Healthy Family, Happy Family (27 page)

Appendix 2

My Reward Chart is a fun way to get your child eating the healthy foods you provide for them. Research shows that a child may need to eat a new food up to ten times before they get used to the taste. When using this chart, you can tell your child ‘This chart is a fun way for you to be the judge and rate a food from one to ten or somewhere in between. One means it tastes disgusting and ten is delicious. We’ll see if it tastes better after ten tastes.’ Assure them ‘You don’t have to like the taste of it, you just have to eat one mouthful, swallow it and then rate it out of ten.’

You can print out the chart shown on the next page from my website (go to
www.healthbeforebeauty.com
and follow the links) or draw up your own. Here’s how. On a large sheet of cardboard, draw up a chart with three columns and ten rows. Your child can help you do this and perhaps decorate the chart in any way they wish, since it is their chart. Add their name at the top, for example, ‘Bella’s Reward Chart’. Then add the column names at the top of the chart: Food (this will have 10 columns beside it); Goals; Reward. At the bottom of the chart in small writing, write ‘Rate each new food from 1 (hate it) to 10 (love it) or somewhere in between.’ Your child should rate the food each time they taste it (do this in the ten columns underneath the reward chart heading). Now fill in the rows as instructed below.

In the ‘Food’ column, write the particular food you want your child to eat. Choose foods that are healthy such as vegetables, fruits or wholegrain bread.

Ask your child to come up with some sporting or hobby goals that they find motivating and fun. For example, if your child wants to improve his swimming skills as the school swimming carnival is coming up, write ‘Strong swimmer’ in the ‘Goals’ column. Choose one goal (or several per new food). Also get them to practise their goal (such as swimming) at least once a week to help them improve their skills.

Along with your child’s help, choose a non-food reward that will inspire your child to finish the whole chart (such as a toy or special outing). Also reward your child with praise for trying the foods each time. Once your child has tried the foods and rated them ten times, encourage them to agree to eat each healthy food item at least once a week, then give them the reward.

Appendix 3

The following is a month-by-month guide to the fruit and vegetables that are in season throughout the year. Although some fruit and vegies are available all year round, eating fruit and vegetables when they are in season means you’ll be getting the freshest and tastiest available, and you’ll be gaining maximum goodness and nutrients. Plus, if you follow the seasons you’ll ensure you and your family are eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Appendix 4

Here you’ll find the shopping lists that complement the menus and recipes in earlier chapters. Each shopping list includes everything you’ll need to buy to follow the corresponding menu for a full week’s worth of meals. Remember to buy good quality products, and favour organic items free of preservatives and other additives where you can. Also note that tamari sauce, soy sauce and other store bought sauces and condiments should be free of any flavour enhancers. And don’t forget: check your fridge before you shop, as you may already have some leftover items, such as garlic, ginger or some vegies, from the previous week that you can use the following week.

Also included is the ‘Pantry essentials shopping list’—check this, too, against what you have in your pantry now, as you may already have many of these items in your cupboard. The items on this list are followed by ‘M1’ (Menu 1), ‘M2’ (Menu 2) and so on, indicating which menu each item is need for.