What is a Healthy Meal?

We all want our children to eat healthy, but what is a healthy meal. Our children need good food so they can enjoy good health and grow big and strong. The definition of a healthy meal can be quite controversial though. Here is my take on what a healthy meal is and isn’t…..

Eat real food – If we just eat things made out of a box or can all the time we are compromising our health because of all the chemical additives included in prepared foods. Try to eat food that is as close to it’s original form as possible. Eat apples instead of apple crisp. Eat meat and vegetables instead of Hamburger Helper. If you can’t pronounce it from the label on the can or box, you probably don’t want to eat it either.

Avoid the big 3 – For me, if I can avoid partially hydrogenated oils, MSG (monosodium glutamate) and high fructose corn syrup, then I am getting pretty close to a healthy meal. To avoid the big 3 you have to read labels. Food companies don’t make food so that it is healthy for you. They just make it cheap to produce and easy to sell. If something doesn’t taste good, people won’t buy it. I would much rather add a bunch of real salt to a meal, rather than have MSG included in it. I have even heard some doctors refer to MSG as “fertilizer for cancer.” You might want to do some investigating into this interesting chemical and why you want to avoid it.

Some people go to even greater lengths than I do to prepare a healthy meal. Some people are vegetarians or have to eat a gluten free diet due to allergies. Some don’t eat salt and sugar. Those types of diets work for a while, but in America you are setting yourself up for failure if you think you will be able to avoid salt and sugar for a lifetime. Everything in moderation. If you used to eat 10 cookies at a time, work on being satisfied with just 2. If you fill your plate and cupboards with good, real food, then you will be filled up faster with those foods and not need so many cookies to satisfy your hunger.

Add more vegetables – If you usually have one vegetable at dinner, try introducing two. The more vegetables you have the better chance you have of your children eating them. If you children are super picky, you can just puree some vegetables and have them on hand in your freezer to sneak into meals and sauces. My family almost never notices them.

I have found that if I keep only the healthy alternatives in the house, we will eat or drink those. If there is an unhealthy food or drink in the house, we always eat those first. Forget will power. Just don’t buy it in the first place and you’ll be 100 times better off.