BETTER MOM-TO-MOM
R e a l
f o o d ;
r e a l
f a m
i l i e s
G etting kids
excited
about
a
healthy
diet
isn’t
alw ays
easy—b u t
it
isn’t
im possible,
either.
Read
on
to
see
how A m erica’s
m om s
are
stepping up
to
th e
plate.
BY ERIN QUINLAN
I
n “S m art E ating M ade Sim ple” (page
1 5 4
), a panel o f leading food and n u tri-
tio n ex p erts offered som e g reat tips
on sta rtin g and m ain tain in g a healthy
diet. But how does th a t tra n sla te to th e
d in in g room table? W e asked m em bers o f th e
B e t t e r H o m e s a n d G a r d e n s
online com m unity,
T he M otherboard, to share th e ir trials and
triu m p h s w ith m anaging th e ir fam ilies’ m eals.
H ere’s w hat th ey had to say.
W h e n it c o m e s to h e a lth y e a tin g , fa m ily
m e m b e rs m ig h t n e e d y o u r h elp .
A slim m in o rity o f m om s in o u r survey—ju st
2
p ercen t— said th e ir spouses and kids reg u -
larly choose n u tritio u s foods on th e ir ow n. Yet
2 9
p ercen t o f fam ilies m anage to eat h e a lth -
fully w ith a little encouragem ent from M om.
A nd w hile
4 6
p ercen t o f survey resp o n d en ts
said th a t healthy eatin g could go e ith er w ay
depending on th e day, only a few rep o rted
being forced into b a ttle at every m eal.
H id in g n u tr itio u s in g r e d ie n ts c a n m a k e
a h e a lth y m e a l g o d o w n e a sy .
•
“I add V
8
to m eat loaf and chili.”
•
“I sneak vegetable purees into pancakes
and m ashed p o tato es.”
• “I m ake m uffins w ith chopped vegetables
and call th em cupcakes.”
•
“My to m ato sauce is full o f vegetables,
and th e kids have no idea.”
B u t t h a t ’s n o t th e o n ly tr ic k .
•
“I m ake it fu n by d ecorating m y d au g h ter’s
plate w ith a broccoli ‘fo rest’ o r a fu n n y face.
Som etim es I let h er have a picnic on th e
living room floor.”
• “I com bine th e vegetables w ith an o th e r food
th ey like—for exam ple, p asta and peas.”
• “I ju st act really excited about healthy foods!”
• “I serve th e vegetables before th e m eat or
starch , w hen th e kids are h u n g ry enough to
eat an y th in g .”
•
“L ast sum m er w e had o u r first garden,
and everyone w as in charge o f ten d in g to a
different vegetable. T he fact th a t th e kids
w orked so hard to grow th e food m ade th em
w ant to eat it.”
•
“ I m ake th e sam e m eals th e y ’re used to but
in co rp o rate healthy in g red ien ts like low -fat
cheese and w hole w heat p asta.”
•
“I don’t tell th em it’s healthy.”
1 7 0
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
MARCH
2011
BHG.COM
