For children to perform at their best and be in optimal health they need to intake a wide range of nutrients during the day and avoid processed foods. Research shows that as many as 30% of children don’t eat breakfast which is a really bad eating pattern to get into as skipping breakfast is associated with setting kids up to becoming obese later in life and is not a healthy eating plan for them to follow.
Great choices for children are cereals with a low GI load such as porridge or oat based cereals but avoid high sugar cereals or which are low GI. Fish oils are also fantastic for a developing brain as the omega 3 fatty acids help to maintain brain function and if they are not getting enough through their diet consider a supplement.
A great habit to get your kids into is eating fruit and veggies. If you can start them early they will also be more likely to maintain the love of fruit and veggies throughout their lives.. By the time kids reach school age they should be eating around 2 serves of fruit a day and at least 3 serves of veggies – but current research shows that only 3% of Aussie kids (aged 4-8) eat that amount. If you struggle to get your kids to eat their veggies – here are some ways to get them eating them:
- Add grated carrot or zucchini to your childrens’ favourite savoury dishes – such as sauces and patties
- Get the kids involved in cooking and hlping make pizza toppings
- Make your own tips with lots of veggies in
- Serve chopped fruit on their cereal and in yoghurt
- Make your own muffins with fresh and dried fruit
- Make smoothies with a wide selection of fruit and add seeds in
A Healthy Snack
A good habit to get the kids into is eating healthy snacks like fruit, nuts and healthy snack bars – a snack bar recipe you can make at home is :
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- 1 cup of desiccated coconut
- 3 x tbsp of chai or flax seeds
- ¼ cup of sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup of chopped dried apricots
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup of raisons
- 1/5 cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of honey
- 80g of low fat butter
Grease the baking pan and line with paper. Then toast all of the oats and seeds in a pan then stir in the coconut.
In another pan combine the butter, honey and sugar over a medium heat and simmer for 6-7 minutes. Then add the syrup to the rest of the ingredients – then also add in the apricots and raisons. Then mix well and then transfer into the baking tin and transfer into the fridge to cool. When cooled and firm cut into bars and pack into their lunch box
