Kids Food Pyramid
Healthy food, how to make easy and healthy food for your kids is not any easy task for modern families nowadays. With so much information on what is nutrition, with millions of healthy recipes, lots of TV food shows packed with food advises and a great variety of produce in our stores, it’s not surprising that one can be a little bit overwarmed with all these.
After reading many books, magazines and articles with nutritional information, I came to the conclusion that simpler is better. So, while cooking for my family or doing my shopping I am keeping in mind simple food pyramid I found once. It is easy, straightforward and what is most important I can easily adjust it to the needs of my family.
The food pyramid should help our kids to receive all the nutrients growing children need each day from the five food groups.
These are:
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Protein - this includes lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
• Grains - this includes bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles
• Dairy - this includes milk, yoghurt, and cheese
At the very bottom level of this Nutrition Pyramid is the complex carbohydrates group - pasta, bread, grains and also cereals. Based on Nutrition Pyramid we should eat complex carbohydrates group of food much more in quantity compare to the other group of foods.
According to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating growing kids who are
- 4-7yrs need to eat 4-6 serves of grains daily
- 8-11yrs need to eat 4-6 serves of grains daily
- Adolescents 12-18 yrs need to eat 4-7 serves of grains daily
The second levels from the bottom contain veggies and fruits, this kind of foods contain vitamins, high fiber and also useful nutrients such as potassium and colic acid. In addition we also can serve our kids drink juices made from vegetables and also fresh fruits to fulfil the needs from this group.
- 4-7yrs need to eat 4 serves of vegies and 2 serves of fruit daily
- 8-11yrs need to eat 4-5 serves of vegies and 1-2 fruit daily
- Adolescents 12-18 yrs need to eat 5-9 serves of vegies and 3-4 serves of fruit daily
The next level from Nutrition Pyramid contains foods like, milk, egg, cheese, meat, and also fish. These kinds of food have protein, calcium, vitamins and also minerals that are needed by our body.
- 4-7yrs need to eat 3 serves of dairy and ½-1 of protein daily
- 8-11yrs need to eat 3serves of dairy and 1-11/2 of protein daily
- Adolescents 12-18 yrs need to eat 3-5 serves of dairy and 1-2 of protein daily
At the very top of Nutrition Pyramid contain of fats and sweets which has a huge calories, that the reason why we should eat this kind of foods in a very small portion.
Your next question should be - How big is one serve?
Fruit:
• 1 medium piece - such as an apple, banana or pear
• 2 small pieces - such as a kiwi fruit, passionfruit, plum
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of sultanas, raisins or currants
• 4 pieces of dried fruit - such as apricots, pears or figs
• 1 cup of tinned fruit
Vegetables:
• 1 potato
• 1/2 cup (75g) of cooked vegetables
• 1 cup of salad vegetables
• 1/2 cup (75g) of cooked legumes - dried beans, peas or lentils
Protein:
• 65-100g cooked meat or chicken
• 80-100g of fish fillets
• 2 small eggs
• 1/2 cup of cooked dried or tinned beans - such as lentils or red kidney beans
• 1/3 cup of nuts - such as almonds, cashews or peanuts
• 1/4 cup of seeds - such as sunflower or sesame
Grains:
• 2 slices of bread
• 1 medium bread roll
• 1 cup of cooked pasta, noodles or rice
• 1 1/3 cup breakfast cereal
• 1/2 cup muesli
Dairy:
• 1 cup of milk
• 200g of yoghurt
• 40g of cheese
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
Chips, chocolates, sweet treats these type of foods don't fall clearly into one of the categories mentioned above - these 'extras' should be kept to minimum as they are usually high in empty calories, salt, sugars and fats. From my point of view our fridges should not contain only healthy food; otherwise the life would be boring.
But, nevertheless, from my point of view our fridges should not contain only healthy food; otherwise the life would be boring.
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