Good Health Starts Young
What Are you Feeding Your Kids?
Good nutrition in the early years is vital to a healthy life. So what are
you feeding your kids?
Your children are the most precious gifts you'll ever receive, so you should
handle them with care. While you worked hard to give them the best breast milk
or formula when they were tiny, you may be at a loss once they begin eating
solid foods - especially if you have a picky eater on your hands.
To help your little ones have the best jumpstart on a healthy and happy life,
it's important that they get the same well-balanced
diet
that you're getting - with some slight modifications. Here are a few things to
keep in mind when feeding your young and hungry little ones.
1. Know the Basics
You know your child needs a solid foundation of healthy foods. What does that
mean? It means plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein
products. Childhood is the best time to develop a taste for whole and raw
foods. With that in mind, give your child plenty of apple slices, carrots, and
grapes. When your little one is in her littlest stages, go for applesauce and
other baby foods that don't have sugar or other flavor-changing additives.
This way, your child learns to develop a taste for food the way nature
intended, which just happens to be healthiest.
2. Believe in Your Child
One mistake when feeding your child is expecting him to have the same food
preferences as you. So if you didn't like broccoli or pinto beans as a child,
you're not going to feed your child those foods, because you don't expect him
to like them. However, while your son might have your dimples and sense of
humor, he didn't come with your taste buds. Encourage him to try a variety of
healthy foods - including the ones you didn't like as a child. Who knows? You
may be pleasantly surprised to find out your finicky son likes asparagus.
3. Prepare the Options
Dinnertime should not be a battle zone. If your child simply won't swallow her
cherry tomatoes, don't give up. Instead, be ready with another option. Swap a
piece of whole grain toast for a cup of yogurt, or offer the choice of a green
salad or a carrot salad. And avoid the temptation to force your child to eat
every bite of every bit of food on her plate - especially if you know she
hates a certain food. On the other hand, if your daughter is resisting a new
food she's never tried, it's a good idea to require her to take a bite or two
on occasion. And remember - taste buds change over time, so it's okay to have
your child taste something she's not eaten in a while.
4. Train with Tricker
Sometimes, your son isn't going to want to eat anything except cookies, butter
popcorn, popsicles, and ice cream. You may want to throw your hands up in the
air and give up on any hopes you had of having a healthy child. Don't. Just be
smarter than your child. How? By taking healthy foods and burying them in what
he thinks is unhealthy. Make banana-nut muffin to feed his need for cupcakes,
strawberry smoothies to answer his begging for a milkshake, and whole-grain
pancakes - minus the whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top.
Helping your children turn into healthy adults starts today, so don't waste
any time giving your children the healthy start they deserve!
Resourceful Cooking
You've been cooking whole-wheat pancakes every morning and have made so many
batches of ants on a log* that you're starting to feel them crawling up your
leg. Now your children are begging for something else to eat and you've run
out of ideas. Fortunately, KidsHealth.org is here to save the day!
Loaded with fantastic, kid-friendly recipes, KidsHealth.org is a great place
to turn when your cooking energies are depleted. On top of tips for you, there
are recipes that your son or daughter can help with.
To get straight to the recipes, visit http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/index.html
and get ready for some great cooking!
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