Being healthy is something everyone wants for their family. The healthier a person is, the less likely they are to experience mental or physical illnesses. When you’re healthy, your quality of life is greatly improved. As beneficial as healthy living can be, getting everyone on the same page at home can be difficult. After years of being able to eat what they want when they want, accepting change and finding better alternatives is a challenge. If you’re trying to get your family on the right track, perhaps it is best to take a different approach.
Kick the Bad Habits
Habits are easy to form yet difficult to give up. This is especially true when it comes to eating. Though you may realize that having a salad is better for you if it has been your habit to grab a burger instead, consuming a salad isn’t going to happen. You, therefore, need to start with taking a look at poor eating habits you’ve developed as a family. Slowly make adjustments to those habits until it’s become second nature for you to do the right thing. This should essentially make it easier for you to make healthier decisions going forward.
What are some common bad eating habits you may need to kick as a family? Here are a few examples listed below:
Skipping Breakfast
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Does your morning routine leave little time for breakfast in the morning? Chances are mom and dad end up having a cup of coffee while the kids either eat sugary cereal or pop tarts and hop in the car to school.
Skipping breakfast or fueling your bodies with sugar first thing in the morning is a surefire way to crash before lunch. Your body needs nutrients to function properly. Therefore, create a morning routine that gives you time to make a meal in the morning. Or opt for healthier yet quick breakfast ideas like a bowl of oats, a fruit and vegetable smoothie, yogurt, or a health bar.
Buying Junk for Snacks
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Snacking in between meals is recommended for a healthy metabolism. However, it is what you choose to snack on that can cause the issue. If your idea of an afterschool snack is potato chips, candy, cakes, and soda, then your family is in big trouble. These kinds of over processed, salty, sugary, and fatty foods can result in things like diabetes, heart disease, high-blood pressure, and obesity.
Not all healthy snacks are bland and uninteresting to enjoy. If your family loves enjoying a snack in between meals, try to make sure there are healthier options available. You can look for alternative recipes for things you love. For example, instead of buying chips from the store, you can bake a batch of veggie chips at home. You can also look for healthier options in the store. Vegetable platters with dressings to dip, fruit salad, yogurt, and other treats can be purchased to help curb your appetite without packing on the pounds.
Eating Out or Ordering In
You work hard and you’ve got a big family. By the time you get home you’re so pooped from the day’s events that you don’t have the energy to prepare a meal. So, what do you do? You take the family out to eat or order pizza. This is great for an occasional treat but terrible for your health in general.
Time can be hard to come by, but when it comes to your family’s health you have to make time for it. There are two things that can help with this. Weekly meal planning takes the guessing out of what’s for dinner each day. Meal prepping or cooking in batches are also beneficial. You can either make large meals, place them in containers, and freeze them or you can prep things like cutting veggies, making broths, and sauces so that cooking doesn’t take so long throughout the week.
Getting your whole family on board with making better eating choices is a lot more in your control than you think. The trick is to first start by eliminating bad habits like skipping meals, eating junk, and eating out all the time. Then, replace those old habits with new ones like quick breakfast recipes, alternative healthy snack ideas, and cooking in batches. With time, your family’s cravings will subside and you can begin introducing more nutritious food options and more healthy habits to improve their overall quality of life.