www.we-love-eating.eu

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Join the We Love Eating campaign! For more tips and information on how to develop healthy

habits, to get great recipes and to see the campaign in action in your community, please visit our website:

www.we-love-eating.eu

When you are a parentEnjoy being healthy

We all love eating and we want to enjoy eating all throughout our lifetimes. The We Love Eating campaign celebrates healthy food as a delightfully essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

This campaign by the European Union aims to help you and your family to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. It offers tips and activities to promote conscious, social eating; to appreciate the quality of food rather than the quantity; and to experience the joy of cooking and eating wholesome meals together. It also helps stimulate more physical activity in your daily lives.

Eating healthily is about more than getting the right nutrients in the right proportions at the right time. It’s also about having a positive relationship with food: what we eat, where we eat, and with whom we eat.

A lifetime of healthy eating

As a parent, you provide food for your children every day. Whether they are small or adolescents, you have a huge influence on their eating habits. If you enjoy a healthy diet, your children will learn to do so as well.

© European Union 2014The information and views set out in this publication are those of the authors (P.A.U. Education and CBO) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the information included in this publication. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Cooking can be a great family bonding experience; it’s a chance to spend some time teaching and having fun with your children.

Involve your children in cooking – you may find they really enjoy it! There are plenty of different jobs they can do, like measuring, washing, cutting, adding and stirring ingredients.

While cooking, talk about the different ingredients with your children. They will learn to appreciate the taste, texture and pleasure of food.

Remember that the more a food is processed, the less nutritious it is. Teach your children how to cook with fresh and local ingredients.

Home cooked meals tend to be healthier and cheaper than prepared food. By cooking a meal, you have better control of the quality, freshness, portion size, and calories. You and your family will enjoy healthy meals, and the benefits they bring.

Meals are a good time for children and parents to reconnect, laugh, tell stories and develop a sense of who they are as a family. They are also a great opportunity to develop healthy habits!

To a child, eating relates to happiness, love, celebration and having fun. Making any mealtime into a fun experience will promote healthy eating, as the child will begin to associate healthy food with fun and happiness.

Eating meals in front of the TV or computer interferes with the pleasure of family conversation and does not carry the same mental health benefit as eating meals “unplugged”.

Sharing a family meal can be good for the spirit and the health of all its members and may also help lower rates of obesity and eating disorders in children and adolescents.

Six Recommendations to Enjoy EatingEnjoy being healthy

When you are a parentThese six recommendations can help you and your children to have a healthy lifestyle – now and in the future.

Water makes up more than half of our weight. Every cell in our bodies needs water. Children especially need water for proper growth and they need your help in making the right choices to get it!

Water should be the prime source of hydration. However, variety is important in children’s diets and they should also drink other liquids such as milk and fresh fruit juices without added sugar.

Water has no calories or sugar - unlike sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks. Avoiding sugary beverages can help prevent children putting on weight.

Make sure children drink extra fluids when it is hot or they are physically active.

Try making healthy flavoured drinks with water at home by cutting up your child’s favourite fresh fruits and refrigerating them in a pitcher of water overnight. Children will enjoy coming up with – and drinking – their own delicious creations!

Colourful fruits and vegetables contain many of the vitamins that growing children need, and the antioxidants to help keep them healthy as adults by protecting against cancer and other chronic diseases.

The different colour components in fruits and vegetables have different health benefits, ranging from healthier skin to improved brain function to reduced risk of heart disease, and much more. Choose fruits and vegetables of all colours to ensure your children are getting what they need. It also makes meals look more appealing, tastier and more enjoyable!

Colourful fruits and vegetables provide important nutrients but few calories, making them an ideal snack for your child.

Children often decide what they like before they have tried it. They will be more willing – and even enthusiastic – to try new fruits and vegetables if you turn the experience into a fun game instead of an obligation.

The benefits of physical activity for you and your children reach far beyond weight control. They also build resistance to diseases, promote better sleep, and improve moods and energy levels.

Encourage children to find a physical activity they enjoy. Schools and local youth organisations tend to offer a range of options.

Exercise is a great way to spend family time. Try “family fun” workouts in a home exercise space with music. There are also plenty of outdoor activities for all different seasons: hiking (in combination with a picnic at the destination), football, bike riding, tennis, swimming, ice skating, building a snow man...

Moving can help prevent excess weight gain. The more intense the activity, the more calories we burn. Making sure that your child gets the right balance of healthy food and exercise will help them maintain an appropriate weight for their stage of development.

Enjoy Shopping for a Healthy Meal

Enjoy Cooking

Enjoy EatingTogether

Enjoy DrinkingWater

Enjoy Colourful Fruits and Vegetables

Enjoy Physical Exercise

Teach your children healthy eating habits by involving them in food shopping. Spending a bit of extra time on this activity is an investment well-made!

Before shopping, make a list with your child that includes all the ingredients for a healthy diet: plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables; whole grains; moderate amounts of dairy products; and legumes and other lean proteins like seafood, poultry (without skin) and lean beef or pork.

While shopping, take some time to look at labels with your child to choose foods low in saturated fat (this usually comes from solid fats like butter, animal fat, and margarine), cholesterol, added sugars, and salt. Make a game of finding products with high levels of fibre, vitamins A, C and E, and minerals such as calcium.

Find out where different food items were produced and if this was done in a healthy and sustainable way, and share that information with your child. You can explain to your child that it is usually better to buy foods that come from local producers, as shipping foods over long distances can damage the environment. This can open up a whole new dimension of healthy eating, using locally produced food.