PBS Kids and Whole Foods Market Partner to Promote Healthy Eating

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PBS KIDS announced this month a new partnership with Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic grocer, to promote families eating healthy. Resources include fun, easy-to-use tools and educational information to help families make healthy choices when it comes to food.

“Fantastic Organic”
The purpose of this campaign is to help families learn to cook, shop and explore organic foods together. Select Whole Foods Market stores will host in-store events for kids and families to share facts, tips, and advice about buying organic products. 

Online, families can explore organics at PBSPARENTS.org/fantasticorganic to view recipes and tips for simple and healthy organic meals and snacks, shopping tips, videos and interactive activities for kids. 

Here are tips from PBS KIDS on choosing healthy snacks for kids as well as healthy snack ideas.

Choosing and Buying Healthy Snacks

• Stock the fridge and pantry with healthy snacks, such as fruits and vegetables and ingredients.
• Before you go shopping, tell your children what behavior you expect and what, if any, snack they can expect.
• Take snacks with you when you go to appointments or run errands.
• Provide snacks that are easy to eat.
• Use snacks to provide the food groups your children are missing during meals.
• Make snacks small, and then give seconds if the child asks for more.
• Decide what snacks you will allow, and when. Explain the rules to your child and stick to them.

Healthy Snack Ideas

• Crunchy vegetable sticks (carrots, celery) with low-fat ranch dip (for older preschoolers)
• Nearly frozen applesauce
• Melon Melody: Watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew with non-fat whipped cream
• Ants on a Log: Peanut butter on celery with raisins
• Mud & Dirt: Low-fat pudding with crushed graham crackers mixed in
• Peanut butter on half of a whole-wheat bagel
• Whole-wheat crackers or whole-wheat tortilla with salsa
• Hummus and pita wedges
• “Light” microwave popcorn with grated parmesan cheese (for children three years and older)
• Mini-pizzas: Half an English muffin covered with a tablespoon of tomato sauce, then topped with part-skim mozzarella cheese

Back-to-School Healthy Eating

PBS Parents also has tips and tricks to help parents jump start healthy eating habits for kids this fall. 

Get them involved. If you involve kids in planning meals, going grocery shopping, and preparing food, they will become invested in the process and more likely to eat well. Even toddlers who may be too young to make grocery lists can help you make healthy choices (pears or nectarines? cheddar or swiss?) along the way.

Go to the source. Teach kids where their food comes from. Rather than limiting yourself to the weekly supermarket run, take your family to a local farmer’s market (or to the farm itself) and meet the people who grow food. 

Make healthy snacks available. If you stock the kitchen exclusively with healthy treats, children will eat them. As your children grow, stock good snacks in cabinets and shelves that they can reach without your help.

Drink to that. Remember that children do not have to just eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, they can also drink them. Healthy smoothies and mixed fruit drinks like Kiwi-Strawberry and Fizzy’s pomegranate water can be a fun way to introduce new fruits and vegetables into children’s diets.

For more information: Visit PBS KIDS and follow them on Twitter and Facebook. Visit Whole Foods Market and follow them on Twitter and Facebook. 

Image credits: PBS Kids