With children who can pet-shop-eye their way into having another lunch of chicken nuggets or helping of apple juice, parents can’t help but pick at their leftovers and turn to quicker options. Still, post-2020 clarity and the clean slate feeling of a new year reinforce the health boost that seems to dawn on everyone and their marketer during January and its latter months.
Here are some ways to sneak healthy back into your life:
Mindfulness is Key
When it comes to eating, what food is being consumed is often the first thought, but the thought itself may actually be key in ensuring that everyone in the family eats well. Mindful eating is important to instill into your little ones’ mindsets in order to ensure that not only will they eat at the dinner table, but also that they will have a healthy relationship with food.
Take Kyushoku (給食), or what the Japanese refer to as school lunch for example, which is a time to practice mindfulness as this period of time spent in daily life is just as educational and vital as the remainder of their day.
Kyushoku: The making of a Japanese School Lunch
This video gives an insight into the Japanese approach to setting healthy eating habits that both you and your kids can adapt to.
Family-Friendly is Foremost
The art of packing lunch, as popularized through addictive Tik Toks and traditionally held through lunch boxes like the Japanese bento and the Korean equivalent, the dosirak (도시락), are ways in which healthy eating can become enticing to your family.
As demonstrated in this cute clip above, kids are no different than adults when it comes to visual prowess and packaging that we can provide through fun and colorful presentations. These fruit sandwiches are an aesthetically pleasing treat that can be enjoyable for all ages: an afternoon at home making fruit sandwiches
Getting your loved ones involved in the process of cooking is another way in which food can be fun. This way, they can understand the processes and tradition that surrounds food culture as a segway to forming a healthy relationship with food and a more enjoyable mealtime for the both of you. 3 Breakfasts Your Kids Can Cook Themselves
Taking the time to make something that both you and your kids can enjoy can cultivate a healthier relationship between the family and the culture of gathering together to eat.
Simplicity is Best
At the end of the day, not all of us are Michelin star chefs dedicated to the craft of cooking and the symbolic essence of eating – we just want to feed ourselves and our kids and get on with it. Sticking to the basics may be the best way to be healthy because we are indeed creatures of comfort who know that sandwiches or handfuls of fruits and chips can settle picky eaters and grown-up palettes alike.
Healthy spins on family favorites: Minor Figures Oat Milk, PeaTos, siggi’s Icelandic yogurt, Nature’s Bakery Double Chocolate Brownie Bar, Bear Real Fruit YoYos
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