Healthy eating

The government may be spending millions to promote healthy eating in schools, but we all know that parents have the most influence on their child’s diet . . .

Making sure that your children eat healthily can become a real struggle for parents. When faced with a fretful child, it can be so easy to give into the simple solution and provide a favourite, if not so healthy, food or go to the other extreme and worry over every meal they have, even every mouthful they take. But mealtimes needn’t become a battle zone. Try to get into the habit of giving your child food from all the food groups over the course of the day – this will ensure your child is getting a balanced diet.

These are:

• Starchy carbohydrates – important for energy, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Found in bread, cereals (especially fortified ones), oatcakes and crackers, muffins, crumpets, bagels, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Fruit and vegetables – important for vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin A and fibre. Found in fresh, frozen, juiced, dried and tinned produce
• Milk and dairy foods – important for protein, carbohydrate, calcium, vitamins and other minerals. Found in: milk, yoghurt, fromage frais and cheese
• Meat, fish and alternatives – important for protein, iron, vitamins and other minerals. Found in red meat, chicken and turkey, liver, sausages, fish - white and oily (sardines, salmon, tuna, mackerel), eggs, beans and pulses, nuts and seeds

Young children are growing at a rapid rate and are usually very active. This means they have a high energy and nutrient requirement in relation to their size. Eating a healthy, varied diet will provide all the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development, as well as help to establish good eating habits for life. Encourage your child to be as active as possible and make sure their diet supplies enough energy through frequent meals and snacks based on the main food groups.

The best way to encourage your children to eat healthily is to lead by example. If your kids see the enjoyment you get out of eating a broad mix of foods, including vegetables and fruit, they are more likely to enjoy it themselves. There are so many interesting ways to promote healthy eating with the family – books, TV programmes and celebrities who are proud to lead and educate – allow your children to understand and participate at their own pace, but ensure you help them down the correct path.

Five a day fruit and veg

Fruit and vegetables help set you up for a healthier lifestyle. Best of all, there is so much variety to choose from, all year long, there’s enough to keep even the fussiest eaters happy.

To get the best health benefits, the government recommends five portions of fruit and vegetables for all each day – five portions altogether, not five of each.

Here’s why:

• They are packed with vitamins and minerals
• They’re an excellent source of fibre and antioxidants
• They help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers in later life
• They taste delicious and there’s so much variety to choose from.

What is a portion

ONE portion = 80g = any of these:

• 1 apple, banana, pear, orange or other similar sized fruit
• 2 plums or similar sized fruit
• 1⁄2 an avocado
• 1 slice of large fruit, such as melon or pineapple
• 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)
• a dessert bowl of salad
• 3 heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses (however much you eat, beans and pulses count as a maximum of one portion a day)
• 3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad (fresh or tinned in fruit juice) or stewed fruit
• 1 heaped tablespoon of dried fruit (such as raisins and apricots
• 1 handful of grapes, cherries or berries
• a glass (150ml) of fruit juice (however much you drink, fruit juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day. Purchased fruit juices need to be kept to meal times as they are more concentrated sources of acid and sugar which can wear away tooth enamel.

Fruit and veg on a budget

Sometimes vegetables and fruit can seem expensive. To keep costs down:

• Choose fresh fruit and vegetables in season; not only are they cheaper, they will also be most flavoursome and at their best
• Use frozen and canned fruit and vegetables as an alternative to fresh. They are often cheaper and easily stored
• Combine canned, frozen or dried fruit and vegetables with fresh, readily available forms whenever possible to maximise nutrient intake
• Always choose reduced or no added fat, salt or sugar products. Pick varieties of fruit canned in natural juice or without added sugar or syrup
• Markets also tend to be cheaper than supermarkets, particularly if you catch them when they are packing up for the day
• Shop two to three times a week if possible. Fresher fruit and vegetables keep their nutritional value longer

There are all sorts of clever and crafty ways to encourage your children to eat more fruit and vegetables . . . Fruit salads If it’s difficult trying to persuade your child to pick up an apple, give them fruit salad – they will love it! Use lots of different colours for maximum appeal, such as kiwi, strawberries, oranges, and so on Fruit sauces Pureé soft fruits such as strawberries for a delicious and healthy sauce for ice cream and other deserts Make smoothies Use bananas, strawberries, mangos, peaches, raspberries – in fact ,any fruit you have to hand. Blend with milk and/or natural yogurt for a great way to get the whole family to up their quota of fruit Ice lollies Use fresh fruit juice, pureéd fruit or even fruit smoothies to make ice lollies – just pour into ice lolly moulds and freeze Enticing shapes Try cutting colourful vegetables, such as carrots and red peppers, into fun shapes that your children will love – try using small pastry cutters in lots of different shapes. And use other vegetables to make food pictures, for example, you can make broccoli trees, sweet corn eyes and tomato smiles Keep it raw Kids love finger foods, so offer snacks of healthy dips, such as fresh tomato salsa, guacamole and humus with a selection of colourful crudities made from cutting up pepper, carrots, celery and so on In disguise One easy way to get children to eat a wide range of vegetables is to make pasta sauces of blended vegetables, such as peppers, carrots and courgettes. They get to enjoy the taste without even realising they’re eating them Add cheese sauce Most children love cauliflower cheese, but don’t forget you can add other vegetables to it, such as broccoli and sweet corn Make a soup Homemade soup is an excellent and nutritious way of using up any left over vegetables and getting your kids to eat lots of vegetables without them really noticing. Try making it chunky or blend it to a smooth consistency and adding a little milk in addition to stock Roast away Chop up red onions, peppers, butternut squash, parsnips and garlic. Add fresh basil or thyme and a little olive oil and roast for about an hour at 200C – a delicious accompaniment to any meal! Top potatoes Potato doesn’t count as a portion of vegetable as it’s classified as starchy food, but you can add other vegetables to it to make a delicious alternative to the usual mash – and it will count as one portion, too. Try different combinations using swede, parsnip and carrot. You could also add steamed spinach, cabbage and onions

 

 

 

 

 

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