Are you a HR manager trying to engage more staff in workplace wellness? Or are you a teacher encouraging the kids to pack more colourful lunchboxes? Or a mum hoping kids might eat a rainbow at dinner?
The key to positive role modelling and inspiring others to be healthier is to ENGAGE THEM (without judging, preaching or pressuring).
But how do we engage people when it comes to fruits and vegetables? Here are our three top tips:
1. Get INVOLVED!
Don’t tell them. Do it with them! Interactive cooking classes at your workplace, hands-on cooking incursions in schools and cooking with your kids at home! Create a work or school ABC recipe book and ask people to contribute (A is for apple, asparagus…). Set up veggie gardens at schools and your home. Plan healthy fundraising at schools and get the kids to write the marketing material. Take your kids to the fruit shop and let them choose by looking, touching and feeling fresh seasonal produce. In workplaces, set up DIY breakfast stations or smoothie bikes. Anything and everything to get people to do and interact, rather than just watch. For workplaces, free food also helps 🙂
Get people involved in the planning of more colourful events. Ask your staff what they are interested in. Involve parents in creating a nutrition policy at your school. At home, involve your kids in choosing what veggies should go in the salad.
And role model; eat with your kids, take fruit from the communal fruit bowl in the staff room, eat fruit break with the kids.
2. FUN! Make it FUN!
Never preach or plead nutrition. Make programs FUN and interactive! People learn more when they are having FUN! Ask yourself, did the participants enjoy themselves? Create a fun and funky staff room for staff. Find fun food games to play with your students. Talk about their senses at fruit break time; who has the crunchiest fruit or veggie today? Whose is the brightest colour? Create relaxing, fun and pressure free mealtimes.
3. Tell them what’s in it for THEM!
People often get so focused in the WHAT of healthy eating that they forget the WHY. What’s in it for them NOW?
WHY eat colourful?
Eating more fruit and vegetables is the single, biggest dietary change that we can each make is to eat more fruit and vegetables at meal and snack times, what we call Eating Colourful.
Eating colourful is all about feeling good and being energised. Having energy at the end of a busy work day. Playing social sport. Energy to play with the kids and grand kids. Having the energy to do the things you enjoy in life.
For kids it’s usually about running faster, jumping higher, becoming a better reader or faster at the times tables.
Do you have any tips to share about inspiring and engaging people?
