We all know wrong eating habits lead to obesity in children and here I’m going to guide you to some healthy food for kids.
The time to control is when they are still young. Well-balanced and healthy food is as much a must for children as adults and old. I am listing down good and bad food habits for children.
The topmost un-healthy food for kids is fast food. It has sauce and sauce has sodium, which results in high blood pressure. As a parent your focus should be, not to encourage and introduce your child’s taste buds to salty foods so early in life.
Chips, be it corn, potato, banana, or cheese are a big NO unless given a handful occasionally, as they are again high on sodium, fat, and salt. Fresh fries are in the same category and should also be discouraged. A handful once in a while is fine but don’t make it a routine. Actually, make once a week routine of it.
A donut has between 200 – 300 calories and hardly any other nutrients besides containing fatty acids and artery-clogging saturated fats. It is therefore not a portion of good food for kids.
Fruit Leather is high on sugar and negligible other nutrients apart from it. Encourage kids to have fresh fruits instead. Guide them to healthy foods without being too pushy. When they are hungry they will eat and accept anything. And that is the time for some healthy servings.
Pre-packed lunches and juice-flavored drinks do more harm than good to kids. Flavored juices don’t have more than 10% juice the rest is sugar and other preservatives and chemicals; likewise, pre-packed lunches have sodium and highly saturated fats.
American children have taken to Soda like never before. The normal 12-ounce soda can have around 8-10 teaspoons of sugar, which can be a major reason for obesity and tooth decay in the long run. Some kids drink soda instead of milk. It’s an outrageous replacement. They are shortchanging their bones of calcium and other nutrients.
Healthy Food Habits For Kids:
I can go on and on about Oatmeal. It is full of vitamin B, zinc, calcium, fiber, carbs, and helps boost energy levels quickly.
Eggs: Eggs are a great source of vitamins like C and E, zinc, and protein. Nut butter is recommended for kids. It makes great fast food. It has no hydrogenated oil that makes saturated fat, contains good carb, which helps the kids build energy levels. Sometimes it’s recommended that you ask your doctor before including it in your kid’s daily diet.
Discourage milk and replace it with curd. Curd is easy to digest and high calcium which is good for kids’ bone. Curd is a boon if your child has been on antibiotics. No sweet yogurt.
Inculcate the habit of eating whole grain, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread instead of white bread. It is fiber, minerals, and vitamins source.
Juice like orange is good for kids. But don’t encourage juice habits to the extent that they start drinking juice instead of water.
If you think it doesn’t happen like that, let me tell you it does and children have suffered because of it. Parents have also suffered a lot in trying to get their children off it.
