Kids can be very picky and they don't often like change. Introducing them to new, healthy foods can be hard when they have a natural tendency to prefer ‘naughty' foods like chocolate, biscuits and sweets. Here are some great tips you can use to introduce your kids to healthy foods they'll love.

1. Introduce one new ingredient at a time: Make sure everyone in the family eats it too. It's important to sit down and eat together, as this is an important time for social interaction. Keeping meal times positive will make new foods easier to introduce.

2. Don't point out the new ingredient: Only talk about it if your kid points it out. When you talk about it, say how yummy it is and how good for your body it is. Remember: kids learn by copying the behaviour of the people around them.

3. Give your kids their new food twice a week and see how they react: They might love it! It's normal for people to like and dislike certain foods and develop their own personal tastes. You should respect the fact that children's tastes will develop and change quite often (sometimes literally from one day to the next). But kids need to try all sorts of different foods before making their mind up. Make sure you go with the motto ‘You have to try a bit of everything before deciding if you like it or not.' Kids understand the logic behind this statement and so find it hard to contest.

4. Mix new foods with things your kids love already: For example, put courgette slices on top of pizza or mushrooms in with pasta. Also, try and substitute ‘bad' snack food with healthier options. Your kids should be allowed to have things like chocolate and biscuits now and then as a treat, but the rest of the time try and stick to healthy snacks. Carrot sticks are a great idea because they are naturally sweet.

5. Give your kids milkshakes, smoothies, and juice: These are very kid-friendly drinks, which are much better for your children than fizzy drinks (milkshakes are a good source of calcium, and smoothies and juice both count towards their 5 fruit and veg a day).   Remember that juice and smoothies do contain a lot of sugar and shouldn't be the only thing your kids drink. Make sure they get used to only having water with their meals.

 

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