Diet for Children
Children 2-3 years and up need all the nourishment they can get for a stronger body in order to lead a healthy and active childhood. They are in the formative years of their lives so it is important that they get the required nutrients before they step in to the more challenging teen years.
Unfortunately, modern lifestyle has given way to unhealthy eating habits of children. A typical diet for a kid nowadays consists of cereals, hamburger, candies, pizza, chips and soda. This dire trend can be attributed to the breakdown of the family unit. Both parents are working and the mother barely has the time to prepare a decent breakfast. At night time, nobody cooks dinner and the family would almost always opt for take-outs or frozen dinners.
School meals don’t fare better. A carton of milk, spaghetti and a cookie are not enough sources of needed nutrients for a growing kid. The proliferation of junk food doesn’t help either. What possible nourishment can a child get from these foods? The result is a weak, malnourished child.
For children, a diet of 1,800 calories is needed. A typical 1-day calorie-controlled diet includes foods from all major food groups for optimum nutrition, dietary fiber and micronutrients.
Cereals with seeds and raisins can be served for breakfast. Prepare 2 shredded
wheat biscuits and top these with half-cup of fat-free milk, 1 tablespoon
of pumpkin or sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon of raisins and an apple, chopped
to desired size. This meal contains
365 calories.
At lunchtime, a 350-calore tuna salad in pita with vegetable juice is recommended. Drain a 3-ounce tuna can of its fluid and mix the flakes with shredded carrot, lettuce and 1 tablespoon of mayo. Pile the mixture in a 1 whole wheat pita and serve with 8 ounces of vegetable juice.
Chicken burger, wheat bun, and cheese and crackers with grapes can be served
for dinner. This contains 542 calories. Make sure the chicken (approximately
4 ounces, skinless and boneless) is well-broiled on both sides. Top the lightly-toasted
wheat buns with 1 tablespoon salsa, a couple of lettuce leaves and a small
sliced tomato. Follow with
a small bunch of grapes, 2 whole wheat crackers and 1 ounce, low-fat cheese.
For snacks in between meals, you can give them a selection of chopped fruit
like cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwifruit and peaches topped with a scoop
of low-fat ice cream and a tablespoon of chopped nuts. This gives them additional
220 calories. And a snack of 3 whole wheat crackers, 1 ounce of low-fat cheese
and a few baby carrots gives them 180 calories.