For Melissa Joan Hart, getting sons Mason, 12, Braydon, 9, and Tucker, 5, out and about is the easy part.
“They are so active: wrestling, basketball, flag football,” the actress, 41, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “They’re out back frog hunting or riding bikes. They have a pretty healthy lifestyle.”
But the hard part is getting her children to eat hearty and wholesome meals at times.
“You win small battles here and there,” the Nutrisystem spokesperson says.
She has it covered now, however. Together with husband Mark Wilkerson, 41, she’s figured out that getting their sons to eat healthy requires some creativity. For instance, the actress says she can get the boys to eat their veggies with dipping sauce (like asparagus and soy sauce).
Another way she gets her kids to eat their greens: giving foods crafty names. She tells Us broccoli is “trees,” tofu is “white rocks,” and lentil soup is “stone soup.” Hart also gets creative when preparing a snack. “I’ll do celery with peanut butter and raisins on top and that’s ‘ants on a log,’” she adds. “They think they’re having these crazy, weird foods.”
But one effective trick she picked up is from the meat loaf scene in the 1983 flick A Christmas Story. She recalls to Us the scene when the mom asks her son to show her how to eat like a piggy. “Instead, I ask my kids, ‘How would a T-Rex eat that piece of chicken?’” the actress jokes.
And what she’s most proud of? “My kids don’t drink soda,” Hart reveals. “I just tell them it’s coffee.”
Watch the video above to hear more about Hart’s healthy food tricks.
