Many children eat white flour (in the form of a bagel, bowl of cereal, donut, pancakes, etc.) each day for breakfast. This is inadequate because it lacks any real nutritional value. This breakfast also lacks a protein (such as an egg), which is necessary to take the carbohydrate energy to the brain. School lunches are inadequate at best, offering mystery meat, white processed flour products, watered down canned fruit and white lettuce in the “salad bar.” Parents who pack a lunch often include sandwiches made on white bread, with processed meat along with a package of puffed flour, dyed and labeled as Cheetos or Goldfish. Instead of fruit, there is often a “fruit snack,” which is just pressed sugar mixed with intense dyes. Children are expected to function in the classroom and socially among teachers and peers with little or no fuel. These same children are often labeled with learning and behavior problems which stem from poor exercise, sleep and nutrition habits. If the family does eat around the family table, this is often the first good meal of the day, and it is likely to be 6:00 p.m. If the family opts for take-out, they will likely be eating twice the fat and calories of any home cooked meal. The number of children who eat and live this way is staggering. It speaks to the challenges that teachers face because these are factors out of their control, but with which they have to deal each and every day.

Below are some simple, yet powerful guidelines which can make it easy to feed children well. By implementing these steps, a healthy foundation for learning, growth and socialization can be provided for every child.

As you implement nutrition changes, expect a few protests. Then expect large, silent hugs at random, from little children as well as teens that say, “Thank you for caring enough about me to do the hard work of parenting.”

Eat foods that are of the earth, or one step above the earth. Before you put it into your cart, ask, “What has been done to this item since it came from the earth?” Some foods are so far removed from the earth; you may not even be able to say what the item is made of! Other things may have originated from whole grain wheat, a piece of fruit or fresh meat, but have been through so many processes, they do not remotely resemble the wheat stalk in the field, the fruit of the tree or the animal in the field. Ask your child and yourself, “Have you ever seen a chicken nugget bush? What about a ketchup tree?” Eat foods that resemble their original source, either visually or through content. Foods that have been through more than one process are not worth putting into your vessel.

Teach your children to visualize what each food will do when it goes into their body. Say, “What will your body do with a gummy worm?” “What will your body do with this glass of milk?” “What will my body do with a Pepsi?” “What about grilled chicken?” Food is fuel. It is a gift. It is a tool children need to complete their daily tasks, the tasks of living and of getting along. Teach them that their food helps them do all the things they need to do throughout the day.

Provide a balance of protein and carbohydrates. A bagel or bowl of cereal alone won’t suffice as a breakfast because it is just processed flour. Whole wheat bread with an egg and cheese on it provides a whole grain and a protein (the egg) to take that energy to the brain. When kids come to school on white or even whole wheat carbohydrates only, they experience a crash by mid-morning that not even the most gifted teacher can overcome. Give your child the gift of a truly balanced, nutritious breakfast, containing a fresh whole wheat source and a fresh protein source.

Think of the grocery store as a giant U. Notice that the foods closest to the earth are in the outside rim of the U, while the processed foods are in the middle of the store. Grab a few items from the middle, such as spices and cleaning supplies, but do most of your shopping in the outer rim of the store. Fill your cart from there first, then see if there’s any room left for unhealthy foods.

Get rid of the white flour. Buy, use and make 90 percent of what you eat with whole grain wheat flour. Once you do this for a while, white flour will taste empty, both to you and your children.

Serve milk and water at meal and between meals. Children should get their fruit nutrition from whole fruits, not fruit juice. Water and milk can be had at home and when eating out at restaurants. Once this is a habit, your child will make these choices without any prompting from you. Even if you allow an occasional soda or juice at a party or special event, your child will gravitate to healthier choices on a daily basis if you are teaching and modeling these behaviors. Honor their natural intelligence by teaching them why these are better choices. Raise their nutritional bar, and in a very short time, they will reach it with ease. As they grow into adulthood, they will honor themselves and keep this nutritional bar high.

Provide nutritional supplements in the form of vitamins. Most fruits and vegetables today, even those organically grown, do not have the same levels of nutrients as those in times past. Nutritional supplements can help kids avoid those winter sicknesses and regular colds passed by classmates. Fortify your child. Children of all ages can drink their “vessel power” each day, knowing it provides all the key vitamins they need, filling in any nutritional gaps from their daily diets. It is also effective against asthma and allergies and other chronic problems some children face. It is a liquid vitamin supplement, completely and easily absorbed by the body.

Get into the habit of making fruit and vegetable plate before meals. Orange slices, bananas, berries, grapes, melons, carrots, brocolli, Jonathan tomatoes, orange bell peppers, cucumbers, and the like. Put the plate out a little bit before the meal. Even if you have to serve a side of ranch dressing or sweetened yogurt for dipping, the benefit of having your children fill up on these nutritious treats between meals are tremendous. This also helps build a fruit and vegetable palatte in your child, which will serve them well for a lifetime. Sometimes, the fruit and vegetable tray can be served with dinner or as dessert. Do this a few times, and once you skip it, you’ll hear, “Where are the vegetables?”

Remember that you will feel very unpopular at times in order to achieve some of the greatest rewards from having children. When your child complains that you are withholding yummy foods, or not letting them have something that “everyone else” eats, reassure your child that you made him or her, and that you want your child to honor their vessel by feeding it well. You can say, “Well, that may seem like an ok choice, but I made you and I love you and I want you to have all the power you need to do all the things you get to do today. Every now and then we will eat those things, but most of the time, I want you to fill your body with lots of fresh clean water and foods that are close to the earth.” Your child may be resistant at first if these changes are new for your family, but his or her heart will beam as it is realized that you are a person who does what is best for their child.