Healthy Holiday Eating for Children

With Halloween around the corner, Thanksgiving right after, and Christmas soon following, it can be hard to get the whole family to eat right. Healthy holiday eating for children, and the whole family, is especially important to maintain during the festive upcoming months because good habits, once broken, are even harder to get back on track. Everyone likes to splurge a bit during the holidays, but here are a few tips to help you enjoy the holiday season without derailing your healthful eating habits:

• Don’t go hungry – Too often people skip the other meals of the day when they know a big holiday dinner is coming. Try eating like you normally do, with a full breakfast, lunch, and snacks, not only will you be filling up on nutritious food, but you won’t be ravenous once your at the holiday table.


• Bring a Dish – It is always polite to bring a dish when you’re invited over to someone else’s house. Why not make that dish a healthy one? This way you and your kids can fill up on food you know is healthy.


• Host a Healthy Holiday Dinner – If you are the host, you control what food is served. Make your nutritious favorites, and you might even convert some of your friends and family to be healthy eaters too.


• Eat Healthy First – There are plenty of healthy holiday foods. Try filling up on the steamed green beans and baked sweet potatoes first.


• Don’t let bad habits come back to stay – If you find yourself at the holiday table, tempted to go off your healthy eating plan, you don’t have to be perfect. Just don’t throw up your hands and fall back on your old habits. Jump back into it, and eat healthfully for the next few days. Your one bad meal becomes insignificant in the big picture, but only if you don’t let those old bad habits come back for good.


• Set an Example – Eat healthy during the holidays and serve your children the nutritious food at the table. If they see you’re leading, then they can follow your good habits.

The holidays are a time to celebrate friends and family, so enjoy. Focusing on the great family time can help take your mind off of scarfing down 10 cookies.