27/02/2025
Here's a fantastic interview with Dr. Kristy Hall (owner of Renew Health Spa) that was featured in the latest issue of Rocky Mountain Parent Magazine.
FUELING A GROWING CHILD ISN’T
EASY, especially when even our best
efforts to provide healthy food are
often met with scrunched noses.
Whether you’re in the throes of raising
a picky toddler or a stubborn teen,
convincing kids to make nutritious
choices can feel downright impossible
at times.
Kristy Hall, president of the National
Association of Nutrition Professionals
and doctor of clinical nutrition at
Living Well Nutrition in Loveland is
well-versed in the difficulties facing
parents when it comes to feeding kids.
In both her professional life, and in her
personal life as a mother of five, she’s
faced many of these challenges head
on and says the key to encouraging
healthy eating is to start early.
Put healthy foods on the plate
Beginning at the newborn stage, the
nutritional choices parents make for
their kids are incredibly important.
At this early age, Hall says the most
important thing is to ensure babies
are getting enough DHA fat, which is
crucial to brain development and can
be found in breastmilk, formula, and
certain milks.
By the time those babies grow
into children and then teenagers,
they have a whole different set of
needs, including an increased calorie
requirement to balance out their high
metabolisms. A lack of nutrient-dense
calories during these stages of rapid
growth can lead to problems later on.
“The food you feed your children
now is providing the foundation for
their health when they’re in their 30s,
40s, and 50s,” says Hall. “That’s really
the underlying principal for all parents
to remember. The choices they make
early on are so important.”
Get creative, get colorful
The question is, how do parents
convince kids to eat the right foods,
and the right amount of food, to meet
Make every bite count
Katie Harris Tips and tricks for motivating
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their nutritional needs?
“The key is to expose kids to a lot
of new foods, and expose them often,”
says Hall. She explains that it takes
about a dozen exposures to a new
food for kids to really give it a chance.
One of Hall’s go-tos when her own
children were growing up, was to set
out a muffin tin with a different healthy
food in each compartment. Selecting
a colorful variety and cutting them
into bite-sized pieces made them both
appealing and easy to reach for.
“Kids love to graze,” she explains.
“When you lock away the chips,
crackers, and candy and we have
these healthy, colorful snacks right
there, the healthy choice becomes the
easy choice.”
When it comes to selecting the right
foods to offer, Hall suggests letting the
colors of the rainbow guide you.
“Take the kids to the store with
you and make them responsible for
finding certain colors in the produce
department,” she says. “The less
processed, the better. Opt for things
like berries, apple slices, cucumbers,
carrots, and maybe a healthy dip.
When kids are involved in choosing
their own food they’re most likely to
want to try it.”
Give it time
According to Hall, one of the most
important things parents can do is
exercise patience, working with their
kids instead of against them.
“As parents,” Hall explains, “we
sometimes fall into this trap of piling
food onto our children’s plates and
then getting mad at them for not
eating. Our job is to get them to listen
to their bodies.”
She recommends avoiding the
battle by only dishing up two to three
bites of each food at a time, and
letting children dictate whether or not
they want more.
At the same time, look for creative
ways to encourage adventurous
eating. Hall recommends planting a
family garden, inviting kids to help in
the kitchen, or throwing theme night
dinner parties to make food fun.
So what foods matter most?
Even if they refuse to eat them at
first, Hall says it’s important to offer
vegetables at every meal. Fruit, a
popular food group with many kids, is
a great energy source and should be
available throughout the day as well.
Hall warns that kids who don’t like
fruit may be getting too much sugar
in the form of soda, candy, or other
unhealthy foods.
In addition, kids should eat a variety
of proteins, dairy products, and whole
grains throughout the day. Yogurt and
cheese are kid-friendly options that
can help meet daily protein and dairy
requirements. Consider whipping up a
batch of whole-grain oatmeal, brown
rice, or quinoa salad to mix it up in the
grain department.
How do parents know if
they’re succeeding?
If your teen walked to a fast food
restaurant every day last week for lunch,
you might be feeling like a bit of a failure
right about now. Chances are though,
you’re doing better than you think.
“The moment teenagers get out of
your sight, they’re going to eat all the
things you frown upon,” acknowledges
Hall. “There’s not a lot you can do but
accept it. The good news is, they’re
resilient, they’ll survive, and some day,
they’re going to come back to the way
they were fed when they were younger.”
The same is true for younger kids.
While a toddler refusing to touch
a green vegetable for a month can
be exasperating, parents can rest
assured that this, too, is just a phase.
Since an energetic, happy kid is
usually a healthy kid, the best way to
ensure they’re getting the nutrients
they need is to pay attention to their
behavior, as well as their growth.
A drop in a child’s height or weight
percentile can be a red flag, as can
behavioral changes such as lethargy,
irritability, or general disinterest in
food. If you notice any of these signs,
it might be time to reach out to your
pediatrician or a dietician.
“We all have different dietary needs
at different seasons in our life,” says
Hall. “As long as parents do their best
to offer a healthy variety now, they’ll be
setting their kids up for success down
the road.”
