Nutrition for Children

All parents want to give their children a head start in life and one way we can do this is by providing a well balanced diet at home and at school. A healthy diet and lifestyle is one of the best investments a parent can make for their child's current and future health. We also need to involve children in making healthy choices so they can continue to practice them later in life.

Why do children need a nutritious diet?

• Adequate growth and development
• Learning and concentration
• Energy for sport and play
• Developing healthy eating habits
• Setting them up for future health. Reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes
• Improved learning
• Feel more relaxed and stress relief
• Improves their self confidence and body image
• Reduced risk of being overweight or obese
• They sleep better
• Increased quality of life

Did you know?

• Children start to lay down cholesterol in the blood vessels from age 2.
• 1 in 4 children are overweight
• More than ½ have high blood cholesterol levels
• 1 in 5 eat no vegetables
• Nearly 50% don’t eat fruit
• 1/2 of girls & 1/3 of boys have insufficient calcium intake
• Takeaways, hot chips, salty snack foods, biscuits, muesli bars, ice cream, cakes, soft drinks and chocolate are among the top ten sources of dietary fat for kids!!!!

What’s the solution??? GOING BACK TO BASICS

We have shifted from providing freshly made meals to processed packaged foods. Let’s take a look at some simple tips and meals for breakfast and lunch boxes.

Breakfast

Breakfast is an important meal and one that should not be missed, especially for children. It provides fuel for their bodies and minds and prepares them for the day ahead. There is a small but significant amount of children that skip breakfast, and a large proportion that will choose an unhealthy option to start the day.

Extensive research in Australia and overseas has found:

• Many children who skip breakfast are significantly heavier than those who eat breakfast.
• Skipping breakfast can diminish mental performance. Breakfast helps to increase attention span and makes children more interested in learning.
• Eating high fibre breakfast cereals reduces fatigue.
• Children who eat an inadequate breakfast are more likely to make poor food choices for the rest of the day and in the long term.
• People who eat breakfast have more nutritious diets than people who skip breakfast, and have better eating habits as they are less likely to be hungry for snacks during the day.
• One of the biggest problems is cereals with a large proportion being high in salt and sugar.

This is where the Thermomix can be used to prepare healthy breakfast ideas for children to start of their day.

Lunchboxs

The lunchbox is a great place to start to include variety in a child’s diet. This will give a variety of essential nutrients for optimal health.

A good guide to aim for is;

• At least 1 piece of fruit
• At least 1 serve of dairy food such as yoghurt, milk or cheese
• At least 1 serve of protein such as meat, chicken, fish or eggs
• At least 2-4 serves of carbohydrate rich foods such as bread, rice, pasta, grains, etc.

Tips

• When children are involved in the food preparation and are allowed to choose from a variety of healthy foods they will be more likely to eat it.
• Lunches may go warm in school bags so it is important to keep food cool by freezing a bottle of water and placing it inside the lunch box.
• Keep the food looking nice and tasty….no one likes squashed up food.
• Try to include a variety of foods from all of the food groups.
• Save sweet and fatty foods/snacks for treats and special occasions they should not be everyday foods.

Here are some healthy lunch, snack and drink ideas that can be made in the Thermomix.

Salads

• Always include vegies in the lunch box whether it be veggie sticks or a side salad.
• Make salads more creative by trying different types such as coleslaw or beetroot salad (Everyday Cooking for Every Family Cookbook)
• Pasta and Rice salads are another great idea where you can add in a variety of vegies, herbs, tuna or other meats (eg. Brown rice salad recipe).

Best Drinks

Fluids are important for children throughout the day and can affect their concentration and activity level if they are thirsty or dehydrated. Water and milk are the best drinks for children to consume. All sweet drinks such as fruit juices, juice drinks, cordials, sports drinks, flavoured mineral waters and soft drinks are high in sugar and are not needed for a healthy balanced diet. These drinks contain sugars that are found naturally in fresh fruits, but become very concentrated when made into juice or when used to make soft drinks or cordials.These drinks can increase risk of tooth decay, are ‘filling’ and may take the place of healthier foods.

Tips

• The Thermomix yoghurt drink or smoothie can be made and frozen so it is ready to drink by lunch!
• If making juices in the Thermomix make sure the pulp of the fruit is left in as this provides fibre.
• Juices can also be watered down as to avoid excess kilojoules in the diet.

Remember that as parents you are the role models for your children and need to set the example of healthy eating.