Raising three young girls, teaching a busy grade 3 class and leading a fitness group means Erin Kane is one busy mama! We sat down with her to hear how she balances it all and how she and her husband make eating healthy a priority. Spoiler alert…easy and convenient snacking-size veggies are one of their secret weapons!
As a busy family of 5 we are always on-the-go rushing from one activity to the next. Our kids are so active and spend so many hours a week attending dance class, baseball, swimming on top of regular school activities. Healthy eating is super important to us and we always express how eating healthy allows our bodies to perform at their best. Each meal always contains some sort of protein, a healthy carb choice and of course vegetables. A common snack for our kids includes; mini cucumbers, mini peppers and cherry tomatoes with ranch or hummus! Our girls aren’t totally keen on cooked veggies so we really rely on having easy, readily available snacks on hand at all times.
Being busy is something most families have in common, it looks different for everyone, for us we try to make it as easy and less chaotic as we can.
Doing things such as:
1) Prepare snacks and meals ahead of time.
2) Choose snacks that don’t need too much prep work. (That’s why we love snack-size veggies)
3) Keep it simple.
Our girls love using their Bento boxes when we’re on-the-go, everything has a place and it’s nice and compact.
We always try to lead by example when it comes to healthy food choices, we buy organic where we can and try to avoid as many packaged and refined sugar filled snacks as possible! These days there is a healthier version for most things (fruit snacks, yogurts, pudding, granola bars). If we can make it ourselves, we will if not we will always go for the healthier option, for us less ingredients is better. I don’t know about you but as soon as we give our kiddos anything that contains red dye – unleash the inner savage! So we try to avoid that at school and at home.
I think it’s easy to instil healthy habits in your children when they are watching what you are putting in your own bodies. We always express how better quality food and healthier food options will allow us to give our bodies the best energy to think better and to perform better in all areas of life.
I know eating healthier may seem like “more work” but if you ask me, you and your family are worth the extra 10 mins. It works out to even less than that when you’re buying simple, quick, already prepared snacking veggies. Throw in some crackers, an apple and a homemade energy ball and you have a great nutrient filled lunch!
Like I tell the Mamas I coach, a healthier Mama is a happier Mama… in this case it also applies to your kids. Create these habits early enough that they don’t know any different.
