You don’t want your children to be forced to eat food they don’t like, or to “clean up” their plates. There are many healthy foods that kids love. These healthy foods are often overlooked by parents who tend to go straight for the “kid-friendly” foods like hot dogs, pizzas, french fries, chicken nuggets, and juice.
It would be better for your children to learn to avoid high-calorie, high-fat foods. Instead, they should eat foods high in fiber and low in fat.
Apples
Apples, like most fruits, are great snacks. Apples are sweet, juicy (or tart depending on their variety), and have low calories (about 90 calories per medium apple). They are also rich in vitamin C and contain about 5g of fiber per unpeeled whole.
Parents often offer their children applesauce, apple juice, and whole apples instead of giving them whole apples. Applesauce has more calories and fiber than whole apples, while applesauce can lose up to half its fiber.
Cereal for Breakfast
A bowl of sugary cereal is not healthy, but many other breakfast bowls of cereal can be healthy for your child.
You should not allow your children to eat the cereal out of a box as candy when choosing breakfast cereals for them. Whole-grain cereals that are calcium-fortified or have added fiber are good choices. You may want to consider a breakfast cereal with extra iron or other vitamins depending on your child’s diet.
Eggs
Eggs are now considered healthy. Eggs were once criticized for high cholesterol, but nutrition experts agree that eggs are a healthy addition to your diet.
How about cholesterol? Although eggs do contain cholesterol, they don’t contain too much-saturated fat. This is what is more important in raising cholesterol levels. For most children, one egg per day is sufficient.
Milk
Sometimes it seems that toddlers and preschoolers can’t have enough milk. However, as they age, many children start to drink less milk. It’s not because they have a dislike for milk; it’s because there are so many other beverages, such as soda and fruit drinks, that are readily available at home.
Children should drink at least 4 glasses of milk per day depending on their age. Low-fat milk is recommended for children under 2 years old.
Oatmeal
Although infants love oatmeal cereal, it’s not surprising that many of them grow up eating white bread and other refined grains. They don’t eat enough oatmeal or whole grains as they age.
This trend can be reversed by offering your children oatmeal. Many kids love oatmeal.
Peanut butter
Although peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) might seem to be a household staple, many parents avoid peanut butter due to concerns about food allergies or because it is high in fat.
You can also find reduced-fat peanut butter. If you choose a vitamin-fortified brand like Peter Pan Plus, your child will also receive vitamin A, iron, and vitamin E as well as folic acid, manganese, zinc, copper, and a good source of protein.
Sunflower seeds
Sunflower seeds can seem like a bad habit for little league baseball players, but they are a healthy food that everyone can enjoy. As long as the children don’t throw the shells onto the ground and are not too old to choke on them,
These are considered “good” fats, even though they contain high levels of monounsaturated as well as polyunsaturated fats. Sunflower seeds have low amounts of saturated fats.
Tuna Fish
Fish can be healthy if your children don’t eat fish sticks and fried fish sandwiches. Tuna fish, which is often overlooked, can be a healthy choice for many children.
Tuna fish is being served less frequently by parents these days due to concerns about mercury contamination. However, it is important to remember that tuna fish can be enjoyed in moderation, just like other things. Children can have up to two portions of canned light tuna per week or one portion of solid white albacore tuna.
Vegetables
Vegetables are certain to be top of the list for the best food choices for children, but it doesn’t mean that you should force your children to eat them.
Children love vegetables such as peas and cooked carrots.
Make sure to expose your children to many vegetables early on. Give them lots of options, encourage them to try new foods, and keep offering small portions of vegetables to their families. They will eventually eat the vegetables if you keep giving them.
