Among the fit and health-conscious, meal prep has been a hot term for a while now – pretty pictures of stacks of Tupperware filled to the brim with colorful, nutritious meals have been taking over Instagram and Pinterest feeds for years. If you have weight, fitness, or healthy lifestyle goals, there’s no more foolproof way to get in healthy, nutritious meals every day of the week than to have your meals prepped and ready to pop into the microwave or oven.
But what about meals for our kids? Turns out even the smallest members of our family can reap the benefits of meal prep – much to the relief of parents everywhere!
So why should you consider meal prep for your kids?
It’ll teach them healthy food habits.
Unless you have time to cook healthy, balanced meals every single day, your kids have probably come into contact with a restaurant or two. While eating out can be a fun bonding experience with your family, it’s not exactly the healthiest route to get your kids consistent healthy meals. Restaurants tend to pack on the fat and excess sodium in huge portions – unfortunately, that’s why everything is so tasty!
Using a meal prep service that specializes in providing healthy meal options for kids will expose them to delicious food that is actually good for them. Consistently having healthy food on hand will teach your kids how they should be eating – appropriate portions, balanced macronutrients, and veggies that actually taste delicious!
It’s way more convenient than always having to cook.
As much as we’d like to be able to cook five-star menus for our family every day, the reality is that very few of us have the time for that. Opting in to a meal prep service that includes kid-friendly fare will save you a ton of time in your weekly routine. No longer will you have to spend hours searching for healthy recipes, wrangling your kids while trying to shop at the grocery store, and attempting to cook while balancing a busy household.
Having food already prepped and ready to go will mean you can just pop your dinner into the microwave and have a fresh healthy meal ready to go in about five minutes, shaving hours off of your weeknight routine and leaving you more time to spend with your family!
Please even the pickiest eaters.
If you consistently find yourself cooking new meals for your kids, just to have them decide that they don’t like it and won’t eat it, you aren’t alone. Unfortunately, kids can be picky sometimes.
Save yourself the hassle of trying out a new recipe and having the kids complain and push it around their plate. All you have to do is figure out what some of your kids’ favorite healthy meals are and cook them in bigger batches at the beginning of the week. Prepping your kids’ favorite recipes ahead of time will guarantee that they’re getting their favorite meals every night!
One of the downfalls of meal prep is that it can be a little repetitive to make large batches of the same food to be eaten throughout the week. Luckily, this can work to your advantage for your picky eaters who refuse to try new things. The key to meal prepping for families is to keep it interesting for your kids! Incorporate plenty of variety into your weekly menus so that they don’t get bored eating the same foods every day. Having a solid rotation of their favorite lunches and dinners will keep everyone happy and save you from wanting to tear your hair out – even the pickiest eater won’t mind eating a couple of their tried-and-true favorites every day.
Even better, utilizing a meal delivery service can actually be just as exciting for your kids as the prospect of heading to their favorite restaurant! When your kids get to wait for their special delivery of food every week, it will make them actually look forward to their healthy meals, so it’s a win-win for everyone!
While your kids may not have weight loss or fitness goals, it is still important for them to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle and eat well. Not only will it nurture their growing bodies, but it will also show them how to begin fostering a healthy relationship with food that they can carry throughout the rest of their lives. Teaching them the value of healthy meals, while keeping it interesting and delicious, will ensure that your kids can be happy and healthy through childhood and beyond!