Getting a healthy family meal on the table takes commitment and resolve. My kids beg to eat fast food and sometimes turn up their noses up at meals that I spend precious time making. It would be much easier to throw my hands up in the air and cater to their wishes. How do I do it amid the evening chaos? I prioritize healthy meals in our family by always coming back to my “why”.
One of the most important first steps in getting dinner on the table is figuring out your motivation. What is your “Why?”
Why do I make healthy meals a priority?
I see the long term consequences of a poor diet in my patients daily. I want my family to avoid the same fate.
What is your why?
If you are like me, you want to see your children grow old and feel well enough to keep up. Making that a reality takes intention and healthy eating choices.
Here are other great motivations to promote healthy eating in your family.
Healthy family meals prevent diseases
Preventable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, tooth decay, stroke, heart failure are strongly linked to nutrition.
Healthy family meals prevent cancer
Several types of cancer are linked to obesity and poor diet such as cancer of the colon, gallbladder, kidney, liver, ovaries, pancreas, prostate, rectum, thyroid and uterus.
Healthy family meals improve academic performance in children at school
Children with vitamin and mineral deficiencies have decreased academic performance. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency and is linked to decreased cognitive function.
Healthy family meals increase healthy patterns into adulthood
The time and energy put into providing healthy family meals today has a lasting effect on the eating patterns and choices of our children as they grow into adults.