Snacks or treats?

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Toddlers and children under 5 have small tummies but big physical expediture. We can't expect them to make it from one meal to the next without a top-up. This is where snacks come in.

Parents need to learn first, so that they can teach their children, that snacks are little mini-meals - food that can be eaten anytime you feel hungry. So a snack might be a small peanut butter sandwich, some fresh fruit, nuts and raisins, yoghurt or a few wheat crackers and a small piece of cheese.

Although it is tempting - in the interest of speed, if nothing else - to offer biscuits as a snack, these (even plain biscuits) should be reserved as treats.

So a snack is something that is nourishing, and can be eaten any time little ones are hungry. Treats are occasional, for birthday parties and such. And it is fine to introduce children to treats - as long as they (and you) know the difference.

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How to limit sugar consumtion

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No matter how conscientious you are, you cannot prevent your children from coming into contact with, and consuming, sweets, biscuits, cakes, chocolates, crisps etc. Certainly by the time a child turns 2 he/she has already been to several birthday parties and family celebrations where such food items will have been readily available. The best you can do is keep your own house as clear of these items as possible and, when out with the children, set an example by not eating such things yourself.

I'm not saying that no-one should ever have such treats. But the quantity should be controlled. And maybe we shouldn't label them as 'treats' - they are just other food items, and no longer things saved for special occassions. But these food items are packed with calories from saturated fats and sugar, and loaded with artificial colourants, flavourings and preservatives, so their consumption should be minimal.

The next time you host a party for kids try to keep the menu as simple and fresh as possible.

• Brown bread sandwiches with: egg mayo, grated cheese, marmite and cucumber, etc.
• Fruit bread instead of cake.
• Fresh fruit - strawberries, grapes, apple slices - instead of sweets.
• Plain biscuits - digestives, ginger nuts, maries.
• Dried fruit and nuts (just check none of your guests have nut allergies) instead of crisps.
• If you want something savoury and munchy, opt for pretzels - less fat, less salt.
• Instead of ice-cream serve frozen yoghurt.
• And to drink, diluted fruit juice or smoothies.

At least if there are any left-overs, they are healthy - not temptations to stray. And I promise the kids will not miss eating cake.

The other thing you can (and should) do is spread the word about healthy eating. By example, and with healthy eating habits instilled from an early age, hopefully this newest generation will not have to battle with their weight and health the way we have had to.

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What to feed the kids

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Small children can be notoriously picky about what they will eat. It takes patience and perseverance to get them to accept new foods in their diet. A good example set by Mum and Dad can go a long way towards helping. Provided you can get them to eat anything even remotely resembling healthy food, here are some guidelines.

For 1 – 2 year olds
Meat/fish/chicken/beans: 1/2 to 1 Tblsp finely chopped with gravy or sauce OR 1 egg: 2-4 x per day.
Fruits: 1/2 a small apple or pear or a small plum (peeled please): 2-4 x per day.
Veg: 1 Tblsp soft or mashed carrot, courgette, pumpkin, broccoli etc: 3-5 x per day.
Grains/cereals: 1/2 - 1 slice of bread, or 1 Tblsp mashed potato/rice/porridge: 4-6 x per day.
Dairy: 2 Tblsp yoghurt or custard or 3 dices of cheese: 2-4 x per day plus 500ml full fat milk or formula per day.
Added fat and sugar: avoid at this age.

Increase these quantities gradually until by 2 years of age your child is eating:

Meat/fish/chicken/beans: 1 1/2 Tblsp chopped meat, 1 fish finger, sausage or egg: 2-4 x per day.
Fruits: 1 small apple or pear, or slice melon, or 4 strawberries: 2-4 x per day.
Veg: 1-2 Tblsp carrot, courgette, pumpkin, broccoli, a small chopped salad etc: 3-5 x per day.
Grains/cereals: 1 large slice of bread, or 1-2 Tblsp mashed potato/rice/porridge: 4-6 x per day.
Dairy: 3 Tblsp yoghurt or custard or 4 dices of cheese: 2-4 x per day plus 750ml full fat or low fat milk per day.
Fat and sugar: 1 plain biscuit or 1 small slice of plain cake: 1-2 x per day.

Once your toddler is 3, he will need:

Meat/fish/chicken/beans: 2-3 Tblsp chopped meat, or 1-2 fish fingers or sausages, or 1 egg: 2-4 x per day.
Fruits: 1 small apple, banana, pear, slice melon, or 6 grapes: 2-4 x per day.
Veg: 2-3 Tblsp carrot, courgette, pumpkin, broccoli, a small chopped salad etc: 3-5 x per day.
Grains/cereals: 1-2 large slices of bread, or 2-3 Tblsp mashed potato/rice/porridge: 4-6 x per day.
Dairy: 4 Tblsp yoghurt or custard or 1 small matchbox of cheese: 2-4 x per day plus 750ml full fat or low fat milk per day.
Fat and sugar: 1 plain biscuit or 1 small slice of plain cake: 1-2 x per day.

And, for the under-5s, the number of daily portions required are:

Meat/fish/chickens/beans: 2-4 portions
Fruits: 2-4 portions
Vegetables: 3-5 portions
Grains/cereals/potatoes: 4-6 portions
Dairy: 2-4 portions (excluding milk for drinking) plus 500 - 750ml depending on age
Food containing fat/sugar: 1-2 portions

Portion size gradually increases with age.

Don’t be surprised if your pre-schooler eats all the broccoli in sight one day and flat out refuses it for weeks afterwards. Some children are picky about texture, others flavour, and some are even fussy about colour! Just keep offering small quantities of new or rejected foods – and be seen to eat these foods yourself. Coercion and bribery are counter-productive.
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Routine eating for kids

Children – right into even late teen years – are growing and developing. We send our kids to school for academic training, but education about food has to come from home. They need a solid basis of sound nutrition in order to provide energy for all that is going on in their bodies, and the good eating habits they develop now will serve them well in the years ahead.

Children learn by example – they will eat fruit and vegetables and try new foods, as long as they see you do. You are their role model, and younger children especially really want to be just like you. If you can’t stand to eat anything green, you are going to have a problem ‘faking’ enjoyment of vegetables. The first one to train in this case is yourself! Carrots make a good starting veg since they are naturally sweet and crunchy. Most children seem to enjoy peas and sweetcorn, too; and it’s not a giant-leap to progress from peas to beans and pulses. Try cooked chickpeas as a nibble snack.

Sometimes it may seem easier to give them take-aways, like burgers or pizza, just to save fights and resistance, but you will not be doing them or yourself any favours. Nearly all processed foods (especially take-aways) are overloaded with saturated fats, sodium and sugar which are unhealthy, and though you may think that this can be overcome at a later stage why set up bad eating habits in the first place?

The closer foods are to their natural state the more nutritious they are. Home prepared meals will provide more in the way of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients than any restaurant meal or take-away.

Routine is important for healthy eating. Children thrive on routine because it gives them a sense of security, so set regular meal and snack times, and have a specific eating space that the whole family uses. Always start with breakfast; gradually replace sugary cereals with high fibre cereals served with fresh fruit (e.g. chopped banana, pureed apple, strawberries) and/or yoghurt for natural sweetness, or opt for toasted whole grain bread with peanut butter. Don’t let the gap between meals stretch too long. A hungry child will get scratchy and irritable very quickly so a snack may be in order – provided there is at least an hour to go before the next scheduled meal.

Don’t stress about the amount of food your child eats – forcing him to finish everything on his plate is bad for everyone’s digestion; some days he may devour everything you put on his plate - and then ask for more! When he doesn’t eat enough (by your standards) don’t bribe (sweeties or ice cream if he eats) or threaten (no TV), just accept that he has had as much as he wants. Don’t be tempted to offer an alternative food, either. He’ll eat when he’s hungry.

Food neophobia

According to research done in the U.K., up to 80% of children inherit their fear of new foods from their parents. Unfortunately, these children will avoid healthy foods like fruits and vegetables preferring to stick with less healthy but familiar foods. We all know children who reject even the idea of tackling Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower. The advice offered to overcome food neophobia is to keep serving the new food alongside food that your children are familiar with and happy to eat. Once they gain familiarity with the food, and are comfortable about it being on their plate, they may try a nibble

What intrigues me is: when we weaned our babies, didn’t we start them on strained fruits and vegetables? I know I started my children on carrots, then I added courgettes and potatoes, etc. Over time, the only thing that changed was the coarseness of the mix. Mind you, my children have never suffered with neophobia. My eldest, who used to love all her veg mashed together with the addition of a little gravy or marmite, did get fussy for a while. Then everything had to be separate on the plate – and spaced from everything else. But she did eat it all.

My middle child appeared to stop eating for a while, just long enough for me to wonder if she might be anorexic. But she started eating again after about four days, and even ate enough to make up for lost time! Years later, when she went onto the ‘maintenance’ program with Weight Watchers and continued to lose weight at a rapid rate, her lecturer even asked her if she was anorexic… her reply was that she loved food far too much for that to be the case!

My son was only ever picky about fish – which came about because he always seemed to get at least one bone in his serving. He has overcome this with age, and now enjoys fish.

The moral? Start them out right. Fresh fruit and veg, preferably prepared at home, from the very first meal. Why would they ever look askance at a vegetable?

Emotional eating - Kids

Even a pre-school child can use eating as an emotional prop. He thinks he’s hungry, but is he really? If lunch was just half an hour ago, and he ate well, then make the time to ask some questions. Maybe he is bored or lonely. If he forgets about ‘needing’ a snack by being distracted, then he is not hungry.

If children snack whenever they feel like it, they are probably eating and drinking things that are higher in fats and sugars and lower in nutritional value. They are less likely to be hungry at meal times, so less likely to eat the healthy foods offered, and far less inclined to try something new. And they are more likely to develop cavities. Grazing quickly becomes a habit leading to excess weight gain.

A scheduled routine of meals and snacks gives a child balanced nutrition in appropriate quantities. Always sit them in a high chair or at the table to eat: there are fewer distractions to take their attention away from the food you want them to eat.

Pump up the iron

My grandson has just turned twenty months old. He is a happy, smiley toddler; people who see him while we’re out shopping invariably want to talk to him – and he always makes them smile.

 

The toddler years are a period of amazing intellectual and communication learning, and while physical growth has slowed down compared to babyhood, nutrition is still key. Now is the time, between 12 and 24 months, when a toddler is adapting to eating the same foods as the rest of the family by trying out new tastes and textures (some not readily accepted, admittedly!).

 

After the first year of getting most of their nutritional needs from breast milk or formula, toddlers usually progress to cow’s milk. Cow’s milk provides calcium and Vitamin D, but it is low in iron – his formula and baby cereal were more than likely fortified with iron – and drinking a lot of cow’s milk can lead to iron deficiency. A child who drinks large quantities of cow’s milk is likely to be less interested in eating iron-rich foods. Milk lowers the absorption of iron, too.

 

Iron is required for the production of red blood cells. These are the blood cells that absorb oxygen and carry it around the body; a lesser supply of red blood cells leads to a lower oxygen supply, which can be detrimental to mental and physical development. What can you do to ensure he gets the recommended 7mg of iron that he needs each day?

 

• Limit your toddler’s milk consumption to 500 – 750ml (2-3 cups or 16-24 fluid ounces) per day.
• Provide iron-rich foods – meat, poultry, fish, beans, tofu, iron-fortified cereal, eggs, broccoli, raisins.
• Serve foods rich in Vitamin C (which improves iron absorption) along with the iron-rich foods - tomatoes, oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, berries.

I know. Some days it’s an achievement to get a toddler to eat anything! Just stay patient and keep trying.

 

Never give your toddler a vitamin or mineral supplement without first checking it out with your doctor or pediatrician.

 

 

Growing needs

Babies and toddlers have a high proportion of body fat which begins to decrease once they reach about five. During adolescence the fat increases again – by the end of adolescence boys have lost some of that fat, but girls retain it for the rest of their lives. Isn’t this a good reason to teach your children healthy eating habits from an early age?

Another interesting fact is that, during puberty, girls double their muscle mass, while boys triple theirs! This is the reason men and boys require a greater number of kilojoules/calories per day than women and girls. And now you know why your teenage sons have voracious appetites and seem to eat you out of house and home.

Infancy and adolescence are both times of accelerated growth, so there is a greater need for calcium and iron (particularly for girls). We all think of calcium as coming from dairy products, and yes, it does. But dairy is not the only source – seafood, green vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, soybeans, oatmeal, meat and fish all supply bio-available calcium. And for iron, eat eggs, whole grains, broccoli, spinach, raisins, dates, figs, prunes and apricots.

Eating away from home

Our children will often eat away from home. They will perhaps have a sleep over at a friend’s house or go to grandparents for a weekend. Or perhaps they will be having lunch from the school canteen or at crèche. Do you know what they will be eating? Are they old enough and wise enough to choose for themselves?

If your child has an allergy or is on medication you will be sure to inform the temporary care-giver, won’t you? You have just as much right and need to inform them of your child’s normal eating habits.

I heard a story a while ago about a little boy of 5 who went to spend the night with a friend. The little boy’s parents were vegetarian, and so by circumstance, it seemed, was he. His host mother gave him a hamburger, which he tucked into with great relish and even asked for more. But he soon became very, very sick. It turned out that he had a rare protein allergy, and his parents had become vegetarian to cope with this – but they did not notify the friend’s parents of the reason. A lot of pain, suffering and expense could have been spared if they had.

Although a deviation from normal eating patterns is not necessarily life threatening, and occasional food indulgences are pleasurable, it is always advisable to be aware of, and maintain some control over, what your children are ingesting.

Even as adults, we don’t always acknowledge what is bad for us.

Is your child overweight?

Although it is fairly easy to calculate the number of kilojoules an adult requires per day - based on age, gender, health and activity levels – the same cannot be said for children. Children have different energy requirements to an adult, and a higher need for nutrient dense food; that’s nutrient dense, not kilojoule dense. If a child is overweight, rather look at the kind of food he or she is consuming and the amount of exercise he or she is getting.

A formalized diet doesn’t work for children any more than it does for an adult; children need to be shown, by example, how to make healthy food choices. This means choosing fruit and vegetables over sweets and fatty foods. Fish fingers, chicken nuggets and fruit juices are frequent menu items for most children – these are high in kilojoules for the nutrition they supply. Far rather offer plain fish or chicken, and always dilute fruit juice half-and-half with water. Just one teaspoon of fat equals about 792kjoules, as opposed to a teaspoon of protein or carbohydrate which equates to about 374kjoules.

Children are by nature energetic – they like to run about and explore, and they are continually testing and learning about their environment and the people and things in it. In contrast, when mum and dad get home from work, they are often mentally exhausted and just want to sit and relax. Generally, children want to spend time with their parents, and will choose a sedentary activity just so they can be in the same room. Sedentary activities such as playing computer games or watching television burn up far fewer kilojoules than taking the dog for a walk, doing some gardening or riding a bicycle. All of which can be fun for the family. If the climate you live in doesn't encourage outdoor activities, a Wii is a great indoor alternative..

As a parent, you are a role model for your children. Don’t apply rigorous dietary strictures to an overweight child – singling out one child and treating him or her differently from the rest of the family will only cause conflict, unhappiness and, possibly, future food related issues. If your child is overweight, then the only way forward is for everyone in the family to take steps towards healthy eating in the home.

Meatball hotpot

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
300gm lean minced beef
½ tsp dried mixed herbs

2 carrots, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 large leek, sliced
4-6 baby corn
8 – 10 button mushrooms, chopped

2 x ±400gm tins chopped tomatoes
200gm frozen peas

4 pita breads

Method
Cook the carrots, potatoes, leek, corn and mushrooms in a little water until the carrots and
potatoes are soft.
Drain and leave in a colander.

Mash the mixed herbs into the mince.
Shape teaspoonfuls of the mince into balls.
Dry fry the meatballs, turning them over and around until they are nicely browned.
Remove from the pan and drain off any excess fat.

Put the cooked veg back in the pan and add the tomatoes.
Stir in the peas.
Lay the meatballs on top of everything.
Simmer for ten minutes.

Serve the meatball hotpot with toasted pita breads.

Kids seem to love meatballs. Here’s the perfect way to get them to eat lots of vegetables, too.
 

Family meals

These days, what with work, school, home-work and extra-mural activities, it can be difficult to get the whole family to sit down to a meal together. But making the effort to share a meal around the dinner table is well worth the effort in scheduling.

A family meal, eaten together, nourishes the family bond as well as the body. It provides a time for communication. We often spend more time and effort cultivating our friends than our family members.
When did you last spend more than five minutes talking and listening to your children – or spouse for that matter – without instructing or criticizing?

Research shows that family meal times foster identity and a sense of belonging. Children who eat with the family show lower rates of smoking, drinking and illegal drug use as well as having higher academic achievement.

Try and eat together, as a family, at least five times a week. Turn off the television. If you feel uncomfortable without some background noise, then play soft music – preferably classical. The slower pace of the music will encourage slower eating, which is far better for digestion.

Have a great weekend.

Tuck shops

When I was at school (millennia ago, it seems!) there was no such thing as a ‘tuck’ shop. We either took a packed lunch from home, or ate a ‘proper’ cooked meal in the school cafeteria (I can still conjure up the smell!), and at break we were given 1/3 pint of milk. These days, every school seems to have its own tuck shop, staffed by volunteer mums.

I find these venues to be easy roads straight to unhealthy eating. The menu may include ‘toasted sarmies’ , hot dogs, pies (of dubious vintage) and Chelsea buns the size of a small pick-up truck! Other than these delicacies, there are inevitably sweets (candy), chocolates, cold drinks (sodas) and chips (crisps). And the poor child who doesn’t have tuck money is sometimes pitied, oftentimes ridiculed.

We don’t have a Jamie Oliver in South Africa, and our volunteer tuck shop mums don’t seem concerned about the sort of tuck their children are tucking into. So our children fill up on starch, fat, sugar and E-numbers at break, and more than likely go home to a sandwich or 2-minute noodle lunch! Did they eat a healthy breakfast? Do they get a decent evening meal? I’m willing to bet that many of them have take-aways – pizza, fried chicken, burger and chips – more than once a week! Do they even know what vegetables are? Oh, they may have a passing acquaintance with lettuce (1 leaf), tomato (1 slice) and raw onion, because those come on a burger. No wonder most children are squeamish when it’s time to go to Gran’s for Sunday lunch, and they are expected to eat all their vegetables (although in South Africa, Gran is probably going to have a braai (BBQ) anyway, and the veg can be sidestepped yet again.

And where’s the fruit, other than in juice form in a box?

Take a close look at what your children are eating on a daily basis. Are they developing healthy eating habits? Do they get the opportunity to make healthy food choices? You are the only example they have, and you are the only one who can educate them. Now. Before they become overweight and even more unhealthy.

Kids and their relationship with food

None of us wants to have to deal with eating issues in our children, so here are ten pointers to get you through those ‘picky’ stages that occur every so often.

•  Don’t force your child to eat – if s/he doesn’t want to eat now, s/he’ll make up for it at the next meal time (maybe!).
•  Don’t try bribery – yes, it may work, but what kind of a precedent are you setting?
•  Try to eat meals with your child, and set an example with your own plate.
•  If your child is old enough, let him/her help with meal choices.
•  If you offer choices, limit them to 2 – e.g. scrambled egg OR fish fingers.
•  Keep on introducing new foods – and keep on trying them.
•  Let him/her decide when s/he has had enough – even if you don’t consider what s/he just ate to be a decent meal.
• Your child may actively dislike a particular food. S/he has individual tastes and favourites just as you do.
• Choose your battles wisely. Is it really worth the upset, tears and anger?(not just at meal times, either!)
• You can always produce a ‘favourite’ meal of his/hers, like pasta or egg custard or yoghurt if you are feeling desperate about getting some (any!) nourishment down him/her.

Fresh air and exercise are great appetite stimulants – even running around the garden for 15 minutes

Mind your p’s and q’s

My grandson is eighteen months old. He doesn’t say much yet, although he doesn’t really need to say anything, he just smiles beatifically and points and gets pretty much whatever he wants. I’m trying to get him to use ‘ta’ at the moment, but maybe I’m being too ambitious? He can follow simple instructions, and his comprehension is amazing.

When I was about three, my mother tells me, I sat in my highchair and asked for cake.

Me: want cake.
Mum: and? (looking for a ‘please’)
Me: want cake.
Mum: and? (still looking for a ‘please’)

Me: … and nemolade.

I got both. Delivered with a smile and a kiss.

Easter and Pesach greetings

Happy Easter, everyone, and well over the fast.

If you don't want the kids bouncing off the walls and feeling sick, limit their chocolate/sweet intake - rather encourage them to eat fruit instead.

Banning treats

It seems that banning treats altogether, or imposing miserly restrictions is more likely to create a greater desire for them... and not just in children.

We have all started diets thinking that the easiest way to lose weight is to exclude certain foods. This is a fallacy. No food groups - even sugars and fats - should be totally excluded. They each have their place in a healthy eating plan. If we ban all the sweet stuff entirely, we just feel deprived and depressed. We need to take control and limit quantities.

Our efforts to improve family health and lifestyle can succeed. We have to realise that no improvement comes without effort. So, for a start, we can buy fewer treats when we do the grocery shopping. Decide, before you leave home, which treats you are going to buy, and in what quantities. To decide what quantities to buy, you have to designate treat times, of course. And once back from shopping, we can keep those treats in their very own container, on a high shelf. Out of sight, out of mind. The treats that come in a strip or bag of individually wrapped portions are a great aid to self control.

How often should we serve treats? Certainly no more than once a day.  Give children their own choice of treat from the available selection, and let them decide when they want to eat it. Maybe after supper is a good time, or they might want to include it in tomorrow's lunchbox. But... once the day's treat is gone, it is gone. And that applies to adults, too. One rule for everyone in the family.

Time for a snack

Toddlers and children under 5 have small tummies but big physical expediture. We can't expect them to make it from one meal to the next without a top-up. This is where snacks come in.

Parents need to learn first, so that they can teach their children, that snacks are little mini-meals - food that can be eaten anytime you feel hungry. So a snack might be a small peanut butter sandwich, some fresh fruit, nuts and raisins, yoghurt or a few wheat crackers and a small piece of cheese.

Although it is tempting - in the interest of speed, if nothing else - to offer biscuits as a snack, these (even plain biscuits) should be reserved as treats.

So a snack is something that is nourishing, and can be eaten any time little ones are hungry. Treats are occassional, for birthday parties and such. And it is fine to introduce children to treats - as long as they (and you) know the difference.