subject: CHILD NUTRITION INFORMATION FOR PARENT [print this page] . Good child nutrition is vital to good health and is absolutely essential for the healthy growth and development of children and adolescents
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Proper nutrition can also prevent many medical problems, including becoming overweight, developing weak bones, and developing diabetes.
Is Your Child Eating Right?
Child Nutrition Six Basic Food Groups
Good child nutrition begins at home with a balanced diet. A balanced diet includes foods from each food group on the Food Guide Pyramid.
1. Breads, cereals, rice and pasta or grains
2. Fruits
3. Vegetables
4. Milk, yogurt, cheese
5. Meat, poultry, fish, dried beans, egg and nuts
6. Fat and sweets group in moderation.
The Children's Food Pyramid is based on the USDA's research on the best food choices to promote good health. Parents can use it as a general guide in choosing a healthful diet that is right for their children.
MyPyramid.gov is still triangle-shaped but it has six colored, vertical stripes to represent food categories: Orange for grains, green for vegetables, red for fruits, yellow for oils, blue for dairy products and purple for meats, beans, fish and nuts.
On the side of the pyramid, there is a figure climbing steps which emphasizes exercise. The new guidelines suggest that kids eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and that children and teenagers should be physically active for 60 minutes every day, or most days.
The new MyPyramid.gov site lets parents key in their child's age, gender and physical activity level so that they can get a more personalized recommendation on their daily calorie level, based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The USDA provides the following healthful child nutrition tips for parents on ways they can help to meet these new food guidelines:
Set a good example for children by eating whole grains, vegetables, and fruit with meals or as snacks great way to promote good child nutrition! Let children do the following: Select and help prepare a whole grain side dish; decide on the dinner vegetables or what goes in salad; choose what fruits they eat with lunch. Depending on their age, have children help shop for, clean, peel, or cut up vegetables and fruits. Allow children to pick a new fruit or vegetable to try while shopping. Add fat-free or low-fat milk instead of water to oatmeal and hot cereal. Pack a juice box (100% juice) in children's lunches versus soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages. Make a dip for fruits or vegetables from yogurt. Top casseroles, soups, stews, or vegetables with shredded low-fat cheese. Try a baked potato with fat-free or low-fat yogurt. For dessert, make chocolate or butterscotch pudding with fat-free or low-fat milk. Make fruit kabobs using pineapple chunks, bananas, grapes, and berries. Offer raisins or other dried fruits instead of candy. Below are some good suggestions for "snack attacks!" Another way to promote good child nutrition is to be "armed" with nutritional snack ideas. Below are a few examples: Baked potato chips or tortilla chips with salsa Pretzels (lightly salted or unsalted) Bagels with tomato sauce and lowfat cheese Flavored rice cakes (like caramel or apple cinnamon) Popcorn-air popped or lowfat microwave Veggies with lowfat or fat-free dip Lowfat cottage cheese topped with fruit or spread on whole-wheat crackers Ice milk, lowfat frozen or regular yogurt (add skim milk, orange or pineapple juice, and sliced bananas or strawberries to make a lowfat milk shake Frozen fruit bars Vanilla wafers, gingersnaps, graham crackers, animal crackers, fig bars, raisins Angel food cake topped with strawberries or raspberries and lowfat whipped cream String cheese
CHILD NUTRITION INFORMATION FOR PARENT
By: TOBI
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