Imagine this: You’ve just picked the kids up from soccer practice. It’s been a long, busy day. The last thing you feel like doing is cooking and it’s so much easier to go out for dinner… but you know that no matter where you go, the chances of finding healthy options for your kids are unlikely.
Honestly, it’s disappointing. You go out for a meal with your family and look at the menu, only to find the same list of options for your kids. You probably already know the menu off by heart, even if you’ve never been to this venue before. Chicken nuggets? Check. Pizza? Check. Something deep fried that might have once been fish, but it’s hard to tell? Check.
Sometimes I feel a bit guilty. I want to treat them for a special meal out, but as they bring out the plates all I can think is: “This can’t be good for them.”
In an ideal world, we should be able to treat our kids to a meal out without worrying about them eating unhealthily. Ideally, there would be no fuss or challenge when getting our kids to eat some vegetables or healthier meals. But let’s be real, if I put a plate of salad down in front of my kid when they were expecting a burger it would be chaos.
So, how do we begin to make the change?
What’s the solution?
Up to 28% of our kids in South Australia are at risk of becoming obese, which could lead to lifelong health issues.* While this is a complicated issue that needs to be tackled on many fronts, just having the option of healthier meals for our kids would make a difference.
SA Health recognised this important issue and initiated the D3 Challenge to seek out the answer for parents, kids and food venues across Adelaide. The challenge set by SA Health was to encourage a start-up business to create a healthier menu solution and drive the mission for change.
Eat Active, the winners of this challenge, have proposed a solution to this problem: As a new initiative, they’ll provide food venues across the state with the healthy meal options that parents have been looking for.
Eat Active endorsed meals will:
- Include 1 serving of vegetables
- Be free from artificial preservatives + flash frying
And, most importantly
- Be nutritionally balanced and certified by SA Health.
What does this mean for you?
The secret to Eat Active endorsed meals is that although they look like the foods kids know and love (think burgers, pasta and butter chicken) but there’s a hidden serving of vegetables inside. This means that they contain the nutrition needed for growing children and your kids can’t even tell the difference.
This means that when you go out for occasions like: a mid-week dinner, a Friday night celebration, a meal out after the kid’s sporting games on the weekend, or even a Sunday lunch with the family, you won’t have to stress about the eternal argument of getting kids to eat their vegetables. You no longer need to have the struggle with fussy eaters.
How does this benefit parents?
Eat Active provides access to a healthier solution to kid’s menu options. Food venues stocking Eat Active endorsed products will give parents the option to choose meals which are delicious, appealing to kids and full of healthy ingredients.
We’re now able to have the best of both worlds: a nice meal out with the family and support our children’s health.
Even better? One of the main challenges facing parents when buying healthier options is the price put on those meals. However, with Eat Active, parents can expect to pay similar to what is currently offered on a kids menu. (seriously). You can enjoy a nice, healthy meal out with your family without breaking the bank and without any guilt.
Eat Active provides parents with a list of participating venues, resources and a blog with useful tips on healthy eating and getting our kids active. Using Eat Active as a tool parents can encourage a healthier, balanced diet for their children and promote an active lifestyle.
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*https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/obesity-in-children