I’ve been there too.
You’re feeling guilty that your family thinks boxed mac&cheese is a food group so you decide to make a healthier meal. You got your daily steps in just finding the new ingredients in the grocery store, you slaved over Pinterest to find a recipe you thought they’d eat, and spent way longer than 7 minutes cooking it (the box is sounding pretty good again)…and then you get the glare when it’s served. You’re not sure if you should be discouraged or nervous that they might vote you off the island.
Change is hard.
But deep down we all know we shouldn’t be feeding our families (or ourselves) neon orange food on a regular basis. We know fruits and veggies are important and that processed food comes at a price to our health. But what should we do when our kids (and, sometimes, husbands) only agree to eat chicken nuggets, tater tots and french fries?
#1 Accept that change is hard. We like what we’re used to…it’s comforting and doesn’t take any extra thought. As an adult, I can choose to push past this to experiment. Kids frequently don’t have that level of self control and expecting them to will just cause battles. Adults usually have enough self control, but may not value this change more than they value what’s comfortable. Pushing them to accept your value system will usually just result in more resistance…give them room and time so it doesn’t become a power struggle (that you can’t win!).
#2 Accept that change is possible. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Your family CAN learn to eat, and even enjoy, healthier options. Right now, they might need you to help cast the vision for what that looks like and keep cheering for them as they make baby steps forward.
#3 Accept that change takes time. If you changed your eating habits it likely didn’t happen overnight either. You experimented. As you learned better, you did better. Your family is going to need time, too. They may need even more time than you did because they might not see the value in the change yet. A little step forward is better than not moving at all. Those little steps eventually add up to some real movement.
Some practical tips:
- Compromise! You’re a team so act like it. If you decide that you’d like your family to eat no-sugar cereal and jump from Lucky Charms to Rice Chex you’re going to get more than the glare! The 50/50 compromise works well here…they can have half a bowl of their cereal if they fill the other half with a low/no sugar variety. Win/win!
- Let them help pick the food. Give them options for meals you’re willing to make and let them choose their favorites. Better yet, help them choose a recipe and let them a make it!
- Try a food that’s new to everyone. Take yourself out the ‘expert’ chair and try something NONE of you has ever eaten before. You might love it; you might hate it. But you’ll do it as a team!
- Fresh food is MUCH tastier. If you want your family to try a new veggie it’s worth taking a trip to the farmer’s market to find something that was picked today. Bonus: let them come with you and pick out a piece of produce they think looks interesting.
- If it’s not in the house, they can’t eat it. When I wanted my family to ditch Ranch dressing I spent years trying to talk them into it…and got nowhere. When I accidentally didn’t buy any more they had to try some of the flavored balsamic vinegars and loved them! I’ve been ‘accidentally’ forgetting to buy Ranch for a year now. 🙂
Sometimes it helps to not be the only person who believes it’s important to make healthy food choices. No one does this journey alone! If you’d like to join a FREE group of us who will be doing this journey together for 14 days (April 2-15), click on the link below to join or ask for more info!
