• Let children help with food shopping and preparation — it’s always more fun to eat what you have helped select and prepare.
• Keep food varied and interesting.
• Provide an array of fruits and vegetables of different colors, textures, shapes and sizes, such as kiwis, oranges, red peppers and broccoli.
• Look to the nutrition facts information on food products to help make healthful choices. If your child selects a high-fat food, offer lower-fat choices later in the day or over the next few days.
• Be a role model. Children learn from parents. If you engage in daily physical activity and enjoy a variety of healthful foods, your children are more likely to follow suit. Encouraging physical activity and healthful eating habits during childhood helps build these habits for a lifetime.

Nutrition experts recommend eating from each of these five food groups daily to ensure a balanced high-carbohydrate, low-fat eating pattern:

• Six to seven servings of grains.
• Two to three servings of fruits.
• Three to five servings of vegetables.
• Two to three servings of milk, yogurt and cheese.
• Two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and eggs.

Source: American Dietetic Association