Hands

Introduce a variety of foods to children at a young age 

Introducing kids to all kinds of foods at a young age can help to prevent them from becoming picky. 

Ways to introduce new foods to children include:

  • Introducing one new food with a familiar food in small amounts.

  • Don't pressure the children to finish all the food that you gave them. 

  • Involve the child in the cooking or shopping process. 

  • Cut the food into fun shapes so it is more exciting for the children. 

  • Let them chose between a variety of new foods. 

 

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Healthy Recipes

This website features numerous links recipes that appeal to

  • Special Diets

  • Diabetes

  • Meal Planning

  • Healthy Eating, Recipes, and Lifestyle

  • and more

There are countless recipes for people to choose from.

Some examples on this site (Eating Well) are:

  • banana bran muffins

  • sweet potato casserole (no sugar)

  • chicken piccata casserole

  • countless others

Budgeting while Eating Healthy

Great ideas to ensure you are sticking to your budget

  • make a list and STICK TO IT

    • especially shopping on an empty stomach​

  • don't grocery shop on an empty stomach

  • buy in bulk (you can freeze most foods to preserve)

  • learn to love frozen fruits and vegetables

  • appreciate the store brand and it's prices

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Kroger

  • Meal planning section on website allows you to:

    • browse recipes​

    • see ingredients and their prices

    • see prep/cook time

HEALTHY EATING RESOURCES 

BOOKS ON HEALTHY EATING 

  Books are an easy and effective way to show your child the different types of healthy foods, and why it’s important to eat them. There are books available for a large age range, and can help your child feel engaged in the healthy eating process. 

HEALTHY RECIPIES 

Co-parenting is common but can leave many children confused without proper communication. Click on this communication guide for resources for the whole family.

BUDGETING WHILE EATING HEALTHY

During this time, it may be hard for children to express to you how they are feeling. Click below to find out what your child may be experiencing.

Why is restricting food bad?

Forbidding food can make those foods even more desired and appealing. There are two types of restriction....

1. Covert Restriction: restriction that the child can't see. Not having unhealthy snacking foods in the house.

2. Overt Restriction: restriction the child can see. Having unhealthy snacking food in the house, but then not letting your child have it. It could also be eating those unhealthy snacks in front of them. 

 

Covert restriction is proven to be the most effective way to restrict your child's access to unhealthy foods without causing an increase in desire for those foods. 

What can you do?

1. Out with the old: Empty your pantry of snacks and drinks that you don't want your child to have free access to. 

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2. In with the new: Re-stock your pantry with healthier alternatives. 

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3. Lead by example: If a food or drink is restricted from your child, it shouldn't be freely available to you.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Sensory Friendly Healthy Food

 Many young children have a hard time adapting to healthy foods simply because of the way they look, feel, and smell. A child with a hypersensitive sense of smell will often gravitate towards bland foods, like chicken or bread, and avoid things such as vegetables. This can cause problems getting your child to get enough nutrients, and this resource offers ways to help deal with these challenges, and how to expose your child to more hyposensitive foods. 

Physical Activity

Almost 20% of children were obese in 2020-2021

 

Not all kids stereotypical ways to exercise such as sports so it's important to engage them in non-traditional activities in order for them to get at least 30 minutes a day.

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Activities

  • Play follow the leader (encourage different ways of moving - running, jumping, crawling etc.

  • Have a dance party with their favorite tunes

  • Make an obstacle course at home

  • Find a park or other nice place outdoors and walk/hike

  • Take children to a theme park or trampoline park

  • Even some video games and VR now are better than nothing for physical activity

  • Be resourceful of what you have at home already

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Vitamins 

Food contains so many vitamins, therefore its so important that children are eating a variety of food and following the  Myplate breakdown and having a balanced diet. 

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Vitamin C: oranges, kiwi, strawberries

Vitamin B: Fish, dairy, whole grains

Vitamin A: dairy, spinach, eggs

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Giving your child a chewable multivitamin everyday is a great way for them to get all their vitamins in one.

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Teaching children about food allergies 

It is important to teach children about their allergies to keep them safe and make them feel comfortable in the classroom. It is also important to teach classmates about other students' allergies so that they can help to keep the students safe. As well as develop an understanding of why some students might have to sit separately or can't eat certain foods. 

European Restaurant

WORKS CITED

Amazon Best Sellers: Best Children’s Diet & Nutrition Books. Amazon.com. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Children’s-Diet-Nutrition-Books/zgbs/books/3231   

Sensory friendly foods your child will love. Brain Balance Achievement Centers. (n.d.). https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/sensory-friendly-foods-child-will-love#:~:text=Depending%20on%20your%20child%27s%20food,wedges%20instead%20of%20mashed%20potatoes  
Dealing With Divorce. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/divorce/
 
USDA. “What Is MyPlate?U.” USDA MyPlate What Is MyPlate?. (n.d.). www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/what-is-myplate.  
Esme. (2016, February 01). Coparenting After Remarriage. Retrieved 2020, from https://esme.com/resources/divorce/coparenting-after-remarriage
 
Staff, Familydoctor.org Editorial. “How to Get Your Toddler to Eat - Eating Habits.” Familydoctor.Org, 27 Sept. 2023, familydoctor.org/when-your-toddler-doesnt-want-to-eat/. 
 
Health, Children’s. “7 Tips for Introducing New Foods to Picky Eaters.” (n.d). Children’s Health – Making Life Better for Children in Texas, Childrens Health, www.childrens.com/health-wellness/how-can-i-cook-meals-even-picky-eaters-will-eat#:~:text=Offer%20bite%2Dsized%20portions%20of,new%20food%20to%20be%20  

LittleFoxKids. “Food Allergy Lesson | Science | Educational Stories for Kids.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQLGJiTb694. 
 
Y. (Director). (2018). Supporting children through divorce or parental separation [Video file]. In Youtube. Retrieved from Supporting children through divorce or parental separation

Tony, J. (2018, February 3). Fruits song | fruit and veggie songs for Kids | Color Songs | Nursery Rhymes . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8mNDeG3SnM
Healthy Eating Games & Activities. Healthy Eating Advisory Service. (2023, June 8). https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/resources/promoting-healthy-eating/healthy-eating-games-and-activities/

Restriction. Restriction | Child Feeding Guide. (n.d.). https://www.childfeedingguide.co.uk/tips/common-feeding-pitfalls/restriction/#:~:text=A%20food%27s%20status%20as%20%27forbidden,children%20eating%20more%20unhealthy%20foods.

Let’s Eat Healthy. Interactive MyPlate Match Game. (n.d.). https://www.healthyeating.org/products-and-activities/games-activities/myplate

Gavin, M. L. (Ed.). (2021, January). Vitamins (for kids) - nemours kidshealth. KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/vitamin.html
 

EatingWell. (2022, September 28). Healthy recipes, Healthy Eating. EatingWell. https://www.eatingwell.com/


Elrick, L. (2015, October 12). Get movin’: 15 Fun Fitness Activities for Kids. Rasmussen University. https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/fun-fitness-activities-for-kids/


Forbes Magazine. (2023, June 5). How to eat healthy on a budget. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/health/body/how-to-eat-healthy-budget/


Meal planning. Kroger. (n.d.). https://www.kroger.com/blog/meal-planning

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