Healthy Eating For Kids

Handy Tips for Your Little Ones

1. Add colour to the menu
Healthy eating for children isn’t impossible. Far from it! Children respond well to bright colourful food that’s easy to hold and eat. Their eyes will light up with a plateful of colourful veggies and a fruit platter of yellows, greens, blues and reds. Simply use a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, like blueberries, melon, carrots, red capsicum, snow peas and cucumber and they’ll be gobbling it all up in no time.

2. Nutrition for the playground
Once that bell rings for playtime there’s no stopping kids from making a beeline straight from the classroom, to the playground. But they need energy to help them run around with, so a quick and easy snack is the best way to go. Maybe place a piece of fresh fruit such as grapes, berries, an apple or a banana into their lunchbox. Other convenient sources of energy can come from cheese sticks, a mini muffin, a few wholegrain rice crackers, a small wholegrain muesli bar, or a small tub of yoghurt. The hard part won’t be getting them to eat their healthy snack, it’ll be getting them back inside the classroom!

3. Variety is the spice of life

Kids can be very picky about what they like and don’t like. Any mention of anything a bit different can have them running for the hills (or their bedroom). But it’s important that like us, children are exposed to a variety of food. And getting them to try something new doesn’t have to mean an uphill battle.

Here’s some suggestions that might help you out:

• Have them choose a new fruit or vegetable from the supermarket each week.
• Lead by example and choose healthy food for yourself.
• Get the kids involved in the kitchen ‐ involve them in the cooking process as it’ll increase their likelihood of trying the meal they’ve helped prepare.
• Deep breaths ‐ encourage them to take a bite of everything on the plate. The more often kids try, the more likely they’ll be willing to eat it. Stay calm, avoid getting into a battle and forcing them to eat as it only leads to more picky eating behaviour.

4. Water hydrator

As a child’s body is approximately 75% water, they need regular top ups to keep them hydrated. When they get thirsty, especially after exercising, make sure there’s water on hand. Add lemon, lime, mint or sliced oranges to a jug of water for that touch of natural sweetness. Also for a bit of a treat, try healthy fizzy drinks by mixing carbonated mineral water or soda water with natural fruit juice.