Healthy Eating Habits for Families

As a paediatrician, one of my advocacies is promoting healthy eating in families. I am a firm believer that health should be our top priority. If we are sickly, we cannot function properly and everything else will fall out of order. I would like to give some practical tips on how to encourage healthy eating in your home.

1. Make a meal plan and include as much whole foods as you can on your grocery or market list.

It will only take 30 minutes of your time to plan your meals for the week. Personally, I like doing my meal planning and grocery shopping on a Sunday. Get an inventory of your pantry and refrigerator, and plan meals on what is left on your inventory to avoid food wastage. Meals do not have to be fancy. Make it as simple and as healthy as possible. Our priority is to eat highly nutritious palatable food. Focus first on the health benefits then find ways to make it more tasty and enjoyable. You will be surprised that healthy eating does not have to be boring. You can look for healthy recipes on the internet for inspiration.

Contrary to what other people say, it is best to start your grocery shopping with the fresh produce section. Fill your grocery carts first with whole foods and leave a little space for the processed foods.

2. Make it a habit to read food labels.

While doing your grocery shopping, make it a habit to read food labels. You don't have to read all of it. Just focus on the nutritional facts, and more importantly, the ingredients. Watch out for added sugar, and other ingredients such as monosodium glutamate, hydrogenated oils, aspartame, sodium nitrate or nitrate, sodium benzoate, artificial colouring and flavouring. You can find most of these ingredients on the labels of processed foods. If you cannot pronounce it, don't buy it. Spend most of your time on the periphery of the grocery where you can find whole foods and try to limit your time on the central part of the grocery where processed foods are located. We have a tendency to eat what is easily available. So stock up your home with whole foods rather than processed foods.

3. Eat together as a family.

Make eating a social event. It should be a place where good conversations are encouraged and where nutritious foods are indulged. With our busy schedules, have at least one meal a day where everyone is present. Avoid discussing stressful topics as much as possible to avoid indigestion. Our gut digests our food properly when we are in a relaxed state. Allow younger children to eat in the dining table. This will encourage them to eat well balanced nutritious foods. Let us be a good example to our children. If we want them to eat healthy, then show them how. Instill within them the idea of eating healthy, as they will carry the practice with them throughout their lives--They'll thank you for it.