Introduce Your Family to Healthier Food Choices

A lot of the diets that I have previously tried were only a means to an end: weight loss. One of the things that I love about the South Beach Diet is that it’s not a temporary way of eating. The food choices that we make on this diet should be ones that we continue to make long after we reach our weight loss goals. Whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, and fruits are the foods that we should be eating on a daily basis. Additionally, these are the foods that our families should be eating.

Since I started South Beach (SB), I have become a lot more aware of what my son is eating. Luckily, he is too young to notice the changes that I made in his food, and he doesn’t miss the old, bad way of eating at all. I try to choose products for him that I would choose for myself. Instead of a peanut butter sandwich on white bread, I give him a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread. At his age, bread is bread.

What if your child is older, though, and can notice changes in food? There are still things you can do to bring them over to the healthier way of eating. First, try explaining the difference in healthy and unhealthy foods to them in words they can understand. Tell them that you want to eat healthier because it makes us feel better about ourselves in many different ways. Find ways to get them involved, so they feel like they are a part of the process. If you feel you still have a fight on your hands, you might try introducing healthier choices gradually, or “sneaking” them in. Eating healthier is in their best interest, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it.

Here are a few things that you can do to “sneak” in those healthier options:

• choose products with little to no added sugar. For instance, choose the unsweetened apple sauce instead of sweetened.
• use whole grain breads and flour. There are more choices than just whole wheat. OatNut, 12 grain, or multigrain breads may be a bigger hit than whole wheat. You may have to try a few different types before you find one that your family likes.
• serve fruit as dessert instead of cookies and cake. Try adding a little bit of food coloring to apple sauce or giving them a yogurt parfait in a fancy dish. There are a lot of different ways you can serve fruits to give them more appeal—be creative!
• use olive, peanut, or canola oil for cooking. They won’t even notice the difference, and these monounsaturated oils are actually good for them.