Life is busy.  It’s hard to find time to cook and eat as a family.  A little planning can help.

Plan Menus in Advance

• Keep it simple.  Meals and snacks don’t have to be complicated.
• Think about Canada’s Food Guide and include a variety of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein foods.
• Ask family members to add a favourite recipe to the menu.
• Check for sales and incorporate foods that are on sale.
• Post the menu where everyone can see it.  It will help your family stick to the plan, and may encourage family members to take initiative and start preparing meals or snacks.
• Use your menu to create your grocery list.
• Designate a place where family members can note items that need replacing throughout the week.

For More Information

•          7 Steps for Fast and Easy Menu Planning
•          Meal Planning Basics

The idea of bringing your kids grocery shopping may seem stressful, but try to bring your kids grocery shopping, even if it’s just occasionally.  The grocery store, farmer’s markets and farms are great places to talk to your kids about healthy food choices, where food comes from and how much it costs.

Remember your grocery list and stick to it!  Look at the ingredients lists and check the Nutrition Facts tables to compare products.  Choose products with healthy ingredients.

Stick to the outer perimeter of the grocery store.  This is where you will find a lot of nutritious and minimally processed foods from Canada’s Food Guide; vegetables and fruit, lean protein foods and whole grains.

For more grocery shopping tips, check out our APH Grocery Store Videos.

Tip:  Encourage your kids to pick a vegetable or fruit that they have never tried before.  Kids are more likely to try something new if they help choose and prepare it.

Be a Savvy Shopper

• Don’t shop hungry.  You are more likely to buy things you don’t need when you shop hungry.
• Scan flyers and online coupon sites for sales, but remember, food is not a bargain if you don’t eat it.
• Ask about price-matching so you can take advantage of sale prices from other stores.
• Stock up on staple items that have a long shelf life when they go on sale, such as whole grains (oatmeal, brown rice), dried legumes (beans, peas, lentils) and canned vegetables and fruit.
• If you have the freezer space, buy fresh meat, fish and poultry when it is on sale and freeze it.
• Look high and low on grocery shelves and compare prices.  Store brands are often lower in price.
• Be aware of marketing. 

Support Algoma’s local farmers when possible:  Buy Algoma, Buy Fresh

For More Information

•          20 Ways to Save Money on Your Groceries
•          Healthy Shopping Tips
•          Food Choices: When Money is Tight
•          Safe Food Storage

Involve your kids in preparing meals or snacks.  Teaching children how to navigate the kitchen will give them the skills and confidence they need to eat healthy now and in the future.  Children who help cook are often excited to eat what they have made, which can help to reduce picky eating.

• Let them choose some of the recipes.  Look for quick and easy recipes.
• Make it fun!  You want your kids to enjoy cooking and want to do it again and again.
• Keep it simple.  Recipes do not have to be complicated.  Cook meals from basic ingredients.
• Involve children as young as two years old with age-appropriate activities.

For More Information

• Canada’s Food Guide – Cook More Often
• Canada’s Food Guide – Recipes
• Cookspiration
• Unlock Food’s Recipe Collection
• Unlock Food’s Kids Recipe Collection
• Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Kid-Friendly Meals
• Time-Saving Techniques

Make family meals a priority.  When children eat with their family, not only do they usually eat better (including more vegetables and fruit), but they tend to do better in school, have more self-confidence and stronger language skills.

Add Family Meals to the Calendar

Use a family calendar to keep track of everyone’s schedules.  At times when everyone is home, make it a priority to share a meal or snack together. Family meals don’t always have to be dinner.  The weekends can be perfect for preparing brunch together.  Start by scheduling family meals 2-3 days per week.  As the weeks go by, try to eat together more often.

Try our 101 questions to ask your kids at mealtimes to get the conversation started.  Keep distractions to a minimum by turning off the TV and not bringing screens to the table.

Limit Mealtime Battles

Children are born with a natural ability to eat as much as they need to grow in a way that is right for them.  To help your child become a competent eater, let them build on their natural ability by following Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility:

• The parent is responsible for what children eat, when they eat and where they eat.  Aim for regular meal and snack times at a table with a variety of nutritious foods from Canada’s Food Guide.
• The child is responsible for how much they eat and whether they eat.  Allow them to listen to their hunger cues and let them decide if and how much they will eat from the food offered.  Trust your child to know when they are hungry and when they are full. 

Children want to be independent and often don't eat well when they feel pressured.   Avoid rewards, tricks, praise and punishments. 

Be a role model and set a good example by eating a variety of nutritious foods at meal and snack times with your child.

Say goodbye to picky eating!

• Ontario Dietitians in Public Health: Food Literacy
• BrightBites
• Improving Cooking and Food Preparation Skills: A Synthesis of the Evidence to Inform Program and Policy Development
• Ellyn Satter; Mastering Family Meals
• Nutrition Connections: Effective Approaches to Increase Food Skills in Children, Youth and their Parents

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