7 Steps to a Healthier Family

This post is sponsored by Natrol Gummies but the content and opinions expressed here are my own. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases.

Nothing is more important than the health of your family. Today, I have 7 Steps to a Healthier Family so you can start building the habits necessary for a lifetime of good health for yourself and children. These 7 steps promote better eating habits and a more active lifestyle as we also talk about how to incorporate great tasting Natrol Gummies into your daily routine.

Family Dinners

Every single night strive to have a sit down family dinner around the table. There are many reasons for family dinner and making your family healthier is just the start!

Family Dinners give you:

• Family bonding time.
• The opportunity to chat with your kids about school, activities and anything on their mind or anything they want to share about their day.
• Eating at your table dinner promotes cooking at home oppose to fast food. Get your family in the habit of eating at home and learning to cook whole foods that are nutrient dense.
• Use the time to educate your family on the nutritional value of the foods on the table. What is high protein, offers fiber, or should be eaten in moderation because of the high fat or sugar content? Educate yourself on the foods you are serving so you can share that knowledge. This is knowledge your kids will benefit from their WHOLE life to stay healthy.

Read this article on How to Build a Stronger Bond with Your Children which includes family dinners.

Try New Foods

Your children cannot live off of macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. They will sure try so it is up to YOU to lead them in the right direction and offer many different foods.

Some great way to get your child to try new foods:

• Allow them to pick out anything in the produce section at the grocery store. If they pick it, they are more likely to eat and enjoy that food. If you don’t know where to start- tell our child to find a fuzzy fruit (kiwi) and something red (strawberries) and make a game out of grocery shopping.
• Have them help you plant a vegetable garden. Taking care of a vegetable is hard work so if they help you with all that work, they will be excited when it is finally time to pick it from the garden and eat.
• The three bite rule. Not everyone may be on board with this but my kids have to try at least 3 bites of everything on their plate. Sure, there are some nights with tears and pouting over 3 bites of broccoli because it is “too green” or the “potatoes are too spicy”… we seriously just had a spicy mashed potato meltdown. And no they were not spicy at all. If you are consistent with this rule, 95% of the time, dinner is smooth sailing and everyone tries new foods. A diet with a huge variety of foods helps ensure complete nutrition.

Try this Garlic Ginger Chicken for dinner with a side of roasted broccoli and rice.

Start Every Morning with Natrol Gummies

Delivering the nutrients your entire family needs daily is a must. Start each morning with a balanced breakfast and Natrol Gummies. By beginning every day with good health in mind, you set up your family to continue the day being active and eating healthy. Natrol makes gummies specifically designed for each person in the family from Men’s Multi Vitamin to Prenatal to Hair and Nails or Kid’s.

Why choose Natrol Gummies for your family: 

• Made with organic ingredients of the highest quality.
• Non-GMO. No worry of genetically modified ingredients in these gummies.
• Gelatin-free. Made of fruit pectin, not gelatin.
• Vegetarian. No animal by-products here.
• Made with 26 fruits and vegetables and free of artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners and preservatives. Packed with nutrients from organic blueberries, kale and more.

See all the benefits that Natrol Gummies by clicking HERE and look for the vitamins with the purple top!

Workout Daily

You should workout daily. A 30 minute walk, some yoga when you get home from work and a full blown 60 minutes of strength intervals…. whatever it may be, you need to lead the family and let them see you take fitness seriously. Teach the family how to take care of themselves from leading by example. I do Pilates daily and my daughter gets in her workout gear when she sees me in mine and does stretches and lunges beside me. The goal is to teach your family working out is part of living a healthy lifestyle.

Try this 12 Minute Workout for Busy Moms to get you back into a fitness routine.

Play Together

Be active with your family. I know life is tiring after cleaning the house, making dinner, working, running the kids around and everything else. Playing together is too important to put to the side or at the bottom of the to-do list. Get healthier and play together!

Here are some ways to play together:

• Go to the park and play follow the leader on the playground through the monkey bars and tip-toeing on the balance beam. A contest to see who can go the highest on the swing set is always fun too.
• Shoot some hoops.
• Go on a nature hike.
• Go swimming.
• Ride bikes around the neighborhood.
• Have a water balloon fight outside.
• Turn on some music and have a family dance off (maybe you can even get some cleaning done during).

Put the Tech Away

This is the hardest rule in my home to stick to in the 7 Steps to a Healthier Family but put the tech away! We have everything at the house to entertain us all for days from tablets, laptops, game systems, phones but there needs to be a limit. My rule for this summer has been NO TECH when it is light outside. Let’s face it- childhood memories are not made sitting on the couch playing Xbox. Force everyone to put the gadgets down and get off their rumps to ride bikes, run through the sprinkler or do chalk artwork in the driveway.

Cut the Sugar

We all consume way too much sugar in our diets. Be aware of your families sugar intake and adjust your diets to cut back. The two biggest areas for high sugar consumption are snacks and drinks. Read labels before snack time and try to reach for whole foods as much as possible if not always. What do I mean whole foods? An apple is always going to be a better choice than a fruit snack for example. When it comes to drinks, get your family used to drinking water. Just water…morning, day and night. Soda, juice, sports drinks…. need to be limited and put into the “treat” category in your families diet.

Try this kid-friendly Avocado Hummus for a healthier snacking option.

Besides these 7 Steps to a Healthier Family, what are some ways you promote health in your own families? Share in the comments below and make sure to visit Natrol Gummies for more information on how to deliver the nutrients your family needs in a tasty gummy vitamin.