30 Healthy Food Habits To Share With Your Kids

Yes, cereal is easy, but a chocolate and banana smoothie isn't THAT much harder. (This recipe calls for blending a frozen banana, dates, non-dairy milk, vanilla extract and cocoa nibs, but feel free to experiment on your own.) On mornings when you have a bit more time, try some mini quiches made in a muffin tin.

Even pizza is healthier when you make it at home (and this recipe is designed to be made with kids).

Eating red meat has been connected to shorter lifespans, heart disease, diabetes, and weight gain. (Try this catfish sandwich next time you're thinking of making burgers.)

Just throw the ingredients in a food processor, pour into a popsicle mold, add sticks, and freeze. Mango Pops recipe available here.

These muffins use butternut squash. You can also add carrots and zucchini to turkey meatballs, and whatever you have in the fridge to your lasagna.

Go for the double whammy: Healthy dippers like carrots and celery sticks, served with a healthy Seven Layer Taco Dip or Edamame-Basil Hummus Dip.

Here are 15 easy, meatless sandwich ideas to get you started.

Instructions for the pear mouse available here. Eighteen more adorable ideas here.

Children reject healthy food and assume they won't like it just because they know it's good for them, according to a new study from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. So don't tell them how healthy that apple is, tell them how sweet it is instead.

It's not just a fun activity: A 2012 study found that kids who help prepare their foods make healthier food choices.

Family dinners mean having more real conversations with your kids, controlling what and how much they eat, and lowering their chances of smoking, drinking or using other drugs.

Kids involved in growing their own food are more likely to eat healthier, according to a 2009 study. (Here's a basic how-to guide, a list of the 10 easiest vegetables to grow, and tips from Martha Stewart to get you started.)

Where are all the vegetables? Oh right, on YOUR menu.

Visiting a farm connects your kids to the farmers growing their food and joining its CSA allows them to explore new tastes every season. Find a CSA that meets your needs.

Don't enforce the "Clean Plate Club" rule: It can have negative consequences down the line. One study found, for example, that when boys were required to clean their plates at home, they asked for larger helpings when they ate somewhere else.

It can take a few attempts before a child starts to like a new taste.

Familiarize yourself with sugar's other names so you know what to look for when you scan the ingredients on processed food.

You probably already know that soda's full of sugar and has no nutritional value. But did you know that it also increases the chances of stroke and contributes to behavioral problems in children? And by the way, the diet stuff is no better.

Not all foods freeze equally, but casseroles, chilies, soups, and stews can last for two to three months in the freezer without losing their luster. Try this easy Baked-Eggplant Parmesan.

Frozen produce lasts nearly forever and has all the same nutrients as the fresh stuff. Buy it bagged at the super market, or freeze your farmers market surplus yourself.

Lots of schools are switching to healthier lunches, is yours?

Need help jumpstarting your own healthy eating? Try the BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge.

And when you get home, send a letter to the store's headquarters complaining about the placement. It's like they're just begging your kids to ask for it and then get upset when you say no.