Providing the right nutrition is essential to ensure the healthy growth of a child. Most of the parents succeed in attaining and retaining a healthy weight during the initial stages of growth. But, the whole process becomes difficult as the child starts going to the school.
Experts provide some tips that help parents in making their children follow healthy food habits. Following are some recommendations Dr. William Gillespie, pediatrician and chief medical officer at New York City-based EmblemHealth, provided Health Day.
- Allow the child to decide what he/she prefer to have for their lunch- but, only healthy food like apples, carrots or celery. According to Gillespie, children eat and finish their lunch boxes, when they are given the freedom to choose their food.
- Prepare and provide a dip with any healthy, non-fat items the child likes. Children are more likely to love their vegetables, when dips are given.
- Prepare mini-kabobs with low-fat items like low-sodium deli chicken, turkey or low-fat cheese.
- Provideitems prepared with whole-wheat bread as it is healthier than white bread
Apart from these, the presentation of the food is another factor that can make a child finish the meal without much fuss and with zeal. According to Gillespie, children love eating food that is small, and cut into small pieces. Using this point, mothers can make the appearance of the food attractive by cutting the sandwiches into four squares and providing an interesting fruit cup with different fruits.
Some of the other healthy lunch options are: healthy macaroni, cheese with whole-wheat pasta and broccoli florets; three bean chilli with carrots and zucchini and finally water instead of sugary drinks.
Following are some tips from coupons.com to help parents keep their children's lunches nutritious:
- Taking the child along for grocery shopping and providing particular choices of food like peanut butter, grapes, baby carrots or string cheese.
- Preparing a list of the healthy food items and lunch recipe ideas and put it on the fridge as an easy-to access check list in the morning.
- Preparing and packing the lunch at night to avoid the morning rush.
- Storing some food items like applesauce, yogurt or string cheese to use when there is very less time to prepare food.
