I am often asked for ideas on how to transition a family into healthier eating habits. My first recommendation is education! The more you learn, the easier the transition process will be. Be patient with your family and try to work with them to encourage them into better eating habits. Education will be the key for them as well. When I began to make changes, I first started eating better myself. As I prepared ‘my foods’ my children would usually ask “What’s that?” I would let them have a taste, and sometimes they would say “oooo yuck!” (Whole foods don’t always taste good to our junk food taste buds!). But, sometimes they would say “Yummmmm!” I began to purchase and prepare the foods they liked and as I found enough things I knew they would eat THEN I said, “I’m not buying junk foods anymore!” I had a teenager at the time and I did not stop her from buying junk food items with her own money but I would not buy it for her. The younger children didn’t have that as an option, and they adapted very well. I have taken time to find things that they truly enjoyed eating and educated them every step of the way. God has blessed us with creativity in preparing truly delicious whole food - good for you - dishes and desserts. I am thankful to Him for that.

Going through a radical overnight dietary change for a single individual is certainly possible if the person is very motivated, determined and well educated about what they are doing. This type of approach is often needed if a person chooses to use nutrition & lifestyle changes in the process of overcoming a specific health challenge. A quick transition also can help curb food cravings, which can make the process easier. However, making fast overnight changes for an entire family can be a different matter. Each situation is unique, but when trying to change the lifestyle habits of a whole family it is often more successful when approached as a process. Transitioning into healthier eating habits, while educating your family concerning the steps that you are taking, can be a winning combination. Preparing special homemade treats using recipes from a good natural foods cookbook or purchasing healthy snacks at your local health food store - can be a step toward transitioning away from sugar & fat filled desserts. Always read labels! I usually tell people that are learning to read labels “if an ingredient doesn’t sound like a food . . . it probably isn’t”. Even some foods found at the health food store, can contain ingredients that you may want to avoid. The more you read and learn, the more you will be able to spot items on a label that may be harmful. There are many names for highly processed sugars. Learn what these are so that you will be aware of what you are buying. Also, remember that there are many whole-food, nutrient-rich treats that are easy to prepare and are DELICIOUS. There are many recipe books available that will help encourage you and your family with good & healthy recipes.

If your children are not very open to making dietary changes, it is not necessary to announce what you are planning to do. Just begin adding MORE whole raw foods into your meals. Add more fruits for breakfast, almond butter sandwiches made with whole grain bread or vegetable whole-grain pitas for lunch. Starting your evening meal with a dark green salad (with lots of veggie toppings), prior to the other items you serve, is another way to improve your families diet. Experiment with new fruits and vegetables. Look for fresh foods that your family truly enjoys & try new ideas to make it fun. These are just a few suggestions that can provide a starting point for you.

I often tell parents that transitioning children into healthier eating habits is just like any other aspect of child training. I believe that it is most successful when dealt with in five main areas. The first is to set the standard as the parent of the home. Determining what is good and beneficial for our children and our household is a part of the responsibility that parents have. In two parent households this is best handled when both parents operate as a team. This requires good communication between the parents. Once the standard has been decided upon, it should be presented to the child as a routine aspect of life within the household. This may bring about a need for the child(ren) to make adjustments in their thinking, attitudes & actions regarding this specific area. Because children are very perceptive, I believe that it is important to proceed with making changes only after you have your own personal convictions concerning the principle(s) that you are working towards. If you are not truly convinced about what you are doing, your child will not be either. This will cause greater frustrations for you and your child. This is one reason education plays a significant role in a successful plan of action. Also, I personally feel that it is important to not set any guidelines for your child that you will not be adhering to yourself. If you are not convinced enough about a certain lifestyle change to apply what you are learning to yourself, you will not be convinced enough to successfully work with your child on that issue. Attempting to do so will bring about confusion, frustration, resentment & eventual failure. If you are in the transition process yourself and are working toward eliminating certain things from your own diet, allow your child(ren) to transition with you. Don’t set hard and fast guidelines until you are convinced and ready to apply them yourself. What we tell our children doesn’t truly impress their hearts and minds until what we do lines up with what we say.

The next very important key to success is to start each child off where he/she can be successful. When teaching a child a new task you don’t start him off at the level of an expert. You start him off at a level where he is capable of success and then encourage him further as he increases his level of skill. For example, if you decide to make drinking freshly extracted vegetable juice(s) a routine part of your day, this would be setting a new standard within the home. Many children eagerly accept & enjoy drinking the fresh juices. However, if your child struggles with this, it is best to start him or her off with an amount that is workable for the child. For a young reluctant toddler this may be just a few ounces per day to start off with. As a parent you can usually determine what amount would be reasonable and attainable, without it becoming a constant struggle within the family. The family standard is set and is not compromised, but the child’s situation is considered and addressed in a way that meets his or her own individual needs. It is important to be encouraging and yet firm with the child as you set new standards. It is usually easy to gradually increase the requirements as this new habit becomes routine, and the child becomes settled with this new aspect of life. Also, it is good to try different juice “recipe’s” (like adding lots of apple) to find one that s/he likes. Often they will begin to ask for more on their own (especially if you have discontinued serving health depleting, over-sweetened beverages). With smaller children you can say something like “You have done so good with drinking your juice. I am so proud of you!” Then you can comment on how much taller and bigger they are getting and determine that a little more juice is needed for such a big girl (or boy). This same principle can be applied with other aspects of increasing the beneficial & healthy foods in the diet.

The next key is to encourage your child with this new way of life. Setting the standard says to the child “I am the parent and these are the rules”. While I feel that this is totally appropriate for a parent to do, it does not address the other aspects of parenting required in order to achieve long term success (in any area of child training). It is possible to “make” a child adhere to certain guidelines while they are young, at least while you are with them. But if the goal is to guide them into lifestyle habits that will be beneficial to them throughout their lives, it is necessary to minister to the heart of the child. Giving a child a good foundation by feeding them a healthy diet during their childhood years, is a wonderful goal. An even better goal is to lay a healthy foundation that serves as a model that they will continue in for life. This type of goal requires more than “you do as I say!” One affective way to minister to the heart of your child heart regarding health & diet is to seek to find healthy foods that he or she truly enjoys. As your child(ren) see you spend your time earnestly seeking to find things that each will enjoy, they are able to see how much you value them. Although the purpose of eating is for nourishment, God did bless us with taste buds! Enjoyment should not be the only consideration for the foods that we eat, but it will certainly be one of them. It is important to know that our taste buds adapt as we make dietary changes. There were foods that my children did not like when we first started to transition our diet and yet three months later, they loved them! Working with your child through this process is important. Be consistent, patient & encouraging and I’m sure that your children will do well!

Next, is the vital aspect of educating your child. At Abundant Living Lifestyle Center we feel that after prayer education is the most vital key to successfully changing lifestyle habits to those that promote optimal health. None of us will make permanent changes unless we understand why it is important. In the educational process try to include aspects that your child can relate to. If he has a specific health challenge explain how this can help to make things better for him. If your child is into sports, explain how better health habits can help him in achieving his goals. Educating our children with age appropriate concepts relating to health will help them to begin to develop their own convictions about healthy lifestyle habits. As children get older this educational process will solidify their convictions, making it more likely that they will continue to take these health-building habits into their adult lives.

Finally, I encourage you to enlist the help of your child. Allowing the child to participate in the process will make him feel apart of what you are doing. Ask him/her to be patient with you as you learn new food preparation skills and search for new recipe’s. Explain that much of this process will be new for you also, but that you feel that it is well worth the effort. Have your child(ren) participate in food selection & food preparation as much as is practical for your situation. This will not only be helpful to you but will allow him/her to feel like a participant and not a by stander. Children usually become excited about the things that they do. If you let them take part, they almost always become eager about the process. If your child is reluctant to participate, continue to encourage him, but don’t push too hard. Allow him to sit on the sideline for a season, (while still partaking in the new lifestyle changes) if this is what he chooses. Be sure to complement as much as possible when you see that progress is being made.

Each of the parenting skills that have been mentioned is an important aspect of a successful “family health plan”. Remember to 1) set the standard 2) start each child off where s/he can be successful 3) encourage your child by finding things that s/he enjoys eating 4) educate your child(ren) with age appropriate concepts 5) enlist your child’s help in the process.

Teaching your child(ren) healthy lifestyle habits will be a deterrent to health problems throughout their lives. Setting early patterns, established through education, is a good way to set a healthy path for life. I believe that the time that you invest will be well rewarded

I highly recommend getting Rhonda Malkmus book ‘Recipe’s for Life . . . From God’s Garden’. In her book she provides a great deal of health education. The last half of the book is full of recipes to help you on your journey. Her book also has a chapter devoted to children’s diets. The tape series “Children and the Hallelujah Diet” By Dr. Joel Robbins is a helpful tool that addresses specific information concerning Children. We have these and many other informative books & teaching tools available that will help you to learn more about healthy living.

I know that there can be times of frustration when making lifestyle changes for your family. Prayer is the most vital aspect of the process! Be sure to talk things over with your husband or wife (if you are married) and come up with an approach that you feel will work for your family. Between the two of you, you can come up with a plan to get you started. Start where you are and move forward. Because this is a lifestyle and not a “diet”, be encouraged for each step forward that you make. Don’t get bogged down or overwhelmed, just keep moving ahead. Rest in the Lord with this issue. Give it to Him and ask Him to teach you and make the way.

A portion of our Mission Statement addresses this...

The issue of achieving better health starts first with prayer, asking God to lead and guide us into all truths. Then relying on Him to 1) give us the wisdom to know what changes need to be made in our life concerning our health 2) give us the knowledge on how to make those changes 3) give us the desire to make those changes and 4) give us the ability to make those changes. These things, as it is in other areas of our life, are not accomplished in our own strength or wisdom but in His. (Phil 4:13)

Be encouraged and enjoy the journey! I believe that the Lord will bless your efforts even more than you can imagine.