Are our kids eating too much fast food?

Are our  kids eating too much fast food?  It is hard when we are so busy, so we run through and grab a bite for the kids, instead of giving them healthier options from home.  This new study reveals the truth about fast food, what they are eating and what they ARE NOT eating… Recently, Beech-Nut organized a study to see how young children were really eating.  They found that 1 out of 3 children weren’t eating any fruit. “By 15 months, babies eat 6 ½ teaspoons of added sugars per day, mainly from fruit drinks, soda, cookies, sweetened yogurt and ready-eat-cereals, which are introduced into the diet as early as 9 months. To put that into perspective, an 8-ounce cup of cola has about 6 ½ teaspoons of sugar. So, babies are eating as much sugar in a day as what you ™ll find in an entire cup of soda!” “Less than half of babies are consuming any vegetables by the time they are 23 months old. And, for the babies who do eat vegetables, the most common veggie is potatoes from French fries and potato chips.”

• What it means:  When processed options like fries and chips are the most common form of vegetable, babies are missing out on nutrient-dense choices found in green veggies. In fact, only 1 percent of babies consume green vegetables!”  – See more at: Beechnut.com  here.

We are living in a time when fast food is all too easy to get and home cooked meals take time. Between running to appointments and practices, it makes grabbing that on-the-go meal or snack that much more tempting.

How can you help?

1. Give your child baby food.  Our kids love those baby food pouches of pureed fruits.  We give them to our 3, 5, 8 & 9 year olds as ‘snacks’.  They think they are great.  (Refrigerate them if your child doesn’t like them the first time). 2. Sneak it into their food! Our kids love these Rice Balls. 3. Make them smoothies!   4. Make popsicles from fruit & vegetables. 5. Let them play with their food! 6. Offer it as the only snack when they are ready for dinner, but have to wait for it to finish cooking. 7. If you go to a park, only pack veggies and fruit (we know that grabbing a pack of crackers is way faster, but if they only have healthy options, that is what they will eat.) 8. Prep fruits and veggies every Sunday and have them ready to grab throughout the week. 9.  Make homemade juice with these 10 juice recipes for beginners (our kids love to help make it… and then drink it!) 10. Try any of these 45 recipes that sneak veggies into their food! 11. You may be interested in this Mom’s hack to make McDonalds at home! We love to share helpful tips here at Kids Activities Blog and on our Facebook Page.  Stop by to see our latest parenting conversations.   In the meantime, here are some more ideas to encourage your preschooler to eat more vegetables.