Eating Right Together: Making Healthy Eating a Family Affair
There are many things that parents can – and should – be doing when it comes to helping their children eat right. From making sure that your child consumes more “nutrient dense” foods and less empty calories, to the important (and often neglected) task of planning all meals and daily nutrition, there are some important things for parents to keep in mind to make healthy eating a reality in their homes.
NEVER SKIP A MEAL. Skipping meals will cause your child’s metabolic rate to slow down and will most likely cause him or her to overcompensate by eating empty calories.
PLAN YOUR MEALS. By planning your family’s meals, you can keep track of what your family is eating so you are more likely to include all food categories. Without planning, you may find yourself in a situation in which you are very hungry with no easily available healthy food choices … and it’s then that the temptation to eat junk foods and empty calories will be harder to resist.
MAKE SURE TO FULFILL THE FRUIT, VEGETABLE, PROTEIN, GRAIN, NUTS AND DAIRY REQUIREMENT EACH DAY. This will keep you from being hungry and you will be less likely to look for empty calorie foods. Guidelines: for children from 3-5 years old, start with 1 cup of fruit, 1 cup of vegetables and 3-4 grain servings. Increase these quantities to 1 ½ - 2 cups of both fruits and vegetables and 4-6 grain servings for children from the age of 6 until puberty. From the beginning of puberty, a minimum of 1 ½ cups of fruits, 2 cups of vegetables and 6 servings of grains should be consumed daily.
OFFER YOUR CHILD FOODS THAT ARE PARTICULARY “NUTRIENT DENSE” AND OFFER A NUMBER OF HEALTH BENEFITS. For example, apples contain vitamin C, soluble and insoluble fiber (which is good for colon health), potassium and quercetin – and are also good for cleaning teeth and exercising gum tissue! Other great nutrient-dense foods include broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kiwi fruit, grapefruit, soybeans, tofu … as well as onions and garlic!
INCLUDE A VARIETY OF NUTS IN YOUR CHILD’S DIET. Nuts are filled with healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. In particular, almonds contain more calcium than any other nut and are a good source of vitamin E, protein, magnesium, fiber and the phytonutrients quercetin and kaempferol – and are known to help protect against heart disease and help to maintain bone health. Other great nut choices include walnuts (which have heart-healthy omega three fatty acids) and Brazil nuts (which have twice the FDA of selenium which helps our natural anti-oxidant system.)
MAKE SURE THAT YOU PROVIDE KIDS WITH HEALTHY SCHOOL LUNCHES AND GOOD AFTER-SCHOOL SNACK CHOICES. When packing your child’s lunch, eliminate sugary snacks and processed foods – instead, substitute snacks like nuts, sunflower seeds, fruit with peanut butter or soy butter, cut-up vegetables, air popped popcorn and high fiber cereals. Also, make sure that you pay attention to the beverage you put in your child’s lunch as well -- keep away from sodas, sports drinks, sweetened drinks and juice drinks that don’t offer 100% juice, as they are just empty calories and don’t offer any nutritional benefits. Kids should be drinking either water, skim or low-fat milk, 100% fruit juices and/or fresh vegetable juices.
AVOID DEEP FRIED FOODS. Keep your child away from fried foods whenever possible. Instead, stress to them the importance (and good taste) of eating foods that have been sautéed, baked, broiled, roasted, boiled or grilled – not deep fried!
STAY AWAY FROM FOODS WITH TRANS FATS. Make sure to read labels closely, and stay away from any foods and/or beverages containing trans fats.