• Pork = for moving forward/progress
• Black Eyed Peas = for good luck
• Seasoned Mixed Greens = for money
• Cornbread & Potatoes = for the reminder to be humble

All three kids will be gone tonight (in fact 2 out of 3 are already gone) so DH and I will celebrate our New Year’s dinner with friends. Wish the kids were here for dinner but what do you do when they’re itching to hang with friends after being home many days??

What’s on your menu tonight?
Plans with family or friends?

Eating healthy is extremely important. With the rise of fast food and frozen dinners which focus on convenence rather then the nutritional value it is even more necessary to engage in healthy meal planning with kids to ensure they start eating right from young.

Healthy meal planning does not need to be a chore. It can be a fun and exciting activity for both the parent and child if you follow these simple rules:

1. Use the healthy food pyramid as a guide.
   
2. Plan ahead by thinking about what you wish to cook with the kids for the entire week.
   Getting your kids involved in the choice of foods eaten will give them some ownership over the food that is presented at the dinner table. It also makes them more willing to finish the food as they had a part in deciding what they are eating for dinner. I personally try to use the fruits and vegetables in season. This would increase the variety of food the kids get to eat and reduce the price of your groceries.
3. Think about fast to cook and good to eat.
   This need not be fast and fatty food but meals that are easily put together or can be prepared ahead of time through batch cooking or pre-seasoning. If your daily meal takes between 1/2hr to 1hr to get cooked it wouldn’t be that cumbersome and tiring to settle each night.
4. Have regular family meals
   Eating at home will help encourage healthy eating. Children learn the best from us adult role modeling what is expected of them. If they see us eating healthy food they too will start to develop a liking for healthy food also.

By following these simple rules it will be a breeze to plan healthy meals with your kids.

Additional Resources…
Healthy Eating Meal Planner: http://dietitians.ca/healthystart/Healthy_Eating_Meal_Planner.pdf
For Preschoolers Ages 2 to 5:http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/index.html
For Kids Ages 6-11:http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html