The five-a-day of fruit and vegetables, avoid sugar and plenty of exercise are all important tips to keeping your child healthy; however, these are rough guidelines and it is often to difficult to keep track of ensuring your child has a balanced diet.
According to the NHS, growing children particularly those not consuming balanced diets do not receive the required levels of vitamin A and vitamin C. Moreover, a 2018 study published by the Co-op and reported in the Telegraph, found 75 percent of Brits now cook more than one meal every evening, as a result of various dietary requirements and food demands.
Meal times are thus a hectic business and a quick understanding to which foods are vitamin and mineral packed for your child’s healthy development is therefore essential. To ease your mealtime concerns for your children, we’ve created our round up of top foods to be incorporating into your child’s diet.
Yoghurt
Available in zero and low fat options, yoghurt is a fantastic source of calcium with only 100 grams of non-fat, Greek style yogurt providing just over 100 grams of Calcium. Yoghurt’s rich, creamy texture and refreshing, sweet taste is a treat for children; call this calcium rich pot, desert and watch the fussy eaters come back for more!
You can also add a few drops of honey to sweeten things, as honey is a natural sweetener and contains powerful antioxidants, which lower blood pressure and regulate heart health.
High Fibre Solutions
Infrequent bowel movements are a common problem among young children, especially while they are being potty trained during the ages of two to three years old. Installing high fibre foods into your child’s diet is an effective measure against preventing the often, painful symptoms of constipation.
Foods on our list of high fibre solutions, that are equally rich in antioxidants include: almonds, flaxseeds and prunes. In addition to being high in fibre with 100 grams containing 12 grams of fibre, almonds are an excellent source of copper, Vitamin E and magnesium; its high quality protein composition and fibre levels means almonds work as a great, healthy snack substitute.
To maximise your child’s fibre intake with oats, sprinkled almonds, omega 3 rich flax seeds and prunes, which contains sorbitol – a natural laxative found in certain fruits.
Eggs
Eggs are another high quality protein with the added bonus of being easily accessible across the globe. All bird eggs: geese eggs, quail eggs and chicken eggs are saturated in vitamin A, selenium, vitamin B5 and protein, in tandem to containing a nutrient vital for cognitive functioning, choline.
The humble egg is never shy of benefits and is omnipresent across all major retailers such as: Tesco and Asda to your local grocery market down the road. If you’re still not convinced about this wonderful, underrated miracle, a 2018 report published by Sanders and Zeisel titled, Dietary Requirements and Role in Brain Development observed how multiple studies demonstrate choline supplementation during pregnancy created neurological changes in the developing foetus with a marked improvement in post natal cognitive and behavioural tests. The report also highlighted a choline deficiency could lead to reduced learning ability and memory.
Stock up on the Sweet Potato
This simply boil and peel vegetable is a mealtime favourite among most children for its natural sweetness and bright, beta carotene induced colouring. Sweet potatoes are a firework of health – spectacularly high in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, potassium, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B3.
The beta carotene, cloaked carb is not only filled with antioxidants, yet is equally ant-inflammatory due to its high vitamin content. Forget the pasta and say hello to sweet potatoes for an easy, po-tay-toes meal solution!
