This program is aimed towards families who are ready to put in the work to make a lasting family-wide change. Food is vital to living so why not learn how to nourish our bodies better. It will not be easy or always fun but the incredible transformation your family can experience will be worth it. When we put good food in our body we feel better, our brain works better and it helps us to be our best selves. Calculate how many meals your family will have in a lifetime and acknowledge that you have the power to make those meals positive and full of nutritious food.
Requirements for the program:
- The entire family must be committed (parents on the same page).
- Readiness from parents to be consistent with the hope for better days ahead in the forefront of your mind fueling your progress.
- Patience!
- Make living healthier a priority for yourself – it has to start with you!
- Find a time where everyone can be together for a lesson each week.
- Everyone agrees to have a positive attitude with a willingness to “try” new things and adapt to changes.
- Goals will be posted (and updated weekly) somewhere visible and referred to during the week.
What’s included:
- 6 lessons with everything you’ll need to make a lasting change in your family including goals, tips/tricks, videos, supplemental worksheets and more.
- Food preparation ideas.
- One hour weekly call to discuss progress and build inspiration for the following week.
- Grocery store must haves with a photo guide.
- Meal recipes including after school snack suggestions.
- Positive food dialogue recommendations.
- Weekly challenges to encourage participation on non-lesson days.
This program is great for all families no matter the age of your children. The 6 courses are available electronically for you to administer if you do not live in Utah. Preview lesson one below!
Lesson One: You are ready!
You are signed up, your family is ready and you are ready. Let’s get started!
Critically think WHY you are doing this for your family. Keep this in the forefront of your mind – you’ll have to share this with your family. If you journal, journal about this to refer to when needed! Make sure that all adults involved with this program also do this.
Manifesting work is really powerful! Not familiar with it? No problem, it’s simple! Spend 5 minutes every day leading up to the course dreaming about your family after this program. How does it feel to be sitting at the table with your family? What emotions would you feel out to dinner with your family? What might the teacher say about the growth seen in your child at school? I give you permission to daydream about your future healthier self and family. Be kind to yourself about where you are at now and where you have been. There is not room for self bashing while growing healthier.
Pick a 6 week period of time when your family can commit to this course. Add it to your calendar for 6 weeks to hold you accountable. Share what you will be doing with grandparents, friends, etc. to also act as accountability. Pick what time and what day of the week, all family can be together for family meetings and the lessons. Best if it can be the same time/day every week for the 6 weeks or else it’s easy to skip this crucial part of the program. Let the idea of a happy family dinner, more engaged children or whatever has you excited to do this program inspire you!
1 week prior to your scheduled day 1 of the program.
Quick intro family meeting to start the 6 week program (10 minutes).
- Get everyone together for a brief family meeting to explain what will happen starting next week. This meeting is meant to get kids excited about what’s coming. Talk about the good things (more family time, activities together, growth together, trying new things, etc.) first but it’s also important to prep them that there will be some big changes and it’s going to take everyone being on board for it work.
- Why is your family doing this? It could be as simple as, “By feeding our bodies better food – they will work better for us” or something personal like “Grandpa is sick and we want to do everything to help our bodies stay healthy longer.” Really emphasize that this is something important for your family!
- Emphasize how important every person in the family is. “Everyone will do great with this – because we will do it together as a family.” Positive reinforcement goes far. Prep them for potential upcoming responsibilities if that incentivizes your kids.
- After the meeting have an entire family activity planned. It could be an outing to the park, build your own pizza, or playing a board game. It’s important to end this quick meeting by a fun family activity.
The week leading up to kick off:
- During the next week buy a few healthier food options that you’ve been meaning to try and think the kids might like. If you get around to casually letting them try a green smoothie or jicama stick, that’s great, otherwise; it will be good for them to get used to seeing different things in the pantry and fridge. The shift from Jiff to a better nut butter can be a challenge when they are so used to seeing that red lid and green label.
- Pay close attention to your families strengths and weaknesses regarding food. Feel good that although you are growing with your family – your family still has countless strengths!
Week 1:
Have a variety of snacks out ready for your family to nibble while listening. Connect a computer to the TV or have several pieces of bigger paper taped to the wall.
Why is our family doing this?
Ask the kids if they have any ideas first then share with them why it’s important to you.
What makes a “healthy” plate? Write down the kids suggestions so everyone can see them.
Aim to have half of every meal be fruits and vegetables. Try to include some protein and healthy fats. Dairy and carbohydrates are “sometimes” foods that aren’t necessary at every meal. What does all that mean?
Have everyone name fruits and write them so everyone can see them.
Have everyone name vegetables and write them so everyone can see them.
- Having half your meal be fruit and vegetables? Do you eat the rainbow? For optimal health, we need a rainbow of nutrients and colors to ensure our bodies are getting enough nutrients, minerals and vitamins. We are looking for things that a colored by nature and not something like skittles which are colored but not the same.
Nutrition: is the study of food and how it works in your body. Nutrition includes all the stuff that’s in your food, such as vitamins, protein, fat, and more. It’s important to eat a variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains, so you have what you need to grow and be healthy.
Nutrients: are the substances in food that our bodies process to enable it to function. There are many nutrient-poor foods available that we should only have sometimes – This means they don’t contain much nutrition that your body needs to function.
- What is protein? Protein builds, maintains, and replaces the tissues in your body. (Not the tissues you blow your nose in! We mean the stuff your body’s made up of.) Your muscles, your organs, and your immune system are made up mostly of protein. You’ll find protein in lots of yummy foods like eggs, nuts, beans, fish, meat, and milk.
Protein: We need to eat protein foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes/beans every day. Protein is essential for building, maintaining, and repairing the tissues in our body.
Have everyone name protein and write them so everyone can see them.
- What are healthy fats? Some fats aren’t the best for our health like fried foods but some fats are what our bodies crave! The body uses fat as a fuel source, and fat is the major storage form of energy in the body. Fat makes up about 60% of our brains!
See if anyone can name a healthy fat. If not, go ahead and share then write them so everyone can see them.
Space for kids questions
GOAL 1: You must have a vegetable, fruit, protein and healthy fat at every meal eaten at home. When listing off the goals, stop after each one and ask if there are questions. Making it seem like a full family discussion where everyone’s input is valued will help create a more receptive transition.
Ready for a game?
Food sorting to help kids differentiate what food belongs in what category. They can’t eat additional vegetables, protein and healthy fat if they aren’t clear on what they are.
GOAL 2: When you try new food, you will try it with a human size bite (no ant size bites!) and give it a real chance for your mouth to like it. If you do not like it, don’t spit it out but instead swallow and say why you didn’t like it.
- It’s boring to eat the same food every day and week when there are SO many foods to try. When we give our body the best food – it responds in incredible ways!
- “Don’t yuck my yum.”
- Don’t ever say “I hate this food.” You may have only tried it once before and maybe it wasn’t cooked well last time or maybe your taste buds have changed. You wouldn’t not be someones friend just because they gave you a funny look in the hallway before you met them would you? No! So don’t close a friendship to food before you even try it.
Pass out Lunchbox Champion booklets to have everyone complete then share comments.
Now a blind taste test with your family to finish the lesson! Pick at least 10 things to try and play several rounds so everyone gets to guess. Put a blindfold over the eyes of the testers. Have them smell the food first and promise that you did not pick any weird or gross things for them to try. Then let your kids pick things for you to try (with guidelines so they don’t bring you soy sauce to drink.)
How to make week one successful!
- Take my grocery cheat sheet to the store. It’s exciting to try new things! If you aren’t excited about this new grocery trip, incentivize yourself by planning something fun after grocery shopping or stop and get a yummy coffee on the way there.
- Try only one big new thing at each meal. Too much big change in regards to food will frustrate most kids. You want the tone to be that food is fun!
Suggested food prep and other helpful tips:
- Have fruit and veggies washed and cut ready to go in clear containers at kids eye level. Check out my prep document to help you!
- Have healthy snacks ready to pull out when they are hungry. Store in clear container on kid ready food shelf.
- Options, options, options! Options will be your friend during this first phase and honestly forever. For snacks, put out more than 3 healthy options that you would be happy with them choosing. If they don’t like any of your options, tell them that’s what snack is today and leave it at that. That may be new to you but I ask that you to give it a try.
- Remember that depending how old your child is and how often you introduced new/different food to them in the past – trying new things could be really scary for them. You want to present new food to try with enthusiasm and positivity.
- You must follow through – even if they pitch a fit, they must try whatever it is you are serving them.
Hard boiled eggs are one of the greatest snacks. For whatever reason, most kids love peeling them – let them try! 
Soon enough your kids will be reaching for fruits and veggies more instead of only processed foods and sugary treats.
Things to say and not to say about food around your children:
- Words of encouragement: “We will all take a bite together.” “What do you think this new food might taste like? Let’s all make a positive guess at what we think this new food might taste like. “I think it will taste like a booger because it’s green isn’t a real guess” – instead think tart, sweet, soft, chewy, seedy, juicy, etc.
- Things to NOT say because they don’t help: “You will not like this but you should try it anyway.” “I hate this food.” – don’t close the door to food before they even try it.
Dig deep in your own thoughts around food: Why do you care if your child diversifies his palate? What is so wrong with eating only white processed food? Be confident in your beliefs around food and you will be more willing to talk about food with your family. The more we talk about food around kids, the more we build a relationship with food.
Here is an outline of lessons 2-6 that you receive with purchase of the course:
Lesson 2
- Where does food come from? Family grocery trip and/or a farmers market visit.
- Organic vs. Conventional
Lesson 3
- The importance of moving your body daily.
- How and why to listen to your body.
- What is digestion?
Lesson 4
- Nutrition detectives – take a closer look at labels.
- There is no bad food! Guidelines for “sometimes” food and “always.”
- Sugar shack off activity
Lesson 5
- Cheers to health – drink guide!
- Whole grain and fiber
Lesson 6
- Our bodies are incredible! Self love and accepting bodies of all sizes.
- A wrap up and plan for the future.
Bonus lessons available:
- Supplemental nanny extension.
- Picky eaters intensive guide.
- Taking a nutritional approach to help children struggling to focus at school or who have been diagnosed with ADHD or ADD.
