5 tips for Kids Nutrition using the Eat well Plate

 

Kids Nutrition is most easily explained by looking at the above diagram of the eatwell plate which shows how the food pyramid can be applied to kids nutrition.

Here are five easy tips to follow for healthier children.

• Eat a balanced diet – see the eatwell plate diagram to explain the food pyramid. Key principles are:
  • Eat plenty of wholegrain varieties of bread, rice, pasta.
  • Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, at least five portions a day
  • Eat lower fat diary where ever possible
  • Meat, fish, eggs, beans are good sources of protein, choose where ever possible lower fat version. Aim for two portions of fish per week
  • Minimise the amount of foods and drinks high in sugar or fat
• Reduce the amount of saturated fat and sugar
• Keep active
• Drink plenty of water
• Don’t skip breakfast

Eatwell plate – © Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

Healthy Eating – How to eat a balanced diet

The eatwell plate above shows how much to eat of the different food groups.

Fruit and Vegetables

• Fruit and vegetables are an important part of a healthy eating as they are sources of many vitamins and minerals, eating fruit and vegetables can help prevent chronic diseases later in life. Plus fruit and vegetables are low in fat!
• You need to provide your children with fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as canned, frozen or dried fruit or vegetables. The target is five portions a day. A portion can be an apple, banana, or a glass of fruit juice, or 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables.

Helpful hints

• Avoid overcooking. Have a piece of fruit as a mid day snack or for desert

Starchy foods

• Starchy foods include bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and cereals and should make up to a third of the food we should eat as part of a healthy diet.
• Starchy foods are good sources of energy and a range of different nutrients e.g. calcium, iron and B vitamins
• Important point to remember when thinking about kids nutrition and the food pyramid is that starchy foods contain less than half the calories of fat. Try using wholegrain varieties.

Fibre

• Fibre is found only in food that comes from plants.There are two types of fibre.
  • Insoluble – this is the fibre that the body cannot digest, and so it passes through the gut and helps other waste to move through the body more easily.
  • Soluble – this is partially digested and helps reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood. Oats, beans, lentils and pulses are good sources of soluble fibre.

Fish and Shellfish

• We should eat two portions of fish a week, one portion being oily fish.Fish and shellfish are rich in protein, minerals, selenium and iodine, and oily fish is rich in omega3 fatty acid which is good for you as it can help prevent heart disease.
• Too much oily fish is not recommended as it can contain low levels of pollutants which can build up in the body.
• White fish e.g. plaice, haddock etc is very low in fat.Whitebait, canned sardines, pilchards, salmon are good sources of calcium and phosphorous which helps our bones grow stronger. Tinned tuna has the same fatty acids as white fish.Shellfish are similar to white fish in terms of its nutrients.

Children and babies
Kids nutrition – Don’t give any fish or shellfish to babies younger than six months because there is a chance they could have an allergic reaction. Children should avoid eating any shark, swordfish or marlin as the levels of mercury in these fish can affect the development of children’s growing nervous systems.
You might also want to avoid giving raw shellfish to babies and children to reduce their risk of getting food poisoning.

Eggs, nuts, pulses and seeds

• Eggs, nuts, pulses and seeds are all good sources of protein, vitamin D,A, B2 and iodine as well as being easy to prepare.
• Eggs contain cholesterol, and high cholesterol in our blood can increase the risk of heart disease. However, the cholesterol from eggs is less effect on the cholesterol level in our blood than from saturated fat. If should only need to cut down on eggs if you are having a healthy balanced diet act your Doctor’s instructions.
• Lentils, beans, pulses, and peas are a low fat source of protein,fibre, vitamins and minerals, and they count torwards your portions of fruit and vegetables.
• Pulses are a starchy food, good source of iron, and add fibre to your meal, they can help lower blood cholesterol.

Meat

• Meat in the food pyramid is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals. Some types of meat are higher in saturated fat than others.As a general rule, the white you can see on the meat, the more fat is contains.

Milk and diary

• Milk and diary in the food pyramid such as cheese, yoghurt, fromage frai are good sources of protein and vitamins A and B12. Milk and diary are also important sources of calcium which is good for strong bones.
• Diary can contain varying amounts of saturated fat so you can choose low fat versions of milk or cheese if you want to cut down on the amount of fat. Check the labels of products to see the amount of fat, salt or sugar.
• Children should drink whole fat milk until the age of two.Skimmed milk should not be given to children under the age of five.

Drinks

• Water is always the best choice for quenching your first – it has no calories or sugar.
• Milk contains vitamins, minerals, and calcium. Watch out for flavoured milk as it can contain high amounts of sugar.
• Fruit juice or a smoothie contains lots of vitamins, but they can contain sugar which can cause tooth decay. Choose 100% fruit juice drinks.Fizzy drinks or cordials can contain lots of sugar and few nutrients and should be minimised as they offer little as part of the kids nutrition and so should be limited as much as possible as per the food pyramid.