Nourishing Your Child: An Enjoyable Yet Challenging Journey!

How often do you find yourself asking:

• What can I feed my child to ensure a healthy and balanced diet?

• How can I get my child to enjoy vegetables?

• Should I offer food rewards?

• How can I turn mealtimes into a fun food adventure?

In this guide, we'll provide you with comprehensive answers to these questions and more.

1. A Balanced and Healthy Meal

Offer your child a variety of foods to ensure they get all the nutrients they need, including:

• Fruits and vegetables: Rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that aid digestion and boost the immune system.

• Whole grains: Provide the body with the energy needed for activity and focus. Examples include brown rice, whole-wheat bread, barley, whole wheat, quinoa, and oats.

• Proteins: Essential for building muscles and tissues. Found in lean meats, chicken, fish, eggs, legumes, and nuts.

• Low-fat dairy products: Contain calcium, which is crucial for healthy bones and teeth. Examples include milk, yogurt, and cheese.

• Healthy fats: Support brain development and strengthen the nervous system. Found in avocados, nuts, vegetable oils, and fatty fish like salmon.

The easiest way to calculate your child's food portions and ensure a balanced meal is to follow the plate division rule:

• Half the plate: Fruits and vegetables

• Quarter of the plate: Grains

• Quarter of the plate: Protein

2. Reduce Foods High in Salt (Sodium)

Excess salt negatively impacts children's health and can lead to high blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease, blood vessel problems, and kidney disease in the future. How can you reduce the amount of salt in your child's diet?

• Use herbs and spices instead of salt: Try fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, and basil, and spices like turmeric, black pepper, and cumin to add natural flavor to your food.

• Reduce processed foods: Foods like potato chips, cookies, pasta dishes, and ready-made sandwiches, as well as fast food like pizza, are high in salt.

• Read food labels carefully: Before buying any food product, read the food label carefully and make sure the salt/sodium content is low.

3. Reduce sugar

• Many foods that children love are full of hidden sugars.

• These excess sugars threaten the health of our children and expose them to many health risks, most notably tooth decay and increased risk of obesity.

• But how can you convince your child to give up or reduce sugar? It's easier than you think!

• Offer your child water or natural juices instead of sweetened juices and soft drinks.

• Reduce the amount of candy, chocolate, and processed foods high in added sugars, and offer fresh or dried fruits instead.

• Make natural juices at home, adding a little honey or dates for sweetness (honey is prohibited for children under one year).

4. Avoid saturated fats

• Avoid foods high in saturated fats, which increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases.

• These fats are found mainly in red meat, sausages, poultry, butter, ghee, and other full-fat dairy products, meaning that pizza, sandwiches, burgers, and desserts like cakes and ice cream are a common source.

When cooking, use vegetable oils and nut oils instead of saturated fats, which provide essential fatty acids and vitamin E.  

5. Pay attention to recommended daily serving sizes

Daily food servings vary according to a child's age, size, and activity level. Instead of focusing solely on quantity, concentrate on the quality of the food you're offering your child. Ask your pediatrician about the recommended daily servings. Serve food to your child in small dishes to avoid overeating and help them recognize feelings of hunger and fullness, making informed decisions about how much they need to eat.

6. Maintain your child's energy and activity with regular meals

Did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? It provides your child with the energy needed to start their day actively and focused. But how can we ensure our child gets balanced nutrition throughout the day? Offer your child 3 regular main meals with 2 healthy snacks in between and try not to skip meals. Avoid processed foods like chips and cookies, and focus on fresh, nutritious foods.

7 Present meals in different and creative ways

Imagine your child's smile when they see breakfast in the shape of a happy face or a sandwich shaped like a butterfly! You can use pieces of cheese, olives, or colorful vegetables to create eyes, mouths, and hair, for example, or even form letters, numbers, stars, and hearts. Use stories and characters your child loves to connect them with healthy foods and encourage them to eat.

8. Additional tips

• Cook at home: This helps you control the ingredients in your food and prepare healthy meals.
• Encourage your child to participate in meal preparation: They can help you shop for groceries, stir ingredients, or add spices, for example. Give them the opportunity to prepare their own plate and lunchbox, and make this a chance to introduce new foods in a fun way.
• Make mealtime enjoyable and family-oriented: But avoid turning on the TV or phone while eating.
• Be a good role model for your child: By eating healthy foods in front of them, remember that adults are children's role models.
• Offer small rewards: Give small rewards like stickers or small toys when your child tries new foods.
• Prepare in advance: Prepare healthy snacks and pieces of fruits and vegetables to have on hand when needed.

Don't link food to behavior: Avoid using food as a reward,punishment, or bribe. This can lead to unhealthy eating habits.

Water is life: Encourage your child to drink waterregularly. It's essential for hydration.

Breastfeeding: If you're breastfeeding, continue for aslong as possible. It's the ideal food for babies.

A final tip: Be patient and persistent.

Repetition is key; your child may need several tries to accept new foods ordevelop healthy eating habits. This can take time and effort. Try offeringhealthy foods in different ways, or give small rewards like stickers or smalltoys when your child tries new foods, but don't give up.

A final word Healthy eating is the foundation for a healthybody and mind for your child. But remember, every child is unique. Don'tcompare your child to others. Consult your pediatrician for personalized advicefor your child.