National Nutrition Month: Making Healthy Eating Fun for Kids and Teens

Hey there, awesome caregivers! It’s March, which means it’s National Nutrition Month – a time to celebrate all things healthy and delicious. As a parent or caregiver, you have the incredible power to turn your little and not-so-little ones into happy, healthy food adventurers! Let’s make this month extra special with some fun, nutritious ideas.

Little Chefs, Big Appetites

• Kitchen Adventures: Turn your kitchen into a culinary playground! Let the kids help with simple tasks like washing fruits, mixing colorful salads, or stirring pancake batter. They’ll learn where food comes from and might even develop a taste for new things.
• The Sensory Experience: Make food an adventure for all the senses. Let them smell the herbs, feel the different textures, and listen to the sizzle of veggies in a pan. Talk about the colors on their plates – a rainbow of nutrition!
• Themed Meals: Get creative! Plan meals like “Around the World Wednesday” (try new cuisines) or “Make Your Own Pizza Night”. It adds excitement and makes healthy foods seem like an adventure.

Snack Attack!

• Ditch the Junk: Out with the boring chips and cookies, in with the fun stuff! Think colorful fruit skewers, DIY trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, or frozen yogurt pops.
• Superhero Smoothies: Pack a nutritional punch with yummy smoothies. Spinach, berries, banana, a little yogurt – delicious and they won’t even know how healthy it is!
• Themed Snacks: Caterpillar made from grapes anyone? Or maybe a cheese stick pirate ship sailing on a hummus sea? Healthy snacks become way more fun when you get creative with shapes!

Beyond the Plate: Fun with Food

• Grow Your Own: Even a small windowsill herb garden or a pot of tomatoes introduces kids to the magic of how food grows.
• Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt: Make a list of healthy foods with pictures and have them search for their treasures at the store.
• Food Art!: Instead of the usual sandwich, turn lunch into a work of art. Funny faces, and animal shapes – make nutrition a creative and joyful experience.

Key Organizations:

• • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (eatright.org): (https://www.eatright.org/national-nutrition-month/resources)
  • The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture):
    • Nutrition.gov: A hub of science-based nutrition information and resources for various age groups (https://www.nutrition.gov/).
    • MyPlate: Easy-to-understand guidelines, recipes, and tools for healthy eating (https://www.myplate.gov/).

Additional Resources:

• Fruits & Veggies: More Matters: Fun recipes, tips for increasing fruit and vegetable intake (https://www.fruitsandveggies.org/).
• ChooseMyPlate.gov: Interactive tools, educational games, and resources for kids.

**Remember, you are your child’s greatest role model! ** If you show enthusiasm for healthy eating, they’ll catch on. Make it an adventure, not a chore, and you’ll raise kids who truly love healthy, delicious food. National Nutrition Month is about balance. Celebrate progress, not perfection! A sprinkle of silliness and a focus on fun can help build healthy habits kids and teens can embrace long-term.

Let’s make this National Nutrition Month the most delicious and fun-filled one yet!

This blog was written by Pediatric Associates Skylake Offices’ Dr. Fabiana Izquierdo