• Buy and serve more vegetables and fruits (canned, fresh, or frozen)
• Buy fewer soft drinks and high fat/high calorie snack foods like chips, candy, and cookies.  These snacks are OK once in a while, but keep healthy snacks on hand and offer them to your child more often.
• Plan and eat healthy meals as a family. Eating together at meal times encourage children to enjoy a variety of foods.
• Eat fast food less often and when  you do visit a fast food restaurant, try the healthier options offered.
• Offer your child water or low-fat milk more often than fruit juice. Fruit  juice is a healthy choice but is high in calories.
• Do not get discouraged if your child will not eat a new food the first time it is served. Some kids will need to have a new food served to them 10 times or more before they will eat it.
• Try not to use food as a reward. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less desirable than dessert.
• Start with small servings and let your child request more if she or he is still hungry. It is up to you to provide your child with healthy meals and snacks, but your child should be allowed to choose how much food he or she will eat.

Healthy snack foods for your child to try:

• Fresh fruit
• Fruit canned in juice or light syrup
• Small amounts of dried fruits such as raisins, apple rings, or apricots
• Fresh vegetables such as baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini, or tomatoes
• Reduced fat cheese or small amount of peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers
• Low-fat yogurt with fruit
• Graham crackers, animal crackers, or low-fat vanilla wafers