Getting your own health and fitness on track is one thing. But what about everyone else in your house? Are you prioritizing family nutrition in your home?
Excellent nutrition, regular exercise, and quality sleep are key components of exceptional health and wellness for yourself, your spouse, and your kids.
Don’t feel overwhelmed!
Making a few simple changes in your family nutrition regimen, one at a time, is the key to long-term success.
But, maintaining exceptional family nutrition for everyone in your household involves more than simply buying healthy foods.
Use the tips and tricks below to get your entire family on board with eating better and enjoying a healthy lifestyle!
Looking for ways to get the whole family active? Check out these exercises for kids!
11 Ways to Get Everyone On Board With Family Nutrition
1. Grocery Shop Together
Make grocery shopping a family affair to get everyone involved in achieving (or maintaining) superior family nutrition.
Help your spouse and kids pick out a variety of nutritious foods while grocery shopping together.
Choose foods from each of the following groups:
- Non-Starchy Vegetables: Pick non-starchy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, other leafy greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, celery, bell peppers, and carrots.
- Starchy Vegetables: Add in starchy vegetables too! Examples include sweet potatoes, corn, green peas, chickpeas, black beans, navy beans, lentils, and other types of legumes.
- Fruits: Choose a variety of fruit for your family at the grocery store! Consider bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, kiwi fruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, fresh cherries, pears, peaches, plums, or pineapple.
- Whole Grains: Shop for whole grains instead of white bread, white rice, and other refined grains. Examples of grains to pick include brown rice, whole-grain pasta, quinoa, whole-grain couscous, whole-grain bread, oatmeal, whole-grain cereals without added sugar, and other nutritious whole grains.
- Healthy Fats: Add healthy fats to your shopping cart while getting groceries with your family. Examples include nuts, seeds, peanut butter, other nut butters, olive oil, coconut oil, other plant-based oils, hummus, and avocados!
- Protein Foods: Choose chicken, turkey, very lean organic meat, fish, shrimp, scallops, crab, other types of seafood, eggs, tofu, seitan, or veggie burgers as your protein foods.
- Dairy Foods or Plant-Based Equivalents: Add milk, plant milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, plain kefir, or cheese to your shopping cart from the dairy foods group.
- Healthy Drinks: Healthy drinks to choose when grocery shopping include coffee, tea, 100% juice, vegetable juice (choose low-sodium as needed), milk, and plant milk. Avoid soda, lemonade, sweet tea, sugar-sweetened sports drinks, other sugary drinks, and diet drinks. Drink water whenever possible.
- Recipe Ingredients: Use healthy recipes to add nutritious ingredients to your grocery shopping list. Choose whole foods over highly processed, prepackaged foods and ingredients. Steer clear of recipes that call for added sugar, and flavor foods with herbs when possible.
Learn how to involve your entire family in your weight loss journey.
2. Make Meal Planning a Family Affair
To ensure good family nutrition for you and your loved ones, make meal planning a family affair!
Have your entire family decide which meals to prepare throughout the week.
You can use the following meal-planning guidelines:
- Fill half of each plate with non-starchy vegetables
- Fill one-fourth of each plate with protein foods
- Fill one-fourth of your plate with fiber-rich starches (whole grains, legumes, corn, peas, potatoes, or other starchy vegetables)
- Add healthy fat to each meal
- Consume three servings of dairy foods or plant milk daily
- Include fruit in at least two of your meals or snacks
These guidelines are simple, enough so that kids of all ages can easily help plan menus!
Have family members pick their favorite fruits, veggies, protein foods, starches, and heart-healthy fats so that everyone has a say in which nutritious foods your family consumes.
Doing so makes meal prep fun for the entire family!
3. Be a Good Role Model
The best thing you can do for your spouse and kids is to be a good role model when it comes to nutritious eating, getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Not only will your kids take notice, but they can also have a role model to look up to.
Your entire family can enjoy the same healthy meals and snacks, as well as spend quality time preparing nutritious meals, together!
Avoid not-so-healthy habits your family members may take notice of like smoking, excessive drinking, and spending too much time in front of a TV, computer, or phone screen.
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4. Serve Food on Smaller Plates
A simple trick you and your family can try is to serve food on small plates to make portion sizes smaller.
Choosing small portions is often a good idea if you, your spouse, or your kids struggle with healthy weight management.
Even if you’re already at an ideal weight, opting for small portions is a good habit to get into.
If the portions you choose are too small and you’re still hungry after eating, you can always go back for seconds.
However, aim to divide each plate the same way (half full of non-starchy veggies and half full of protein foods plus fiber-rich starches).
Add in heart-healthy fats too!
5. Don’t Keep Junk Food at Home
Knowing which foods and drinks to avoid keeping in the house is another simple way to maintain exceptional family nutrition.
While it’s OK to splurge once in a while, try not to keep junk foods at home.
Examples of foods to avoid include sodas, lemonade, sweet tea, other sugar-sweetened drinks, candy, cookies, ice cream, and other sweet treats.
Steer clear of white bread, white rice, regular pasta, fried foods, many prepackaged foods, TV dinners, doughnuts, and other baked goods.
Avoid gravies, potato chips, processed meats (hot dogs, brats, regular bacon, ham, sausage, deli meats, etc.), and processed cheese when possible.
These foods often contain more fat, carbohydrates, calories, sodium, and other additives but less fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
6. Plan Daily Physical Activity
Exercise is just as important as nutritious eating when it comes to keeping yourself and your family healthy.
Make yourself, your spouse, and your kids do something active every day by planning fun family activities!
Your kids may have sports training or games but on their days off, plan active adventures.
Examples include bike rides, family hikes, snowboarding, water skiing, or swimming (depending on the weather and time of year).
Head to a trampoline park or find a floating water park!
Encourage your kids to help with the yard work, walking the dog, house chores, and other active chores to keep their bodies moving.
Aim for at least 30 minutes of planned exercise plus at least 45 minutes of activities of daily living most days of the week.
Limit your kids’ screen time to help them keep their bodies moving often throughout the day.
Have them earn screen time by completing workouts, sports practices, dog walking, or active household chores.
Try these 10 backyard exercises with the whole family!
7. Set Regular Meal Times
Stick with regular meal times as much as possible to maintain superior family nutrition with your loved ones.
For example, wake up about the same time each morning (after at least 7 hours of sleep) and have breakfast shortly afterward.
Aim to eat a meal or snack every few hours.
Your family nutrition meal and snack schedule might look something like this:
- Breakfast: 7:30
- Snack: 9:30 am
- Lunch: Noon
- Snack: 2:30 pm
- Dinner: 5:00 pm
- Snack: 8:00 pm
Set meal and snack times based on you and your family’s schedule.
Pack nutritious meals and snacks when you’re at work or school, between sports games, or on the go!
8. Snack Smart
Snacks are beneficial for kids and adults alike!
They keep you full between meals, maximize energy and sports performance, and help you avoid overeating at mealtime.
Between-meal snacks can also help you and your family members focus better at work or school.
Nutritious snacks to consider include:
- Low-sugar protein bars
- Protein-rich smoothies
- Reduced-sugar, high-protein chocolate milk
- Cottage cheese with fruit
- Nuts or seeds with whole-grain cereal and milk
- Cheese and whole-grain crackers
- Peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole-grain bread
- Tuna sandwich on whole-grain bread
- Greek yogurt with fruit or nuts
- Hummus with sliced veggies, whole-grain pita chips, or pretzels
- Dried fruit (no sugar added) with nuts or seeds
- Whole-grain cereal with milk or plant milk
- Celery sticks or sliced fruit dipped in peanut butter
- Plain kefir with fruit or nuts
Mix and match healthy snacks based on your and your family’s food preferences.
Pack snacks when you’re on the go, working all day, on vacation, or have kids in school.
Learn about HEALTHY snacking and how you can beat cravings.
9. Use a Meal Plan
Using a meal plan is one of the best ways to enhance family nutrition for the ones you love.
Try the simple meal plan below, or create one of your own based on your family’s schedule and food preferences!
Breakfast
- 1/2 plate of fruit and/or non-starchy vegetables (or vegetable juice)
- 1/4 plate of protein foods (scrambled eggs, omelets, uncured turkey bacon, scrambled tofu, seitan sausage, etc.)
- 1/4 plate of starches (oatmeal, whole-grain bread, whole-grain cereal, legumes, potatoes, etc.)
- Heart-healthy fats (nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocados, etc.)
Snack
- Dairy foods (milk, plant milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, plain kefir, protein smoothies, etc.)
- Heart-healthy fats (nut butter, nuts, seeds, etc.)
Lunch
- 1/2 plate of non-starchy vegetables or vegetable juice
- 1/4 plate of protein foods (chicken, turkey, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, tuna, tofu, seitan, shrimp, etc.)
- 1/4 plate of fiber-rich starches (whole-grain bread, whole-grain hamburger buns, whole-grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa, corn, peas, potatoes, etc.)
- Heart-healthy fats (olive oil, avocados, olives, hummus, etc.)
Snack
- Fruit
- Dairy foods (milk, plant milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, plain kefir, protein smoothies, etc.)
Dinner
- 1/2 plate of non-starchy vegetables
- 1/4 plate of protein foods (chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp, scallops, very lean organic meat, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, tofu, seitan, etc.)
- 1/4 plate of fiber-rich starches (whole-grain bread, whole-grain hamburger buns, whole-grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa, corn, peas, potatoes, etc.)
- Heart-healthy fats (olive oil, avocados, olives, hummus, etc.)
Snack
- Dairy (milk, plant milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, plain kefir, protein smoothies, etc.)
- Heart-healthy fats (nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocados, etc.)
You can add dairy foods to meals, rather than consuming them for snacks between meals.
Or, switch up the time of day you eat fruit. Make each meal plan fit your family’s needs, lifestyle, and preferences.
If your children have a different meal plan than you and your spouse, that’s perfectly OK!
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Let us show you how you can start losing weight this week! We'll email you our free meal plan & workout + email coaching.
10. Avoid the Clean Plate Club
You might have been taught to clean your plate when you were younger, which is a common theme in many families.
Wasting food is usually frowned upon, especially if you’re on a tight budget.
However, making family members clean their plate, or eat all of the food on their plate, can cause them to overeat.
Instead, encourage them to take small portions (and get seconds as needed) and listen to their body’s hunger cues to stop eating as soon as they feel full.
Eating slowly is another excellent way to avoid overeating.
Allow enough time for you and your family to enjoy meals and snacks without feeling rushed.
11. Consider Healthy Living Programs
Using a healthy living program can help you, your spouse, and your entire family get and stay healthy for a lifetime.
Consider the Fit Mother Project for busy moms or the Fit Father Project for busy dads!
These programs have helped hundreds of thousands of busy parents get and stay in shape, and maintain healthy weights for a lifetime.
The Fit Mother Project and the Fit Father Project offer custom meal plans, healthy recipes, weekly newsletters, online health coaching support, social support from other busy parents, fat-burning workouts, and much more!
Consider trying the Fit Family Bundle at a discounted rate to adopt a healthier lifestyle together as a family.
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*Please know that weight loss results and health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on family nutrition.