Shaping Young Tastes: How to Start Now to Ensure Your Kids Will Eat Healthy

Last year I had the pleasure of going through the Dr. Sears Health Online Wellness Institute. I received my health coach training and certification for Families, Seniors and Adults, and Pregnancy.

I learned a great deal of nutrition knowledge and the skills to help walk alongside people in their own health journey.  

I loved being a part of each of the three programs. One program in particular stood out to me as a mom; Coaching for Pregnancy.  

A Baby’s Tastes Starts Developing Early in Pregnancy

A baby’s taste starts developing early in pregnancy.

Prenatal exposure is associated with flavor stimulation and can have a great effect on what a child will eat later in life.

What a mother eats during pregnancy can not only affect their health.

Many studies have been done showing that kids taste buds are formed in utero.

It is important that moms maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their pregnancy to help their children have more of a chance at developing a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

The Five Different Types of Taste

During the first trimester, when babies brain cells are starting to branch off one of the areas they do is to the mouth. Taste buds then start to form where babies will develop receptors to five types of tastes. They include sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. 

At just eight weeks, the neurons from the brain will be connected to these newly formed taste buds. It is not until around 16 weeks of pregnancy that the baby will start developing taste pores giving a baby their first interaction with a salty taste.

That salty taste comes from the amniotic fluid. 

A baby’s taste buds are not as potent the moms taste buds because they have yet to develop their sense of smell.

Babies will still be able to recognize the food.

It is important moms eat a balanced diet because it can not only help them keep healthy through their pregnancy, it can also help their child develop tastes for healthier foods.

Modeling Good Eating Habits

I wish that I had all this information when I was pregnant with my two boys. I am fortunate now that they like their fruits and vegetables. It definitely has been a labor of love helping them establish those tastes. 

I thought I ate somewhat healthy with both my pregnancies, but it was not until I took this program I realized I could have made better food choices during both of my pregnancies.

I remember being so sick with my second son that the only thing that would make me feel better was salty McDonald’s Fries. I do not even want to think about how many I had back then. And yes, he adapted a taste for them.

I am so fortunate though that going through my own personal health journey, I have been able to help model better eating habits for my boys. That was not the case years ago though.

A Resource for Moms

I wish I could go back and change my choices during his pregnancy, but I realize I cannot.

I am grateful though that I was able to focus my family on making healthier food choices. I realize if I would have done that while I was pregnant imagine the benefits both my boys would have had from the get-go?

As a person that has struggled for years with unhealthy eating habits, I know that I did the best I could with the information I had at the time. I also know that while I cannot go back and change my eating habits during my two pregnancies, I can be a resource for moms that are. 

Plant-based and Vegan Diet

This past year I turned my focus to eating more plant-based foods. I want to be able to help women and moms who are looking to add more plant foods into their lives. And to share the resources I have gained through my own health journey.

Free Community For Moms

If you are looking to add more plant foods into your life, then I invite you to join our Free Facebook Community

You will have access to recipes that are focused on plant based and vegan foods, nutritional tips and resources,

You do not have to be plant-based or vegan to join our Private Facebook Group.  We understand that while not everyone is plant-based or vegan, many people are looking to add in more plant foods into their lives. This is where I come in.

A Lifestyle Not a Diet

We also want to make eating plant foods fun and delicious.

All our recipes are kid-friendly and have been approved and given the thumbs up by my two boys. We also know that food is just a part of your health journey. And from personal experience know that sometimes us moms struggle with making ourselves a priority.

Trust me, it took me a long time to overcome some of the mom guilt that comes with putting my health as a priority. I want to be able to help give a space where moms feel empowered to make themselves a priority and know that they are not alone.

The Dr. Sears Wellness Program not only equipped me with health coaching skills. I am forever grateful for the nutrition education that I also had available to me.

My goal is to continue sharing the knowledge that I learned throughout that program in hopes of helping inspire you along your own health journey.  

Check out these vegan and plant inspired dishes

Sweet Potato and Red Bean Power Bowl

9 Plant-based Instant Pot Dinner Ideas

Garbanzo Bean Power Bowl

Vegan Red Beans and Rice

Healthy Breakfast Banana Split

Dr. Sears Wellness Institute

And if you are interested in learning more obtaining your Health Coaching Certification through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. You can learn more about their online Coaching program on their website at https://www.drsearswellnessinstitute.org/.

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References:

Sears, W. M. (2019). Live right now: Create a healthy new beginning. Dr. Sears Wellness Institute.