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Community Corner

Mom Talk: Healthier Eating Made Easier

Talk about healthful food options, grow it and present it beautifully.

Q: How can I get my family to eat healthier?

A: Getting your families to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet is a life-long challenge. If your family is a little off track, don’t distress. The path to health is rarely straight. Here are a few tips for incorporating more healthful food into your family’s day:

  • Do you have a fruit bowl? A fruit bowl is an inviting feast for the eyes and the stomachs. It helps you remember through sight and smell to pick up something nutritious. Take the promotion one step further by cutting open a piece of fruit and leaving slices nicely arranged on a plate. Well presented food—even if it is healthy—is always more enticing.
  • Grow some veggies of your own or . For children, the connection they make to their food when they see it growing from a seed or small starter plant to something they can eat is more important than most people realize. Too often, people dissociate from the food that arrives on their table, because they know they can always find it at a grocery store. But that hasn’t always been the case, and it’s not the case everywhere. Zucchini, radishes, lettuces, peas, strawberries, broccoli and herbs are all easy to grow in your backyard, or even on a deck in planters. If you don’t have room for your own garden, invest in a share from one of the local community supported agriculture (CSA) options. You can take your family to visit the farm where your produce grows, and they can start to connect to their food, understanding where and how it grows. Plus, there are many environmental benefits of eating locally grown and organic produce, which CSAs offer.
  • Talk about nutrition. Impart knowledge on your kids either from your own head, a health website or a library book. Talking regularly about healthy choices is a good way to get your family thinking more, and they carry that knowledge with them when you’re not around. Ask them questions, and see what they already know about their food. What’s in tonight’s dinner that is fueling their bodies? What kinds of vitamins and minerals are in their food, and what benefits do they provide? If they don’t know the answers, look them up.

Local resources for healthful produce and plants:

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