Got picky eaters? Paulina Ashkenazi of Holy Kale is a young mother and has lots of thoughts on how to raise healthy eaters. Here are a few great tips on how to do just that!

1. Green light, yellow light, red light foods.

For young children, it’s difficult for them to always eat healthy things. As a parent, it is important that you know when they are eating well and when they aren’t. A simple way to do this is to categorize certain foods by color.

Green light foods:

Grains, greens, fruit, nourishing foods, and anything wholesome falls under this category. Whole grain pasta, rice, meat, chicken, fish, and whatever is a real food is great for children's standards.

Yellow light foods:

Healthy snacks like popcorn, homemade granola, premium granola bars, Urban Pops, Matt’s munchies, and cereal are all examples of snacks that are ok for kids. Paulina stresses that cereal is an ok snack but in no way is a meal replacer.

Red light foods:

These are special treats including birthday party or special occasion ‘foods’ that should be consumed sparingly.

Gatorade, soda, or any sugary drinks, candy, ice cream, chocolate, all fall in the red light food category.

Pauline stresses that as a parent, you can’t avoid your children eating these treats, but it’s very good for them to know what’s good for their body and what’s not so great.

2. Try different things, just keep trying.

Want to wean your kids off of white pasta? There are many wholesome options out there and odds are your kids will like some of them. Do a little trial and error test and see what they’ll go for!

Quinoa pasta, whole wheat, and brown rice are all great options you can try out with your kids!

3. Introduction to veggies.

To children’s underdeveloped palettes, greens like broccoli may taste too bitter. If you can’t get them to eat it, don’t be shy to dress it up with a sweet sauce like teriyaki or douse it in cheese. Broccoli with sugar or dairy is better than no broccoli at all.

If a child still won’t eat a vegetable, at least let them touch it and feel it. Let them get familiar and know what real food looks like. If you incorporate more veggies into your own dinner, let them take a look and have the option to touch and taste!

For more stunning food pictures and awesome recipes, check Paulina out on Instagram @HolyKale!

Frieda Schweky

Frieda@sephardic.org

Frieda Schweky is Sephardic.Org's official community events reporter. For inquiries and to get involved with our site, please contact Frieda via email.