A few years ago, I was diagnosed with Diabetes which, honestly, felt like the end of the world to me as my favorite foods were pasta and potatoes, both very carby choices. I had never been one for making the most healthiest of choices and, to tell you the truth, I was a picky eater, as were both of my kids and my husband. I didn't know how to make the changes that essential to my health. Many of my friends and family have made comment about how they have no idea how I eat the way I do and that they don't think they could do it.
So here are some tips that I found worked for us. These are the rules ( in no particular order) that I continue to use as I find new recipes to try in our house. I hope that that they work for you as well as they work for us!
1. Plan. Plan your shopping trips around what meals you want to eat between now and the next time you go shopping. Then, after you go shopping, map out what dinners for the next week or two will be. This way you know you have what you need to make meals and you have a plan. This will also help you stay on track and allow your family to know what to expect.
2. When you are gathering recipes and meal plan ideas, let the other members of your family add to the collection of ideas. They will be more excited and adventurous when they helped plan!
3. Start small. Eating healthier sounds like a huge, scary under taking. Just the words "eating healthy" makes us want to wrinkle our nose and put the food away! So take away some of the fear. Start offering salads or cottage cheese in addition, or instead of some less healthy options before jumping all in.
4. When you are ready to make some big changes, choose two or three nights a week, spread out over the week (not back to back) to try new foods (entree or side dish). This will help reduce the anxiety produced by not knowing what to expect and all of a sudden not being familiar with what you are eating. It also eases the whole family into better eating habits. This is not an all or nothing world!
5. Try only one new thing at a time, in a meal. If you try a new main dish, choose sides that you've offered multiple times before. This makes the act of trying something new less intimidating.
6. When trying something new, be sure to have dishes that are not just known, but liked and "approved" by the rest of your family, especially the most picky of eaters. This way, if the new dish isn't enjoyed, there is something on the table to turn to that you know will be enjoyed.
7. Allow your little ones in the kitchen. Let them help, even if it's just dumping in already measured ingredients or pulling needed items out of the cupboards, drawers and fridge. When they feel like they had a hand in it, they will be more likely to give it a real chance and they will feel like they had a part in the changes being made. Lastly, it will help make the adventure seem a little less scary and mysterious.
8. Be honest. Share with the family how excited you are to try this new recipe or food. On the same note, it's also to admit when you're a little nervous about trying the new food. It lets your family know you're all in it together and that it's ok to be a little anxious about trying new things. It can also be fun to "jump" together.
9. Invoke the 3 time rule. Each new recipe should be tried and experienced three individual times before making a final decision. The first time is like the introduction, the second is to taste and the third is to experience without the anxiety of the newness overwhelming the experience. If after three times, the dish is not a hit, then you can remove it from the dinner rotation, but not until then.
10.Take the pressure off of you to make new recipes perfectly the first time and take the pressure off of everyone to love everything that goes on table. It's O.K if everyone doesn't love everything. In fact, it's not going to happen. Not every dish you try will be an instant hit. Enjoy the journey. Take pride in how adventurous you're being.
Bonus tip: Have fun! Eating healthy shouldn't feel like a punishment. It should be fun. It should be a learning experience. Just because you don't an ingredient prepared one way, doesn't mean you won't like it another way. And, even when your adventures are not a success, celebrate the experiment!
Do you have any other tips? Share your wisdom with us!
So here are some tips that I found worked for us. These are the rules ( in no particular order) that I continue to use as I find new recipes to try in our house. I hope that that they work for you as well as they work for us!
1. Plan. Plan your shopping trips around what meals you want to eat between now and the next time you go shopping. Then, after you go shopping, map out what dinners for the next week or two will be. This way you know you have what you need to make meals and you have a plan. This will also help you stay on track and allow your family to know what to expect.
2. When you are gathering recipes and meal plan ideas, let the other members of your family add to the collection of ideas. They will be more excited and adventurous when they helped plan!
3. Start small. Eating healthier sounds like a huge, scary under taking. Just the words "eating healthy" makes us want to wrinkle our nose and put the food away! So take away some of the fear. Start offering salads or cottage cheese in addition, or instead of some less healthy options before jumping all in.
4. When you are ready to make some big changes, choose two or three nights a week, spread out over the week (not back to back) to try new foods (entree or side dish). This will help reduce the anxiety produced by not knowing what to expect and all of a sudden not being familiar with what you are eating. It also eases the whole family into better eating habits. This is not an all or nothing world!
5. Try only one new thing at a time, in a meal. If you try a new main dish, choose sides that you've offered multiple times before. This makes the act of trying something new less intimidating.
6. When trying something new, be sure to have dishes that are not just known, but liked and "approved" by the rest of your family, especially the most picky of eaters. This way, if the new dish isn't enjoyed, there is something on the table to turn to that you know will be enjoyed.
7. Allow your little ones in the kitchen. Let them help, even if it's just dumping in already measured ingredients or pulling needed items out of the cupboards, drawers and fridge. When they feel like they had a hand in it, they will be more likely to give it a real chance and they will feel like they had a part in the changes being made. Lastly, it will help make the adventure seem a little less scary and mysterious.
8. Be honest. Share with the family how excited you are to try this new recipe or food. On the same note, it's also to admit when you're a little nervous about trying the new food. It lets your family know you're all in it together and that it's ok to be a little anxious about trying new things. It can also be fun to "jump" together.
9. Invoke the 3 time rule. Each new recipe should be tried and experienced three individual times before making a final decision. The first time is like the introduction, the second is to taste and the third is to experience without the anxiety of the newness overwhelming the experience. If after three times, the dish is not a hit, then you can remove it from the dinner rotation, but not until then.
10.Take the pressure off of you to make new recipes perfectly the first time and take the pressure off of everyone to love everything that goes on table. It's O.K if everyone doesn't love everything. In fact, it's not going to happen. Not every dish you try will be an instant hit. Enjoy the journey. Take pride in how adventurous you're being.
Bonus tip: Have fun! Eating healthy shouldn't feel like a punishment. It should be fun. It should be a learning experience. Just because you don't an ingredient prepared one way, doesn't mean you won't like it another way. And, even when your adventures are not a success, celebrate the experiment!
Do you have any other tips? Share your wisdom with us!
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