The Holy Grail of Healthy Family Meals

We want to provide nutritious meals for our family but the task can seem daunting. Does a healthy meal need to be organic, GMO-free, pasture-raised, locally grown and well-balanced? Thankfully no. If we put all of those expectations on a mid-week meal, it is very likely that we can’t live up.


My advice is to focus on one thing:


Increase Fruit and Vegetable intake in your family.

That’s it.


Why is this the holy grail of healthy eating?


According to a recent study, 76% of adults in the US do not eat enough fruit and 87% do not eat enough vegetables. In addition, 60% of US children do not eat enough fruit and 93% do not eat enough vegetables! So, unless your children are in the 7% of kids that get enough vegetables, we have our work cut out for us.


How much fruit and vegetables are enough?


According to choosemyplate.gov, HALF of your plate should contain fruits and vegetables. MyPlate.gov has its limitations but I love that it gives a great visual of what a healthy plate should look like. This is the guide I follow for my children. It is hard to find consensus on anything food-related but you will be hard-pressed to find a medical professional argue about filling your child’s plate with fruit and vegetables. There are other components to healthy family meals but starting small and setting attainable goals first is important.


Set an explicit, measurable, realistic goal such as:


*I will serve 3 dinner meals containing half fruits and vegetables this week.
*Once you are able to attain this goal, increase it.


What next


A well-balanced meal is important. Once you have increased fruit and vegetable intake in your family, start thinking about:


*Increasing diversity of food within food groups- rotate types of protein, grains, fruits and vegetables
*Focusing on the quality of food within food groups- look for locally grown or organic fruits and vegetables, choose pasture-raised eggs and wild salmon.
*Limiting added sugar
*Increasing water intake


The bottom line:


Focus on one improvement at a time. For 93% of parents, increasing fruit and vegetable intake should be your first focus.

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