The Beginners Guide to Healthy Eating as a Busy Family

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It begins by running late, you run into the kitchen with 2 minutes to spare and look in your pantry or fridge and low and behold there is not much there but a little ol granola bar box with…count em 3 granola bars left. Painstakingly you feel like you might starve while you’re gone for those 2 hours of practice or worse your kids are going to start throwing a fit because you didn’t grab the little ol granola bar box. So you grab the three bars that are left and run out the door.

We have all gone through this at least once and I am here to tell you, sister, you are not alone. When it comes to making healthy decisions and eating healthy your family comes first. You want what’s best for them and providing nutrient-rich foods for your family, especially your kiddos, is essential for health, growth and well being.

What is Healthy Eating as a Family

How convenient is it that we are blessed to have fast-food chains at every corner. As busy families, it’s hard to just commit to eating healthy because we have the convenience of getting our dinner through a window. But there are healthy options for fast food also and I’ll get into that later. But for now, let’s stick to why healthy eating (especially for kids) is so important.

While all children may grow at different rates, on average, children ages 6-12 years of age generally start growing an average 2.5inches per year and gain on average 5-7 pounds a year! What that is crazy! It’s no wonder your 6-year-old keeps asking for a snack every hour!

During the teen years, which dreadfully start at age 13, start a whole new level of growth. Through puberty teens (especially boys) start to grow at an astronomical rate and this can range from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches a year for girls and 3 to 5 inches a year for boys. Good grief! That’s why they always need new shoes!

But what does this have to do with healthy eating? In order to grow and develop, your body needs fuel. That fuel comes from food. The source of the food is essential to establish healthy weight and height. Healthy food is also essential for adults and people that want to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Kids need healthy foods for many reasons despite growing, it can stabilize moods, improve thinking, and give kids the energy that they need throughout their day. As an adult, it is easier to make these choices but as kids, us big kids need to assist them in making better choices with meals and snacks.

The Best Foods to Fuel your Body

• Whole Grains
• Fruits
• Tons of Veggies
• Protein such as lean meats
• Legumes, beans
• Healthy fats such as; avocados, nuts and olive oils

How to get started with Healthy Eating as a Busy Family

It’s easy to get started with healthy eating as a busy family if you have the right tools. Let’s talk about what it takes to be successful with healthy eating!

Plan out your meals

Planning out your meals is a hard one for a lot of people (especially me) because we are all so busy. I totally get it. If you take into account the amount of time you spend thinking about what to have for dinner you could have a list made of healthy meals for the week. In all honesty, Pinterest, my fave, has many recipes that are super easy and delicious, be sure to follow me so you can be caught up on the most nutritious meals for you and your family. Or you can check out my Free Clean Eating meal plan here!

Make a list

I don’t know about you all, but lists are something that I can’t seem to go a day without. If I didn’t have a list for my day I would probably end up missing something. Making a list for your groceries as well as your snacks and meals is super easy to do, and although it may be time-consuming, it can save you time in the long run and be beneficial for sticking to your healthy eating as a family. Check out my Tips for quicker meal planning below!

You can start out by listing your meals from Breakfasts, snacks, drinks, and dinners. Even kid’s lunches are a great place to start eating healthy. An example of a healthy kids lunch would be the following (see below). Most kids will eat basic food so don’t make this to technical.

• Ham and Cheese Sandwich
• Grapes or apples
• Honest Kids Fruit Juice
• Cheese slices
• Carrots or celery

Use E-Meals to Save you Time

When making a grocery list be sure to use the app from E-meals it’s super easy to use and has a full menu of options that you can mix and match. From Keto, Paleo, Mediterranean, or even Kid-Friendly meals (which I often frequent). From the app it lets you add the meals that you want to cook and create a shopping cart. You can choose from Instacart, Kroeger, Whole Foods, Aldi and a bunch more! It then links the items you added to your account at any of these stores. WHOA NELLY! This was such a breakthrough for me. Not only was I able to meal plan on an app I could also get all of my recipes and ingredients from the app. AMAZING!

I also noticed that when using this app, it helps you stick to a budget. If your like me and don’t necessarily like to wander around the grocery store, I simply load up my cart with “necessary” items, then go pick them up! Whoever thought this up was a genius because it helped this busy mom in its entirety.

Sign up For Meal delivery Services

Meal delivery services are becoming very popular and for good reason. There are many popular meal delivery services that offer healthy family meals, or even just servings for two. These include Paleo, Kid Friendly, Keto, family meals and many other options. The good thing about these meals is that they are extremely convenient! For a busy family, convenience is so important!

In terms of convenience, meal delivery services come in a box that is delivered right to your door. It includes all of the ingredients, meat, veggies, and recipe card that guides you through the cooking process. You can login into an app on your computer or phone and choose the meals that you want to try. You can also choose the number of meals you want for the week and the number of servings. Whether theres two of you or a whole house full most meal plans offer a variety of options.

In our house, we have tried several different meal delivery services. These include Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, Sun Basket, Green Chef, and Plated (no longer in service). Each of these come with different meal options and pricing. Of these, our favorite has been Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh offers many meal options, is reasonably priced and the meals take between 35-45 minutes to prepare. The best thing is about these meal delivery services is that most of them offer money off of your first few boxes so you can try for a low price.

Having the convenience of the meal delivery services allows us to be able to have healthy meals delivered to our door that is fresh and easy to make. I don’t have to worry about what we are having for dinner. On most occasions, we get 3 meals a week and you can even skip weeks if you have other things planned. This is our go-to for a busy family that is trying to eat healthy, stay on a budget and needing convenience.

Tips For eating Healthy as a Busy family

• Make Mealtimes a priority
  • When I was a kid mealtime was essential. We were at the dinner table at 6:00 pm or when dinner was ready. We didn’t eat in our rooms, we at the dinner table. Mealtime meant that everyone gathered around the table and talked about their day whether we liked it or not. To kids, this is so important because they get to talk about what happened during their day and you (mom and dad) get to monitor their eating habits.

• Get the whole family involved
  • Kids love it when they can help cook! And none the less they love shopping for groceries. Even men can enjoy shopping at some point! ( In my dreams) Making a list of what you need and having them find the items in the store. Teaching them to read recipes and follow directions is a great way to enhance their knowledge and enjoy cooking!
• Make Subtle Changes
  • Eating healthy doesn’t have to be abrupt. Making small changes in your diet can lead to big changes in the long run. This can include things like
    • Switching from Whole Milk to Low Fat Milk
    • Switching from White Bread to Whole wheat bread
    • Limit Soda intake- Drink Sparkling water instead
    • Instead of Potato Chips- Try Baked Lays or a handful of Nuts
    • Instead of Butter try Olive Oil when cooking (I know butter tastes much better!
• Limit Sugar
  • I do have a sweet tooth, so banning sugar completely is definitely not happening but limiting sugar can assist in a lot of health benefits. Including weight loss, appetite suppression, and mood disorders. Sugar is often added to foods so reading the labels on food products can assist in reducing sugar intake. Eating more fruits, as they have less added fruit allows you to be able to have a bit of sugar while enjoying the fruit.
• Make Fruits and Veggies More Appealing
  • Often times kids do not like some sort of vegetable, whether its green beans, broccoli or something else. When putting fruits and vegetables in food or as a side it teaches kids that not all vegetables are GROSS! When we go shopping at the store I always let the kids pick their favorite fruits, and have even succeeded at getting the kids to eat Hummus and Vegetables! MOM WIN!

Common Questions/FAQ About Healthy Eating as Busy Family

• Is there anything that I should avoid when beginning to eat healthy as a family? The short answer to this is no. I believe in healthy eating as much as the next person but allowing simple splurges like ice cream or cookies is definitely part of my childhood (and still is). Allowing kids to have a splurge every now and then never harmed anyone.
• How can I get my child to eat more vegetables?
  • Kids and vegetables are a complicated process, but if you start them young by adding vegetables of some sort at every meal than it won’t be hard for them to like. Nowadays you can find many foods that have added vegetables in them such as veggie tots, vegetable spaghetti noodles, veggie mac n cheese and much more! Just look for that sneaky label!
• Are soy-based products better than dairy products?
  • My family is strictly lactose-free, as they all have an allergy. So we tend to go with soy on most occasions. However, with soy it does not provide the protein that is needed for kids or adults for that matter. As a family, we tend to go with Lactaid now as it tastes just like Milk and has all the added benefits. But speaking with your Primary Care doctor can offer more insight on this.
• How can I get my child to eat more?
  • Kids and appetites vary greatly. From growth spurts to attitudes to just being a turd. Seeking the reason why they are not wanting to eat and getting to the root of the problem can assist in better meal planning for your rather picky child.

The Last Thing You Need to Know About Healthy Eating as a busy family

Healthy Eating as a family is simple, by making small changes in your eating patterns and habits and incorporating the above steps into your daily routine can benefit your family greatly.

By taking the steps above you can provide healthier options for your family. With meal prepping and lists and making little adjustments it can be an easy and rewarding change you are looking for. What are your tips for eating healthy when you have a busy family?

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