By Paula Bowers-Sanchez

How can I get my child to eat healthy foods?

How many of you out there have a hard time getting your child/children to eat healthy foods, take vitamins or probiotics? It’s a struggle for me, too.

My child only wants eggs, sausage and pancakes for breakfast and chicken nuggets with fries for lunch and dinner. Well, we all know where that will lead: obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypertension…the list goes on and on.

So, I have developed a few tricks I like to employ to get my child to eat healthy (at least three to four days out of the week):

• I want him to drink more water, so I buy juice water; it’s flavored water with half the sugar as regular juice drinks.

• I want him to eat some veggies every now and then, so I give him veggie chews. He thinks they are fruit chew snacks, but really every chew is packed with a whole serving of fruits and vegetables.

• I want him to eat healthy fries, so I make my version of the french fry. I buy potatoes, slice them like french fries, season and bake them up all crispy. He thinks they are delicious.

• My child loves hot dogs, but we know they are made with all kinds of fillers. So, I buy buffalo hot dogs. They are made with buffalo meat, no fillers and no nitrates or nitrites either. He absolutely loves the taste.

• When it comes to chips and cookies, I buy the 100-calorie packs. They are great for a quick snack, and they are the real thing, so he gets the taste but fewer calories than the regular serving size.

• My son loves chocolate milk. So, I buy 1 percent organic milk and use either a chocolate protein powder or another nutritional chocolate powder to make a low-calorie, low-fat chocolate milk.

• I give my child probiotics on a daily basis. I found these great powder packs for kids that are dairy free and gluten free. I just add it to his beverage in the morning and he’s set.

• When it comes to vitamins, there are a number of gummy chews available. My child has no problem taking that in the morning. He thinks he’s getting a yummy gummy bear with his breakfast.

These are just a few of my tricks to getting my child to take in healthier foods, vitamins and essential probiotics. If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them. Send them to me via The Seminole Tribune.