Did you make a resolution to eat healthier this year? Do you follow a healthy diet but worry about the rest of your family who do not? Are you looking for tips to raise children to be healthy eaters? Do you play a round of golf and eat a burger and fries in the club house or stop for takeout on the way home for yourself or your family?  Whether you are at the course or at home, here are some tips to get the whole family on board with eating healthy in 2024.

  1. Make Family Mealtimes a Priority: Health experts have long espoused the benefits of family meals. They can have long-lasting benefits such as improved family unity, enhanced academic success, decreased behavioral problems at home and school, improved overall nutrition, and an increased awareness of food sensitivities and allergies.
  2. Keep it Simple: Gourmet, made-from-scratch meals are not a requirement for a healthy meal. Instead, try using freshly prepared and fast-cooking foods such as rotisserie chicken, bagged salad greens and salad kits, frozen vegetables, pre-marinated meats and fish, pre-formed meat and meatless patties, pre-cooked chicken sausages, minute rice, and pre-cut vegetables, fruit, and potatoes.
  3. Introduce New Foods: Introducing new foods and rotating a variety of produce and grains in meals can improve the overall nutritional value of your diet. If your main side dish is typically pasta or rice, try whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and farro. If you usually make white potatoes, try sweet potatoes. If your family only wants broccoli and green beans, offer cauliflower, beets, and turnips. Experimenting with flavors and foods from various cultures and cuisines can be interesting and fun. While your family may not like all the different foods, they just might find some new favorites.
  4. Get Everyone Involved: Reduce your workload by including family members in the planning, preparation, and clean-up of a meal. This provides an opportunity for everyone to learn new life skills and gain an enhanced appreciation for meal composition, ingredients, nutrients, food variety, and food waste.
  5. Supplement Takeout Meals: Typically, fast food and common takeout restaurants don’t have a lot of whole grain and vegetable options. If you order pizza, make a salad to go with it. If you order sandwiches, add some fruit such as watermelon, grapes, or apple slices on the side instead of chips. If you get burgers, heat up some frozen roasted potatoes and broccoli instead of purchasing fries and onion rings.
  6. Learn About Nutrition: Find credible sources (e.g., myplate.gov) that explain how to read nutrition facts labels; how to identify healthy options on a menu; and how to understand the importance of including protein, whole grains, and fruits and/or vegetables at every meal. Share your knowledge with your family.
  7. Promote Healthy Snacking: Keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand such as fruit, vegetable sticks, nuts, seeds, trail mix, whole grain crackers, hummus, peanut butter, and yogurt.
  8. Model Positive Food Choices Away From Home: Whether you are eating out, snacking at the course, or stopping for takeout, take the lead in ordering to set an example to the rest of your family.
  9. Get Active Together: Following a healthy diet can help make physical activity easier. You may have more energy, sharper focus, less aches and pains, improved cardiovascular capacity, a stronger immune system, and an enhanced mood. Get the whole family to the course to hit balls, take a walk together after dinner, or play yard games that everyone can participate in. It doesn’t have to be strenuous. Moving the body in some way helps keep it healthy and strong.
  10. Enjoy Your Food: Healthy eating doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember, there is always room in an overall balanced diet for your favorite treats!