Healthy Food and Nutrition

For adults, having healthy eating habits are important, but for children it is very critical. Healthy eating habits result in a healthy body that is able to fight off illnesses and disease. Healthy eating habit is important from infancy to adulthood. Adults must be positive role models for healthy eating habits.

Infancy to Toddler

·         Important for infants to get the proper nutrition for development and growth

·         Breast milk is a common way for babies to get the vitamins and nutrients needed to develop internal and external body parts for their first year

·          Once introduce to solid foods it is important for the child to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

·         Vegetables like peas and green beans are high in iron, which is used for energy

·         Fruits are also a great way to get iron, but also a great source for vitamins like C and E

·         Use small foods big enough for a toddler to grab, yet small enough to chew

Preschoolers

·         Important that preschoolers get an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals to continue to grow and develop physically and mentally

·         Because preschoolers are more active it is important that they have a higher food intake than infants and toddler

·         At this age children are developing a sense of like and dislikes of foods

·         It is important for adults to encourage help in preparing and meals and mealtime, makes meals more appealing and children are more likely to make positive food selections

School agers

·         Appetite should have increased, yet growth reduces

·         Activity level has increased so the demand of good nutrition is needed for support

·         More independent in selecting nutritious snacks and meals

·         Important to discuss healthy eating habits often to help educate and help make better snack choices

Lack of knowledge is the reason there are many children and adults that practice negative eating habits. Mealtimes are a great time to discuss and educate children of different foods and the nutrition they get from them. This is also a great time to get a child to try different fruits and vegetables.

Teachers can give students and their family literature to read and discuss during dinner. Bringing parents aware of different snack ideas and recipes is a great way to introduce new foods and snacking tips and strategies. These tips and recipes can be as simple as the following.

Tip #1- Smoothies are a great way to use bits and pieces of fruits left over the week. This Smoothie is a great way to start the day or a quick snack before dinner.

Smoothie Recipe

1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (like strawberries, bananas, and even apples)

½ cup of orange

Place the fruit and orange juice into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.

Tip #2- Allow children to help prepare meals and snacks. Whether chopping or stirring, children are more likely to eat what they have helped create.

Fruit and yogurt

1 medium red apple

1 medium green apple

1medium yellow apple

Strawberries

Grapes

Oranges

1 cup strawberry yogurt

Cut fruit into bite sizes, dip, and enjoy!

Tip #3- Not all snacks have to be sweet. Snacks like pretzels and peanut butter are a great salty combination.

Pretzel Bites

20-30 small pretzels

½ cup smooth peanut butter

Use a spoon to spread peanut butter on a pretzel top with another pretzel. Makes about 10-15 pretzel bites.

Reference: Robertson, C. (2010). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (4th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.