cheryl
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Instilling good food habits can help kids live happy, healthy lives - Las Vegas Sun
When I was a kid, I hated vegetables. I have very distinct memories of my mother encouraging me to try everything on my plate. Every night, I was always the last one at the table, pushing those vegetables around long after everyone else had moved into the living room.
It wasn’t until I lived on my own in college that I “discovered” vegetables. I was eating broccoli when I had my aha moment, and I immediately regretted wasting the previous 18 years avoiding veggies. Today, I’ll eat any kind of vegetable, and every time I do, I am thankful my mother planted that seed in my brain, even though it took a long time for it to come to fruition.
Nutrition shouldn’t be a fraught topic to discuss with your children. Summer is here, and without the distraction of school, it’s the perfect time to teach them about healthful eating. It all begins at the dinner table, says Cheryl Kapalka, the clinical nutrition manager at Sunrise Hospital. “The best thing is to have structured meal times, which I’ve found a lot of families don’t. And kids are going to eat what their parents are eating, so it’s important to have balanced meals.”
When I was a kid, I hated vegetables. I have very distinct memories of my mother encouraging me to try everything on my plate. Every night, I was always the last one at the table, pushing those vegetables around long after everyone else had moved into the living room.
It wasn’t until I lived on my own in college that I “discovered” vegetables. I was eating broccoli when I had my aha moment, and I immediately regretted wasting the previous 18 years avoiding veggies. Today, I’ll eat any kind of vegetable, and every time I do, I am thankful my mother planted that seed in my brain, even though it took a long time for it to come to fruition.
Nutrition shouldn’t be a fraught topic to discuss with your children. Summer is here, and without the distraction of school, it’s the perfect time to teach them about healthful eating. It all begins at the dinner table, says Cheryl Kapalka, the clinical nutrition manager at Sunrise Hospital. “The best thing is to have structured meal times, which I’ve found a lot of families don’t. And kids are going to eat what their parents are eating, so it’s important to have balanced meals.”