How Do I Get My Child to Eat More Growing Foods?

My entry It Doesn’t Matter WHAT Your Kids Eat! was about teaching children to eat foods in proportion to their healthful benefits.  

Thanks to the reader who said, “I understand that non-processed foods are better for all of us, but how can I get my child to eat more of them?”

I hate to say it, but on one level the solution is pretty easy: feed your kids more Growing Foods and that’s what they’ll eat.  Of course, if it were that easy, everyone would be doing it.  So I've listed some more concrete suggestions.  Bear in mind though, that there is a system in place -- involving food and behavior -- and in order to see change you have to alter multiple aspects of the system.

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It's Too Simple!

It’s too simple an answer. 

That’s what one reader said in response to my last post It Doesn’t Matter WHAT Your Kids Eat!

I advocated switching how you think about food.  Instead of paying attention to nutrients like calcium and protein I suggested you organize foods according to how frequently they should be eaten: 

• Growing Foods: These are the fresh, natural foods you should eat most frequently.
• Fun Foods: The moderate foods – packaged, sweetened and/or high in fat – that you should eat less frequently.
• Treat Foods: The junk that you should eat least frequently.

 “What about not serving your kids processed foods, or finding alternatives without all the additives?” this reader asked.

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It Doesn't Matter WHAT Your Kids Eat!

It doesn’t really matter what your children eat.   What matters is how often they eat it.  Whatever it is.

Stop worrying about broccoli or candy.  It does not even matter if your kids consume Goldfish crackers, sweetened yogurt or juice.

What matters is whether your kids eat foods in proportion to their healthful benefits.  What kinds of foods do your kids eat most often?

Teaching your kids to eat right is kind of like baking cookies -- it’s not enough to know the ingredients, or even to get them all into the bowl.  You need the correct amounts of flour, sugar, butter and eggs in relation to each other to produce the ideal outcome.

Proportion matters.  Here's an easy way to get it right:

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