Whenever I begin eating a snack, I know exactly what will happen.  My 3 year old son will ask, “What’s that mommy?”  If it’s not a vegetable, he asks if I will share. 
We can tell our kids to eat healthy until we’re blue in the face.  But ultimately, our kids will follow what we do.  What are your eating habits?  Will you have a healthy child if he or she follows in your footsteps?  If the answer is no, then it’s time to make some nutritional changes. 

I was at a fantastic “Mom’s Day Out” event sponsored by Hearts at Home.  One of the speakers Danna Demetre talked about the top six nutritional mistakes most moms make with their children:

1. Too much juice
2. Too many hydrogenated fats
3. Too much sugar and soda
4. Too little fiber
5. Too little protein
6. Too few omega-3 fatty acids

How are you doing with this list for your children and yourself? 

Too much juice?  If you serve a juice box everyday, serve one every other day instead.  When you pour juice into a cup, water it down by 50%.

Too many hydrogenated fats?  Limit snacks that come packaged in a bag (crackers, cookies, chips, etc.) to when you’re going out. 

Too much sugar and soda?  Replace soda with water (it will save you lots of money both now and in dental bills later).  Limit soda to special occasions like birthday parties. 

Too little fiber?  Change your bread.  Read the label and make sure it’s whole grain with 2 to 4 grams of fiber per slice. 

Too little protein?  Serve eggs, protein shakes, or peanut butter on whole wheat toast. 

Too few omega-3 fatty acids?  Offer foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like flaxseeds, walnuts, salmon and soybeans. 

Today’s action step:  Which nutritional mistake are you prone to make?  What will you do to change today?