Oatmeal: A nutritional breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium. Old-fashioned oatmeal offers quick energy for active kids with its carb load and fiber count.
Eggs please: Eggs are a great source of protein and other nutrients, including the B vitamins, vitamin E and zinc.

NutButters: Nut butters are a tasty fast food for children. Children need the fat (good fats don't have hydrogenated oils mixed in them) and they need the protein. And while peanuts can be a hazard for some children and even life threatening to allergic kids, other nut butters may be safer. Check with your doctor first.

Dairy is a good thing: Lift your child's milk desire up and include yogurt in their daily snacks. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than regular milk and the cultures are very beneficial to good colon health, more so if your child has been on antibiotics. Watch the sugar content, though. A better idea is to buy plain yogurt and sweeten it yourself with fresh fruit.

Fruits like Melons: Cantaloupe provides vitamin C, beta-carotene, bits and pieces of B vitamins and trace minerals and calcium. Melons are a sweeter and tastier fruit than most.
Greens: Broccoli is one of the best vegetables for anyone, especially growing kids, because of its calcium content and other nutrients, such as potassium, beta-carotene and B vitamins.
Spuds: Sweet potatoes contain 30mg beta-carotene per cup. 3 grams of fiber per serving, sweet potatoes are a must at dinner time.

Protein is Power: Good choices include legumes, beans (combined with a grain to make a complete protein), soy products like tofu, meat, fish and poultry.

Whole Grains: The best nutrition is found in whole-grain foods. Brown rice and whole-wheat bread are a quantum leap over their white counterparts and offer necessary fiber, minerals and vitamins. Also no preservatives as you would get in the white breads.

Juice in small doses: Too much of a good thing can be bad. That doesn't mean do not drink juice. Just don't drink it in place of water. Orange juice is full of vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, folate and zinc. You can buy calcium-fortified orange juice also.It really helps strenghten ones ammune system also.

Remember that young bodies are growing fast and they need to be fueled properly. MOM`s thats your job. So what you eat is what you children will eat in turn.

Be healthy to teach healthy!

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Dorothy
(Site Administrator)

10 worst foods for kids:

1 Chicken Nuggets Any fast food that's breaded and fried is bursting with fat. Nuggets and their dipping sauces also have a lot of sodium, which can contribute to high blood pressure in adults. Don't let your child's taste buds get used to salty foods.

2 Chips Giving your child a handful of chips with lunch on occasion is fine, but keep in mind that potato chips, corn chips, and cheese puffs are mostly fat, sodium, and empty calories.

3 Doughnuts Most are packed with artery-clogging saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. An average doughnut also has 200 to 300 calories and few other nutrients.

4 French Fries It's unfortunate that fries are the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Kids love them, but they're extremely high in fat and have few vitamins. If your children clamor for them at the drive-through, at least stick with a small portion.

5 Fruit Leather Most rolled-up dried fruit has a dab of fruit, a teeny bit of fiber, few vitamins except those that have been added, and lots of sugar. Serve fresh fruit instead.

6 Hot Dogs Regular dogs are high in fat (13 or more grams per serving), have lots of sodium, and don't provide much protein for the calories. They're also a choking hazard for children 3 and under. Serve only occasionally, look for lower-fat brands (try turkey dogs), and cut into very small pieces for young children.
7 Juice-flavored Drinks Most are no more than 10 percent juice; the rest is water and sweeteners. (Don't be fooled by 100 percent juices made from grape, pear, or apple concentrate. Much of the nutrition has been removed from concentrates.)

8 Prepackaged Lunches Sure, they're convenient, but they also tend to be high in saturated fat and sodium (more than 1,200 milligrams in some, about half the recommended daily max) and packed with sugary treats. Most also are nutritionally unbalanced, because they contain no fruits or vegetables.

9 Soda American children drink more soft drinks today than ever. The average 12-ounce can of soda supplies almost ten teaspoons of sugar, which can contribute to obesity and tooth decay. Kids who drink soda instead of milk are also shortchanging their bones of calcium and other nutrients.

10 Toaster Pastries These contain lots of fat and not much fruit. Instead, make a piece of raisin toast for your child, and serve it with jam.

Sources: Mona Sutnick, Ed.D., R.D. a nutrition consultant in Philadelphia; Riva Touger-Decker, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in Newark; Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, in Boston, and coauthor of Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health (Bantam, 1999); Liz Marr, R.D., a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant in Boulder, Colorado.

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