Eating well is one of the biggest problems Americans face, and it isn’t just something adults are tackling. Obesity in kids is growing at alarming rate. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, obesity most commonly begins in childhood between the ages of five and six.

That’s why many moms are taking extra steps to make sure their kids eat right from the start. Jennifer DeHoog is a registered dietician with the St. Louis District Dairy Council and works out of the Hanna City office. DeHoog said, “First, you want to start with including at least three of the five food groups in a meal: meat, dairy, vegetable, fruit, and grain.”

DeHoog said when parents get busy, they tend to pack kids lunches or make dinners that only include foods from one or two of the groups. She said taking time to plan a meal with your kids is a great idea because if they pick out the food, they’re more likely to eat it.

She suggests jazzing up main dishes by trying creative sandwich fillings like sliced apples, cucumbers, and carrots. You also can use plain, low-fat yogurt as a sandwich spread and add a slice of reduced-fat cheese.

DeHoog said kids tend to like side dishes that have interesting packaging. She suggested string cheese or cheese shapes, yogurt sticks, or baby carrots with cartoon features. If your kids don’t necessarily love fruits and vegetables, you can try adding a health dip such as these:

• Fruit Dips: Combine equal parts of whipped cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese with fruit flavored yogurt. Or mix vanilla yogurt with cinnamon or cocoa powder.
• Vegetable Dips: Add taco seasoning or dry ranch dressing mix to plain yogurt. Or add chives or a favorite spice to yogurt.

If you want your kids to eat right, health experts say you need to set a good example. “It’s especially important for parents to eat vegetables at dinner. Kids are going to do what their parents are doing,” said DeHoog. It’s also important to keep an eye on portion sizes and add variety to the meals.

But if your child refuses to eat broccoli, keep trying it. “Even if your kid says, ‘yuck’ to a food, don’t rule it out. Sometimes it can take eight to 10 times of trying a food to get a kid to like it,” said DeHoog.

When it comes to drinks, stay away from soda and limit the amount of juice. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests only letting one- to six-year-olds have six ounces of juice a day. Seven- to 18-year-olds should have less than 12 ounces. Experts also recommend looking for 100 percent juice on the label because fruit drinks with less than that don’t provide enough nutrients.
More healthy lunch suggestions from DeHoog are listed below.

Fruity Delight Sandwich

2 slices cinnamon raisin bread
1 tablespoons low-fat pineapple or other flavored cream cheese
4 grapes, halved
½ of a medium banana or other favorite fruit, sliced

Toast bread. Spread one slice of toast with cream cheese. Top with fruit and remaining slice of toast.

Taco Salad in a Bag

Lean ground beef or turkey
Taco seasoning
Grated cheese, salsa, diced tomatoes, diced bell pepper
Individual bags of tortilla chips
Dark green lettuce salad mix

Cook ground beef meat with taco seasoning. Chill taco meat. Add taco toppings mixing well. Put taco mixture into small, resealable plastic bags. Put lettuce into resealable bags. Use one bag of each (taco mixture, salad, and chips).

Pita Pizza

Spread low-fat ricotta cheese inside a pita pocket. Stuff sliced tomatoes (or any type of pizza toppings) and any leftover cooked meat or turkey-pepperoni slices into pita. Drizzle with marinara sauce and top it off with shredded mozzarella. TPW