HEALTHY HOLIDAYS: HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS EATING HEALTHY DURING HOLIDAY TIME

- C&J Nutrition, Contributing Writers

Ahhhh holiday time.  Great memories, fun vacations, parties, quality time with loved ones… your kids bouncing off the walls and going through mood swings from an excess of sugary foods.  With most holiday traditions involving food – usually heavier, sweeter foods – this time of year makes it challenging for both kids and adults to maintain healthy eating habits.  This holiday season, we’ve got some tips for keeping your kids healthy and happy, minus the stacks of cookies, trays of brownies, and globs of frosting.

Make healthy food = FUN food:  Think of all the things that kids associate with holiday treats  – special decorations, flavors they don’t always get the rest of the year, fun songs or games, time with friends and family, etc.  Now apply these things to healthier foods.  Sure, your kids will still want sweets – but we guarantee they’ll also want the “special” healthy foods, too!  Have kids help prep food, have a special pizza night where everyone gets to put their own toppings on, set up a blender and yogurt and fruit and let kids concoct their own smoothies, or organize a yogurt parfait bar with do-it-yourself toppings like berries, granola, chopped nuts, and even mini chocolate chips!

Be dense… nutrient dense:  If treats will abound, then why not maximize their nutritional value?  We’re not talking about putting out a tray of baby carrots and expecting your kids to choose them over cookies, but offering something sweet that also contains important nutrients like calcium, vitamin c, or fiber is definitely a bonus.   For example:

Oatmeal cookies with milk (if your child is 2 or older use low-fat milk): Oatmeal is higher in fiber and B vitamins than regular flour and the milk rounds out the snack with a healthy dose of protein and calcium. 

Hot chocolate made with milk (for kids 2 and older use low-fat milk):  Ditto on the protein and calcium from milk.  Plus, when you make hot cocoa at home, you can choose to make the ratio of chocolate to milk a little more in milk’s favor.

Chocolate covered fruit: Fruit gives kids antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber, all in a naturally sweet package.

Popcorn balls with nuts and dried fruit: Popcorn is actually a whole grain, nuts provide a healthful source of fat, and dried fruit adds some fiber and antioxidants.

Rice Crispy treats made with whole grain cereal:  Switching to whole grain cereal offers more fiber, and B vitamins, which are important for energy (the good kind!)

Baked apples/poached pears with low fat Greek style vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream: Adding fruit to ice cream or vanilla yogurt provides fiber and antioxidants on top of the calcium from the ice cream or yogurt.  And the fruit takes up space (in their bowls and stomachs) so there’s less room for ice cream!

Play Sherlock Holmes:  With holiday school parties,  play dates at someone’s else’s home,  lunch time food trades at school, and family functions, there are many opportunities for a child to accumulate sugar grams.  Asking your kids what they’ve eaten throughout the day is really important.  Did they eat cup cakes at school and then have a candy cane at the neighbor’s house?  Then maybe it’s time for some outdoor activity and a dinner that doesn’t include dessert.

Define “treat”, and stick with it:  Even though your kids won’t always follow this credence,
make it clear that treats are special and occasional.  Kids are smart…they “get it”.  Don’t be  afraid to explain that healthy foods fuel their bodies so they can grow and have energy to do all of the fun things that they enjoy, while sugary treats are ok in small amounts but they can zap energy.  Let them know it’s okay to have treats in moderation, but that it’s really important to keep them small and special and only after they’ve had healthy stuff.

Focus on the holiday, family, friends:  What’s the reason for the party?  Who’s going to be there?  Express your own excitement about these things to your kids.  Encourage your kids to bring games and toys to share with friends or classmates rather than food.  Pay attention to what and where foods (especially treats) are available.  If there are sugary treats within an arm’s reach, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on them, or let them know that they can choose only one. 

Play an “active” role!  Don’t let tight schedules, holiday parties, and overall craziness of the holidays prevent your kids from their usual activities.  Instead, plan ways that you and your kids can stay active together during this time of year.  This could be instating the tradition of an annual family hike, Frisbee in the park, a game night, a Wii tournament, even taking them along on a couple shopping trips… you get the picture, the focus is on activity, not food.

Party etiquette:  If you host a holiday party, encourage guests to take home a good portion of the holiday goodies – this way they are not around to tempt your children or you!  Offer healthy foods to your small and adult-sized guests.  When bringing fare to share, opt for healthy versions of holiday favorites (www.cookinglight.com) has some great recipes for healthy classics.)  Or, have a party with an active theme, like having all the neighborhood kids over to make holiday crafts. 

Assume the best:  Kids will eat healthful foods (or healthier versions of treats) if they’re offered in appealing and positive ways.  If you assume kids want junk, they never get the chance to choose something healthy…take the attitude that your kids might just want something that’s good for them, and they might!

Stick with a routine:  Stick with regular meals and snacks as best you can during hectic holiday times.  Be sure to feed your kids a healthful balanced meal or a substantial snack, before heading out to a holiday party that will likely be full of sweets.  This keeps them from having ravenous appetites that coincide with seeing plates of goodies.