Protect the Health of Your Family Through Food

There are many choices your family makes that won't be left up to you. Every time they take a risk or choose something unhealthy, it may not be under your control. Think for a minute about spinach muffins making headlines because they looked so good; in fact, a true story the muffins were loved until the word spinach was mentioned. Seriously, healthy does not mean the food has to be unappealing or taste bad.

If you're the one who does the shopping and cooking in your family, then you can help your family achieve better health. Recently, there have been many books that teach moms and dads how to "sneak" healthy ingredients into meals, like blended vegetables going into brownies, for instance.

What's going to happen as your kids get older? They'll just reach for a brownie - because they're not being led in how to make healthier options. The problem for most families occurs when one member (usually the one who shops and cooks) declares some sort of health-fest for the family, resulting in groans and backlash.

Instead of making this a punishment, help your family make smaller tweaks to their diet that build up into lifetime better nutritional habits. For example, instead of having a platter of brownies on the counter, have a bowl of fresh, organic fruit.

If your kids want something fun, then find ways to make it fun, like creating a shish kabob with fresh fruit that they can dip into Greek yogurt, filled with probiotics. Or use special fruit-cutting tools to make shapes.

If your kids are used to eating a favorite meal, but you think it's unhealthy, look for ways to improve the health of the meal instead of throwing it out for good permanently.

For example, if they love it when you make fried chicken, mashed potatoes and rolls, just make some basic swaps. Take the skin off the chicken add red and green pepper rings on top, drizzle it in olive oil and bake. Make it fun for the kids now it is Christmas tree chicken.

For the mashed potatoes, try sweet potatoes or red potatoes with skin instead. Or bake potatoes and vegetables with the chicken with some spices and herbs.

If rolls or any type of bread are a mainstay at your dinner table, switch to rolls made with whole grains. It's best if you bake it from scratch - a bread maker can even do the job for you!

And add more to your meals, too. Add leafy greens to the mix so that your kids learn to enjoy the right kinds of vegetables. Sauté them in a little drizzle of olive oil and garlic and let the kids enjoy the flavor.