How many times have you tried and failed to help your family adopt a healthier lifestyle? Probably too many times to count, right?
Well, thanks to the following four tips, you don’t need to push stems of broccoli onto your kid’s plates or eradicate candy from their lives. If you want to transform your loved ones’ health, here’s how to help your family adopt a healthier lifestyle, ensuring they will live long and happy lives.
Step One: Change the Way You Cook
It’s easy to fall into a routine when cooking for a family, as your kids will have their likes and dislikes. You might also not have time to find new recipes or experiment with new ingredients. Instead, you might be tempted to opt for convenience, such as processed foods or takeout, or stick with the tried and tested recipes you know.
If you were nodding your head to all the above, it’s a clear-cut sign you need to change the way you cook. For example, you could turn to Hellofresh to create a delicious fattoush salad, which is a fresh-tasting Middle Eastern dish, and all the ingredients and easy recipe can be delivered directly to your door.
Step Two: Exercise as a Family
Exercising as a family doesn’t mean hitting the gym to pump weights or run for 30 thirty minutes on a treadmill. It’s simply a way of pulling your partner and kids off the couch and encouraging some fresh air and physical activity. The more fun you make exercise, the easier it will be for them to embrace more physical activity. For example, you could all go on a healthy bike ride, play a game of chase in the garden, or head off on a family hike in a beautiful location.
Step Three: Make Healthy Swaps
If you completely change your children’s diet, the chances are they will fight against you. Rather than eradicating items from your children’s lifestyles completely, make healthier swaps. For example, switch high-sugar candy bars for a low-calorie option. You could also use low-fat cheese over full fat, and swap sour cream for Greek yoghurt. There are many healthy swaps you can make. You just need to find the right one for your family.
Step Four: Eat Dinner Together Every Night
If a child learns to appreciate the ingredients on a plate, they’ll eventually come to understand the importance of flavour, nutrition, and preparation. When a child sits on the sofa eating a meal, they more than likely will not give their meal a second glance as they absorb themselves into the TV.
Sitting down at the table as a family will, therefore, encourage your child to take notice of the ingredients on their plate. They’ll also recognize quickly when they are full, so they’ll be less likely to overeat, which can increase their waistline. Studies have also found that this small family ritual cannot only improve a child’s eating habits, but it can also increase their grades and can encourage communication between children and parents.
