If you are a parent, you can probably commiserate with the common plight of not knowing how to get kids to eat their veggies! Kids seem to somehow be born with an innate hatred for broccoli and Brussels sprouts. In fact, most parents aren’t above a bit of bribery or trickery when it comes to getting anything green down those immature gullets! But who says trickery is all bad? Here are some excellent replacements that can make your kids’ meals both healthy and palatable!
Substitute Fries for Sweet Potato Fries
This suggestion is based on three universal truths: 1. Kids love fries. 2. Regular fries are simply oil-laden, sodium-sodden sticks of starch. 3. Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious. Sweet potatoes are bursting with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other antioxidants.
While these delicious, orange tubers are starchy, a high percentage of that starch comes in the form of resistant starch, which acts just like fiber. The beta carotene in sweet potatoes is great for eye health, while the high levels of potassium are heart-protective. Add a fun dipping sauce and your kids will be none the wiser that their fries are actually healthy!
Substitute White Bread for Wheat Bread
We like to think that our white bread peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the lunches of champions, but white bread is little more than glorified cake. Whole-grain bread contains a higher concentration of nutrients than white bread.
Additionally, making the simple switch from white bread to wheat bread is an easy way to boost your child’s fiber intake. Thankfully, today’s whole grain breads are a far cry from the dry, dense, gummy masses of decades past. There are many soft and delicious options at your local grocery store, so give them a try!
Substitute Grilled Chicken Nuggets for Fried Ones
Chicken nuggets are in just about every young family’s repertoire of go-to foods. Sadly, the prepared freezer versions are full of sodium, sugar, oil, and fillers. Instead of serving processed nuggets, take a page out of a popular chicken fast food chain’s recipe book and serve up bite-sized pieces of grilled chicken breast. With the right dipping sauce, your kids won’t miss a thing!
These examples are just a few of the easy replacements you can make to boost the nutritional value of your kids’ meals. You can continue the meal makeover by thinking about other simple substitutions that might work. Don’t feel like you have to force your kids to go through a total food overhaul–simple substitutions will go a long way toward improving your kids’ diets.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Here’s more to read: How to Raise Your Kids to Make Healthier Choices
