Traffic Light Eating
GO! SLOW!
STOP!
Dr.
Bill Sears, nationally renowned pediatrician and author of “Eat Healthy, Feel Great” children’s
book, helps us teach our kids from a very young age how to easily identify
foods growing bodies and brains need.
Using the concept of a traffic light and the colors green, yellow, and
red we can create a classroom at the dinner table, the grocery store, or even
during play- time with our plastic food bins!
Green Light Foods are all fruits and veggies
and GREEN means eat as much as you want.
Yellow Light Foods can be
healthy foods, but things that when eaten in too large a quantity become
unhealthy- these are our lean proteins, whole grains, and some high quality
(hormone free) dairy products (for those who eat dairy). YELLOW means caution- watch your portions,
but we DO need to have them as part of
our healthy plate.
Red Light Foods are those foods should be
eaten in very small portions if at all such as cookies, cakes, and all other
processed foods. These are to be
considered “treats” and as RED Light Foods, we want to STOP and think about how
often we are having them and can we make a better choice. Obviously, we will be having Red Light Foods
on a weekly or perhaps monthly basis (not daily!), however creating awareness
from a young age is the best way to teach healthy habits.
As
moms of young and even not so young children it’s so easy to fall into the trap
of just wanting to fill their bellies so the kitchen can be “closed” for a few
hours time, however we can teach them to make better choices and then have
those “green light and yellow light” options available. Children will not starve themselves (even
though we worry when they skimp or skip for a meal) so not making a battle out
of it and rest in the fact that they will eat if they are hungry enough. Try to NOT become emotional with food as then
you are setting yourself up for food battles.
The ONLY thing children have any control over is what they will put into
their mouths, so creating a learning environment, staying calm and letting them
pick some of their own foods and portion sizes will help them feel that they do
have some control over meal times and a much better option than the mac and
cheese only for dinner or chicken
fingers, etc.
Remember
we are the ones buying the groceries so they can only choose what we have
already purchased when eating at home.
Getting kids involved choosing one meal a week and even helping with a
dish in the kitchen will go a long way to getting your kids on your “team” in
the healthier eating department. Make
the grocery store a learning experience by challenging them to pick 1 fruit or
veggie from every color, to pick out a new fruit or veggie to try, or keeping a
chart on the door of the refrigerator and seeing who can eat the most colors or
number of different fruits and veggies each week. ;-)
Happy Traffic Light
Eating!
Heidi Phillips is a health
professional with a huge passion for helping individuals and families adopt
healthier lifestyles. After graduating with honors and a marketing degree
from the University of Georgia, she quickly realized the corporate world was
not a good fit and pursued her passion for health and fitness. Heidi
began competing in triathlons to maintain her own fitness while juggling
motherhood and personal training. Heidi also worked as the Wellness
Director at the largest metropolitan YMCA in Atlanta, GA and was certified as a
USA Triathlon and swim coach before she began educating families and
facilitating classes as a certified coach for the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute.
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