Contents:
- Medical Video: Top Tips To Get Children Eating Healthy Food
- Let your toddler choose
- What needs to be avoided
- The best snacks for your toddler
- Whole grain cereals
- Cheese
- Smoothies
- Strawberry
- Sandwiches, muffins, healthy sponge cake
- Yogurt
- Sweet potato
- Egg
- Mi
- Mixed beans
- Raisins
- Apple
- Tomato
Medical Video: Top Tips To Get Children Eating Healthy Food
Without your realizing it, your eating habits and patterns are very influential on your child's eating patterns, especially if your child is stepping on a toddler. Children at this age only know what food is at home and provided by their parents at the dinner table. So, start playing an active role in forming good eating habits for children.
Prepare only healthy food and snacks. Choose fresh foods that are rich in nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber) and as much as possible avoid processed packaged foods, because these types of foods tend to be high in sugar, salt, and fat. If you are going to entrust your child to a child care center, ask what type of snacks are served there. If you do not agree to the food served, consider suggesting a healthy food menu. If your advice is not accepted, bring it home-made snacks, even if this will be a little inconvenient for you the night before.
Sometimes, nutritious snacks require more preparation, but you can make it easier. There are many healthy and practical snacks available. Toddlers must eat on their own, so think of foods that are simple, easy to eat by hand, and foods that are easily bitten, such as:
- Low sugar breakfast cereal
- Fresh fruit is thinly sliced or cut into small pieces
- Wheat biscuits and mini muffins
- Cheese that is cut into thin slices or grated
Let your toddler choose
Even though your little one is still a toddler, he will be very excited to take control occasionally. Snacks are a great opportunity for children to learn responsibility in a simple way. Offer some nutritious food every time you eat snacks, then let your child choose what and how much he wants to eat.
Even though it's tempting, hold on to offering only foods that your child likes. (This is especially difficult for parents of picky children and only wants their children to eat something.) Try mixing something your child likes with new foods when eating snacks. Even if the new food is rejected, continue to offer the food. Remember that it may take several tries before the child can receive new food.
Don't blame foods that don't run out, even if your child goes through snacks or main meals. But don't also allow children to choose alternative foods or decide when main meals and snacks should be provided. You want them to learn that main food and snacks are available only at certain times and so they can choose the food you provide.
What needs to be avoided
Most parents "bribe" their children by promising some gifts, including food, but this is not a good strategy. Using candy as a gift can create the impression that the food is more valuable or better than other foods, which is healthier food, plus children learn quickly to use it as a means of negotiating with their parents.
There is no good reason for your child to consume sweets. You don't need to forbid your child from eating chocolate cakes, but you should only give them occasionally. Don't let these "empty calorie" foods become everyday snacks.
Make sweets as an exception, not a rule, so your child does not feel entitled to be able to gift sweet foods, or too surprised when you forbid eating sweets. If you keep snacks that are less nutritious at home, keep them from being seen by your child. If your child sees it, your child will tend to whine for the snack.
The best snacks for your toddler
Whole grain cereals
A bowl of oatmeal is enriched with vitamins, calcium and fiber. If you are serving oatmeal with extra milk and fruit, this healthy breakfast saves a lot of energy to start the day. To give a pleasant taste and a different aroma, try adding yogurt on cereal and dried strawberries.
Cheese
Protein in these snacks will maintain high energy levels until dinner. You can melt cheese to be dipped in wheat crackers, but you can also make cheese more interesting for children by cutting it into fun shapes with cookie cutters and making satay with your favorite fruit.
Smoothies
Children love smoothies, and these filling drinks contain lots of nutrients. Use low-fat plain yogurt, 100% orange juice, and bananas as a juice base, then experiment with a combination of fresh or frozen pieces of fruit. This is a great way to add two or three servings of fiber-containing fruit in your child's eating menu.
Strawberry
If you feel that your little one eats only bananas and apples, try giving strawberries that contain lots of vitamin C. For healthy snacks that are not a hassle, try combining strawberries with only three ingredients. For other healthy choices, try with wheat crepes.
Sandwiches, muffins, healthy sponge cake
Your child will never expect their favorite sandwich or muffin to contain fruits and vegetables that you "smuggle" when making them. Banana bread, zucchini muffins, carrot cake, and fruit cakes are some of the favorite alternative foods for children.
Yogurt
Low-fat yogurt is a very good source of calcium and children love it. To add flavor and nutritional value, serve yogurt with fruit and seeds or make homemade fruit popsicles better than those sold in stores.
Sweet potato
Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious vegetables: They contain vitamin A and are good sources of vitamins B6, C, and folic acid. Try serving fried sweet potatoes (with a little oil and salt) as a good alternative rather than serving oily fries that you normally find at fast food restaurants.
Egg
One egg gives a 4-year-old child nearly one third of the protein requirement for one day. Provide a few boiled eggs in the refrigerator (eggs hold for seven days), or make egg omelet and serve with bread. Or, you can serve pancakes or crepes that have been processed earlier the night before to be ready to eat in the morning.
Mi
Pasta is a great source of complex carbohydrates. Provide some of your child's favorite pastas and cook some to keep in the refrigerator. Pasta is an easy and fast dish. When you want to eat, heat it in a microwave with half a serving bowl of pasta mixed with vegetables or cooked with chicken and tomato sauce.
Mixed beans
Mix nuts, pretzels, whole-grain cereals, banana chips and popcorn for snacks that are easy to carry and useful. Nuts contain minerals such as magnesium, iron, and zinc. Try to mix popcorn with nuts and dried fruits.
Raisins
Raisins contain many good nutrients, such as fiber, potassium, and vitamins. Even your child who is picky on food will not miss a raisin. Children will love to dip pieces of apple or carrot in a cream that has raisins.
Apple
Apples are a healthy fruit, but if you feel apples are boring and want to switch from your apple snack, try delicious instant apple chips to get vitamin C and your fiber that you often get from fresh apples. To add flavor, sprinkle with fresh blueberries and a spoonful of low-fat vanilla yogurt.
Tomato
Children will love a combination of tomatoes, melons, apples, and a little orange salad. Tomatoes contain lycopene, melons provide vitamins A and C, and apples provide fiber needs, so the combination of these three fruits is a super healthy snack.
