Teaching your children healthy eating habits can be difficult, especially if you’re on a budget.
Perhaps you’re in a season where you’re trying to pay off as much debt as possible. You may have opted for a personal loan, credit card cash advance or even a car title loan to be able to shop for healthy food which at times can be a little costly, purchase some gym equipment for your home, or even buy a couple of bikes and take a stroll while starting to teach your children healthy habits.
Let’s take a look at five ways to teach your children all about forming healthy food habits while on a budget.
1.Create a Meal Plan
While it’s fun to get creative with the kids and show them the joy of cooking, it’s also important to help them form the habit of eating resourcefully. This means eating what is available at the time, not just whatever they want.
Creating a meal plan for the week can help them form this health food habit. They’ll learn what to expect from dinner, and won’t be in for an unexpected surprise. Plus, they’ll start associating health foods with familiarity, and once they’re used to having them a few times a week, they’ll start wanting them voluntarily.
2.Make Your Grocery List Prior
When thinking about teaching your kids healthy food habits on a budget, it’s important to plan out the grocery list before you hit the supermarket.
You could even sit down with them and let them help you make it. This way, they’ll be able to focus on the list and on what you need, instead of all the things they would rather have when they’re in the grocery store.
3.Avoid Processed and Packaged Foods
While packaged foods are the height of convenience, it’s important to try and avoid buying them when you can. This is because they are full of chemicals and artificial colors and flavors, which you don’t want to give to your kids.
Stick to the fruit and vegetable section – and you can even let the kids pick the fruit out. This way they’ll learn to know when the fruit is ripe, and they’ll fall in love with healthy snacking.
4.Keep Healthy Snacks Handy
It can be tempting to choose those packaged snacks as your go-to after school. However, if you plan ahead and always have a healthy snack on hand for when the kids are hungry, you won’t have to worry about instilling bad food habits.
This is also helpful because it means you’re less likely to spend money on snacks when you’re out with them, which can end up costing you more.
5.Shop at Your Farmer’s Market
There’s no better way to teach your children about healthy food habits than to take them to the farmer’s market on Saturday morning, so they can see exactly where the food comes from.
When they understand that people take time to grow the food they eat, they’ll have a newfound appreciation for it. Additionally, fruit and vegetables are always cheaper when bought from the market.
You’ve taken out a title loan against your car to knock out some of that debt this year – and things are going well. However, you also want to teach your children about healthy food habits, and you’re not sure how to do this with your limited budget.
With our list of five simple tips, you can show your children what it’s like to eat healthy without spending too much.