Making the personal decision to live a healthier life and change unhealthy eating habits can be hard, and having family members that continue to live an unhealthy life style can make it even harder.

Start eating healthy as a family with these 4 simple tips:

1. Stock Nutritious Foods

It is much easier to eat healthy when you have a lot of healthy foods available. If your pantry is stocked with chips and cookies, your family will want to eat chips and cookies when they are hungry or in the mood for a snack. However, if you avoid buying the junk and instead stock your pantry with healthy snacks like whole-wheat crackers, fruit, and raw veggies, your family will have no choice but to change their eating habits.

2. Serve Foods They Love

While liver and beets may be a healthy meal, it’s not one that many people feel excited about eating. On the other hand, the foods that most of us love — like pizza, hamburgers, and fries — are the least healthy. Make the healthy eating process a little easier by serving those infamous foods that your family loves with a healthy twist. For example, you can have pizza with a whole-wheat crust and lots of veggies or sweet potato fries instead of regular, greasy french fries.

There are many recipe books and websites that show you how to make healthy versions of just about any food you can think of. If your favorite foods aren’t healthy, don’t feel like you have to cut them out. Just give them a healthy twist!

3. Cook Together

Eating a meal can be a lot more enjoyable when you cook it yourself. You can also learn more about the foods you eat when you cook them and see everything that goes into them. Get your family excited about eating healthy meals by cooking them together. If you have young children, find meals that you can make together or assign them age-appropriate tasks. Everyone can get in on the action!

4. Make It Fun

Eating healthy is not about dieting, and it’s not about deprivation. It’s about creating a healthy way of life for yourself so you can feel better and live longer. By finding ways to make the experience fun, you can help your family  see it as more of a positive experience which will ultimately increase the chances of success. Try holding contests to see who can come up with the most tasty and healthy meals or  who can go the longest without eating junk foods.  You can also add to the fun by creating unique, colorful meals that are healthy and tasty.

Be creative in finding ways to make your healthy eating journey more fun. The more fun you have, the easier it will be to make the transition and stick with it.

Getting your whole family to make the transition for healthier eating habits can make the process more successful for everyone, and using these tips are a surefire way to keep the motivation fueled.

About The Author: 

Bridget Sandorford is a freelance writer and researcher for Culinaryschools.org, where recently she’s been researching seattle culinary institute. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, painting and working on her first cookbook.