Finding Healthy Ways to Feed Children

In my private medical practice, I work with adults to achieve weight loss through the programs I have created and facilitated at The Natural Path. I have been using my evolved version of the HCG Diet program and my Semaglutide weight loss program to help my patients feel their best. Many of my patients are parents who often ask for advice on how to best feed their children. Having two teen boys of my own, I have worked hard to create methods to get nutrient-dense food into their diets.

Although I would never prescribe Intermittent Fasting for children, I find that they often do it naturally on their own. I see this on the weekends with my 12 and 14-year-olds. They get busy playing in the morning, and it is often 11 a.m. or noon when they finally ask for food. I find that many kids naturally benefit from an overnight fasting period without rigid time constraints.  Yet, before school, I always ask my kids to get a good breakfast in their systems.

Tips for Creating Healthy Choices for Your Children

I recommend having a home stocked with healthy choices for your child to eat. If your child is old enough, they can even prepare many foods independently.  I like to keep carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, and cucumber slices on the low shelf in my fridge for my kids to graze on freely.  There is also a tub of hummus they can easily pull out for dipping.  I highly recommend getting into the habit of offering your children whole foods and minimizing foods that come in packages or are processed.  I also think having the kids help with food preparation and clean up is nice. My teens are really good at preparing a meal and also cleaning up after themselves (most of the time).

One tip for deciding if a food is “healthy” is to read the labels.  Read labels with your children so they can learn what to avoid. Unfortunately, so much of the food they stock in our grocery stores today is JUNK!  I strongly urge all parents to avoid sugary cereals. Starting the day with a bowl full of carbs and sugar over time will set the stage for insulin resistance. Insulin resistance and pre-diabetes are becoming more common in children. This is 100% due to a diet high in processed foods, as well as more screen time and inactivity.

The best drink for children is water, water, water!!! It is hard to believe that one-third of the sugar kids consume is in the form of soft drinks, fruit juice, and sports drinks. Save these for the very special occasion. I let my kids have soda if it is offered at a birthday party where everyone else is having it and occasionally on an airplane; otherwise, they drink water when they are thirsty.

Fruit can be a great snack for children, and I recommend keeping low-sugar fruits in the house. Examples of low-sugar fruits are peaches, blueberries, strawberries, nectarines, apples, and oranges. I tend to keep high-sugar fruits such as bananas, grapes, pineapple, and mango for special occasions.

Make it a challenge to see how many things you can eat throughout the day that do not come in a package.

Foods to Keep in Your Home that Are Kid Friendly

Here are some things we keep in our home that I tend to offer my kids. These foods also comprise their lunches most days.

• Carrot sticks
• Celery Sticks
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Sweet peppers
• Cucumber slices
• Jicama sticks
• Raw nuts
• Raw broccoli with a home-made dip
• Ezekiel sprouted breads
• Organic, eggs
• Edamame (organic, non-GMO)
• Organic, low-sugar yogurt
• Soup
• Almond butter
• Organic Cottage cheese
• Air-popped popcorn
• Low sugar fruits
• Seaweed sheets

Help your children stay in balance in a culture that urges us to continuously overconsume! Packaged snacks, cookies, candies, and cake are entirely appropriate for a special occasion, but surely not for every day!

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