Healthy Family Home (Part 2)- Eat Healthy

*At the Y, we are for healthy living. We believe it begins at home. The relationship between adult and child can be the primary source of health in a young person’s life and a powerful motivator for adults to build more health into their own lives.

Continuing our effort to help encourage a Healthy Family Home this is the second in a series dedicated to the Healthy Family Home initiative.  There are 5 pillars of a Healthy Family Home: Eat Healthy, Play Every Day, Get Together, Go Outside and Sleep Well.

Choose to Eat Healthy.  At the Y, we believe that small steps lead to big changes.  with a balanced approach, even the busiest of families can discover ways to eat healthier and feel better.

Key Healthy Habits

• Choose your drinks with care- A simple way to improve your family’s overall health is to explore your approach to fluids by cutting out the drinks with added sugar and adding more water, 100% fruit juice and low-fat milk to your family’s diet.  If your family is currently used to drinking sugar sweetened beverages, begin working gradually to replace them with healthier options.
• Aim for five a day- The delicious crunch of fruits and veggies can be part of every meal and snack your family enjoys throughout the day and is important for your whole family’s health.  Everybody needs the vitamins, fiber and minerals that these colorful foods provide in order to grow and stay strong, energetic and free from illness.  Stay healthy by reaching for five servings every day.

Set some family goals.

Examples- Try getting the family together to select one of the following goals or come up with your own.  To begin, go for something that is realistic and achievable  In one week, get back together to see how you did and what you learned.  Take into account this week’s experience, set another goal and keep going.  You can do it!

1. This week, we will each drink a glass of water with dinner.
2. This week, we will each commit to eating a piece of fruit with our lunch.
3. This (day), we will try two new vegetables with dinner.
4. This week, we will commit to eating dinner together at least _____ times.
5. This week we will switch from using whole to 2% milk on our cereal.

Stay connected for tips and tools to support adults and families in their efforts to live healthy.

-Healthy Family Home YMCA of USA

find more information at http://ymca.net/healthy-family-home/