The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lists several chronic diseases linked with an unhealthy diet, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and certain cancers. Healthy eating can be challenging, especially with busy schedules and if you have children that are picky eaters. However, it is important to start teaching your children early about good eating habits because a healthy diet is essential for their health and well-being, and to help prevent diseases linked with an unhealthy diet.
Fruit
Fruit contains important nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, water and fiber, that are critical for growing children and are linked with a lower risk of certain chronic diseases. There are many ways to get your family to eat more fruit. Mix fresh fruit pieces, such as berries and bananas into cold or hot cereal, yogurt and cottage cheese. Add fruit purees, such as pumpkin, applesauce or mashed bananas to pancake, waffle or muffin mix. Make trail mix with dried fruits and nuts. Dip fresh fruit pieces, such as apples and pears into peanut butter. Make fruit smoothies by blending yogurt with frozen fruits, such as mango, strawberries and blueberries.
Vegetables
Vegetables are crucial for good health and also linked with a lower risk of chronic diseases. It is important to serve your children a variety of vegetables each day. Get your children involved by having them make their own pizzas and giving them a variety of healthy toppings to add to their pizza, such as olives, peppers and mushrooms. Add shredded zucchini and carrots into muffin mix. Dip raw vegetables, such as carrots, celery and jicama into hummus. Add frozen vegetables to soup, casserole and pasta. Serve stir fried vegetables over brown rice. Make the main entree a large salad and have several ingredients that your family can add to their salad, such as carrots, jicama, cucumber, peppers, avocado and tomatoes.
Whole-Grains
Whole-grains are rich sources of important nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium and fiber. A variety of whole-grain cereals, breads, tortillas and crackers are available in grocery stores. Try varying your whole grain intake to include oatmeal, brown rice, barley, rye, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, bulgar and spelt. For breakfast, have your kids add their favorite nuts and dried fruit to oatmeal. You can also stir in mashed banana to make banana flavored oatmeal. For lunch, pack your children an almond butter and honey sandwich on whole grain bread, or spread the almond butter and honey on a whole-grain tortilla. For dinner, add barley to your favorite soup and serve with whole grain bread.
Protein
Protein is essential for a wide range of functions in the body and essential for the normal growth of children and adolescents. Protein is found in a wide range of foods, including nuts, nut butters, meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, soy products, lentils, beans and whole-grains. There are many ways to add protein to meals. Try stirring nuts, peanut butter or almond butter into yogurt, cottage cheese, cold cereals or hot cereals. Make an egg sandwich on whole grain bread or wrap scrambled egg up in a whole-grain tortilla. Add lean meats to soup, salads, pasta, burritos, quesadillas and tacos. Make a smoothie with yogurt, soy milk and frozen fruit. Add tofu to stir-fry, rice, pasta and chili.
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