When you have kids, it’s your job to ensure that they are eating properly. This means that they should be getting everything they need including vitamins, nutrients, and minerals, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy themselves on the way. In this article, we’re going to be looking at how you can teach your kids about balance when eating and cooking. Keep reading to find out more.
Learning About The Food Groups
The first thing that you should teach your kids when it comes to cooking is the food groups. They need to know what the food groups are, how much of each your body needs, what comes under a food group and how much of each group makes up a plate. Try to make this as fun as possible because it’s important information that you want them to learn while still having a good time. There are plenty of resources online that show you all about the food groups using different colors and so on, so perhaps this would be a good idea to use.
Or, you can create your own resources and come up with exciting ways to teach them about the different groups. You might even want to get a plate and show them examples of balanced meals, the food groups, and portion sizes so that they can see it in real life.
Experimenting With Flavors
Another thing that you want to do is let them experiment with flavors. This is one of the best parts about cooking, and while you don’t want to let them mix something like jam into bologna, you might want to encourage them to try new things. This is the way that new tastes are created, so there’s nothing wrong with letting them work out what tastes good when they are learning to cook.
Try to encourage them to include healthy options in all the things that they create. If that means simply adding some fruit or veg to the plate, so be it! Let them enjoy their time as a chef, and a fun way to see if they know what they’re doing with their food groups is to quiz them on what they’ve put in the dish.
Treats!
Finally, there is nothing wrong with having a treat every now and then, and in fact, it can be good for you. If you’re craving something, but it’s not typically healthy like traditional southern cornbread, just eat it. You satisfy the craving without binging entirely, and you can always eat it with something else. Even if you are craving a sweet treat, this isn’t bad unless you are eating it every single day. Remember that nothing is bad for you as long as it is had in moderation, so this is the key to keeping healthy while still eating what you love.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now have a better understanding of what you should be doing to teach your kids about balance and cooking! Keeping yourself well is important, so make sure you’re doing everything in your power to stick to what is best!