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Breaking your family's bad eating habits

Children are as busy as adults these days, so it's not hard to fall into bad eating habits because of a lack of time and the convenience of fast foods and snacks. You can, however, break the cycle and guide your family to healthier eating habits.

• Plan the week's meals ahead of time. This makes it more likely that you will eat healthy, nutritious lunches and dinners.
• Get the whole family involved in preparing meals. This will save time, reduce the temptation to opt for processed food or take-outs, and doubles as family bonding time.
• Pack in enough healthy snacks for your family to sustain them for the day.
• Limit your children's pocket money to curb them from buying unhealthy snacks.
• Keep high sugar, high fat and high calorie snacks out of sight and then off the grocery list. Stock up on different types of fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts and popcorn.
• Substitute fizzy soft drinks for diluted juice or water, and full cream milk for low-fat, fat-free or skimmed milk. Make water more appealing by adding fruit pieces and refrigerating before serving.
• Be a good role model. Avoid eating junk food yourself, encourage your family and maintain a long-term healthy lifestyle.