Eating healthy is not always a piece of cake. We often know what’s good for us, but following a healthy diet for balanced nutrition requires discipline and mindfulness. And when it’s such an effort for adults,  it can be especially challenging for kids to eat healthy, willingly. Try telling a kid to eat their millets or finish their greens and you’ll know what we mean!

The pre-teen years between 5 to 12 can be one of many changes… including dietary ones. While, children are open to exploring foods, expressing their likes and dislikes, are getting more curious about their meals, they also tend to push back on things at this age as well. Besides, most of them would prefer to be running around for play-time, rather than sitting and enjoying a nutritious meal (not quite understanding that it’s the very thing that fuels them)!

Planning for and encouraging mindful eating can be trickier and it may also get tougher to account for the dietary needs and preferences for children of various ages in the household; for instance, creating and executing a balanced diet plan for teens may differ from the one for younger kids.

Here are a few tips to make the process easier and more enjoyable, for parents and kids alike!

Make food fun

This is particularly true for younger kids and picky eaters. Making regular food more fun with colors, shapes, textures, and plating styles can help improve their engagement with the food they eat on a day-to-day basis. Giving healthy dishes quirky and novel names unique to your family, also help bring in some giggles and fun at meal-times, allowing for repeat requests. ‘Disguised’ nutrition is also a great way to add in nourishment to food that seems like a treat. For instance, adding scientific nutrition products to pancake mixes, blending in loads of veggies in pasta sauces and curries, adding leafy green veggies to flavorsome fruit smoothies, or offering nourishment-packed beverages as a tasty snack.

Make them part of the process

Planning meals together, especially on freer weekends, is a great way to get kids involved and interested in the intricacies of food. Allow older kids to help with making healthy diet plans and even shopping for groceries. You can also let the younger ones experiment with you in the kitchen and be chefs for the day with simpler activities like washing or mashing veggies, or stirring mixes and batters. Talk to kids about the benefits of different foods for their bodies, how things taste and how recipes come together. Family style meals and meal prepping are interactive, foster curiosity and independence, and are a great way to spend quality time together...with nutritious meals being the veritable cherry on top.