Eating Healthy With Kids: My Top 5 Tips and Tricks!

Hey everyone! Convincing most children to eat their veggies, is like trying to convince a lion to eat a kale salad. It doesn't go over well. Sometimes we can get away with a few of the staples, like carrots, cucumber, celery, and the odd pepper. I refused to accept those simple 4 veggies as the only options for my kids. Veggies are the single most important food, contributing to a persons over-all health. Depriving children of these foods, is depriving them of their best life.  Having your little-ones prepare the food with you, definitely, helps the situation, but, lets face it, most night's I'm lucky if I have an hour to get supper on the table. Between all of life's busy-ness (work, hockey, ballet, homework, bath time, etc.) it can be difficult to get a healthy home-made meal on the table. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking with my kids, but, sometimes having Jack cutting veggies (me in fear of him cutting his fingers off) and Olive pouring and mixing (risk of her burning herself on the stove) is not, really, an option when I just need to get them fed. lol. So here are a few tips that work for me:

1. Give veggies a new and creative name! The first time I remember having one of those "Ah ha!" moments was when Jack was almost 2 years old. I made him asparagus, and, I was having a hard time getting him to eat it. Since we knew he loved, and, I mean LOVED, anything to do with dinosaurs, we started calling them dinosaur beans.  Sure enough, he chowed those "dinosaur beans." As he got older broccoli became "trees", green smoothies became "Zombie Juice" and so forth hehe. It was always fun to see what we could come up with. 

2. Explaining to them what each and every veggie is doing for their bodies. This is great for older picky eaters. It's not only educational but it gets them involved. An example of this would be to teach them how broccoli is known for helping detox the liver. Its high in vitamin E and C and can help heal cuts and wounds, how cool is that. It is also great for teeth and gum health too.This approach isn't only great for your children but also in educating yourself.

3. Mask the veggies you know you just can't get them to eat. Soup is heart warming, good for the soul, and, by far, my favourite way to get a picky eater eating. Soup can be made chunky or smooth, thick or thin, savoury or sweet. For all the families with young babies just throw it in a blender. Walla! Baby food! And it freezes amazing!!! Home made meal as fast as you can heat it up.

4. Juicing!! Who doesn't love a good juice. I always recommend starting out with fruit first and to slowly add in veggies. Start with orange then add a few carrots. Eventually you can add a hint of beet. It's a fast, quick way to get a lot of goodness in.

5. Praise them! Honestly, if I had to choose what works best for me, this is definitely it. It's natural human nature to want approval. Especially from the ones you love. So make it fun, cheer them on. I know that when someone is nice to me, I can't not be nice back. So get your cheer on!

These are just a few of my favourite tips and tricks to get my kiddios eating their veggies. Here is the recipe to the juice above. It's one of our staple green juices - my daughter calls it Monster Juice. This one is my fav. I love starting out my day with at the very least, 2-3 cups of juice. Such an amazing way to give your body that kick start in the morning.

Monster Juice (Green Juice)

What you need:

• 1 Large Cucumber
• 5 Green Apples
• 1 Head of Kale
• 1 Head of Romain
• 2 Large Handfuls of Spinach
• 1 Lime
• 4-6 Celery Sticks
• A pinky size of ginger (optional)

The how to:

• Juice all ingredients, I then like to strain mine afterwards to get as much of the pulp out as possible. I like a really smooth juice. Put on ice or drink as is....This recipe usually makes about a litre and half. I hope you enjoy it us much as we do :)

True Happiness: What is it?

Lately my family has been hit with a few road blocks, and in times of hardship I ask you this, do you ever find yourself wondering what true happiness is? To continue from my last blog post about; Does Everything happen for a Reason, I found that everything I have been faced with in my teenage/ non mothering years, that I felt at the time were the end of the world, has prepared me for times like these. Being a mother has made me reevaluate what happiness is to me and what values I need to instil in my children. Happiness isn't about the things we have, or how big our bank accounts are, or having all your dreams come true. Those are all definite bonuses in life, but they are nothing more than that. I wouldn't feel any more, or less, happy with or without them. Maybe for a moment. Have you ever wanted something so badly it hurt, but when you finally got it, within a few weeks, it had lost all its value, it slowly becomes another staple in your life, and lets face it, we eventually take it for granted. The journey, we take to get there is where all the growth and dreaming happens. We are forever growing and learning in our lives and I found that not one thing will ever lead to happiness because you already have it. Happiness shows up in everyday, even the days you don't think it has. Its a mind set. I challenge you today to try it. Truly take a moment to smell the roses. Make a conscious effort to STOP, and absorb the moment. Appreciating it for what it is. Making the effort to find the beauty in everyday has changed my life. I am so grateful for every moment in my life. Even if it,s not how I imagined it to be. Yes I'm also talking about those down days you wish would just be over. I appreciate my struggles, as odd as that sounds, they are what lead me to finding gratitude in everything I have. Without the lows you wouldn't have the highs. Without the lows you wouldn't be you. I deep down in my soul believe everything happens for a reason. If you're someone who is in a time of struggle, where you just can't figure out why things are going the way they are, have faith that there is a reason. You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain when thinking this way. Life is about the now. Not your past, not your future. You have the power to your own happiness; It's all a matter of changing the way you see it. 

DRESS: Zara

Photo Credit @maria_lang  www.marialangstudio.com