All parents want their children to follow a healthy, balanced diet. But it's easier said than done.
Kath Megaw, a clinical paediatric dietician gives us some tips on how to feed your children and keep them healthy.
To begin with she recommends:
- Three meals a day with a between-meal snack – approximately 1½ hours between previous snack and meal.
- Generally meals should not last longer than 30 minutes.
- Encourage eating meals together as a family.
- Avoid giving large servings of fluids just before meals.
- Increase the energy and nutrient density of meals/snacks and of between meal drinks.
- Increase food exposure.
- Introduce theme nights or restaurant themes with foods that appeal.
- Sneak in nutrients and energy.
- Define food responsibility.
Breakfast ideas
For the not-so-hungry:
- Fruit smoothie or drinking yoghurt.
- Add some dried fruit to cereal and milk.
Need something quick:
- Fresh fruit and yoghurt.
- Seed, granola or breakfast bars.
Can be eaten on the run:
- Cheese or peanut butter sandwich.
For those fibre-fighters:
- Increase the appeal of wholegrain cereals and oats porridge by adding chopped fruit, nuts and seeds.
Carbohydrate solutions
- Ensure all meals and snacks include foods that contain carbohydrates.
- Encourage healthy, nutrient-rich carbohydrates.
- Increase the nutrient of a meal/snack by including a dairy product, small amounts of fat and protein and/or fruit and vegetables.
Examples of low GI meals/snacks:
- Breakfast: whole wheat cereal, oat bran, high-fibre bran.
- Lunch: low-GI, nutrient-rich breads with a suitable topping.
- Dinner: pasta (durum wheat), or long grain and wild rice, sweet potato, most vegetables, legumes.
Eating to prevent anaemia
- Red meat in your child’s diet three to four times per week.
- Regular intake of chicken, fish and eggs.
- Leafy green vegetables, iron-fortified cereals and porridge and dried beans with vitamin C-rich foods to improve absorption.
- Iron-rich snacks.
Help prevent folate deficiency anaemia by including:
- Leafy green vegetables.
- Legumes.
- Organ meat.