Wise Eating Habits for Play Age Kids

A play age kid is one that is also considered to be school age but not a pre-adolescent kid yet. The term play age generally refers to a child between three and ten years old. It is a good idea to establish healthy eating patterns for a child this age because they will remember them for life.

One thing that you should avoid doing is encouraging your child to buy his or her lunch at school. Instead of giving the kid lunch money, make and pack a lunch to take to school. Even better teach that kid to make his or her own lunch filled with healthy choices like whole wheat grains, fish, fruit, vegetables and yogurt.

Play age kids tend to reject vegetables. One way to make sure they get enough is to sneak them into dishes like soups, casseroles and shepherd's pie. You can also sneak vegetables into cakes like carrot cake or zucchini cake.

Another tip is to make vegetables just as accessible as you would corn chips or pizza pops. Cut up vegetables and keep a healthy supply of them in the fridge. Be sure as well to have healthy dips like tomato based salsas, hummus and tatziki around for your kids to eat.

It is also a good idea to get your child in the habit of 'liking to eat fish.' If given the choice most school age kids would choose chicken or another meat over eating fish. Make fish more exciting by spicing it up, serving it in a bun or mixing it into casseroles or macaroni dishes. Fish is important because it contains many vitamins and fatty acids that are needed for healing, bone growth and also the growth of the brain and the nervous system. Children that eat a lot of fish tend to be able to learn more in school.

One big downfall of the school age kid is drinking colas. Usually they are introduced to soda pop at school, at a restaurant or a friend's home. Once they get addicted to colas it is hard to get them to stop drinking it. You should also make sure that your kid avoids drinks that seem healthy but that are also full of sugar like Cranberry cocktails and Ice teas. Teach your child to read labels so they are not overdosing on sugar every time they think they are choosing a healthy drink.

Kids at this age learn easily what is good for them and what is bad. Be sure to take them shopping with you every chance you can so that you can't each them how to make wise food choices in life.

Parenting Tips
, , , , ,

Train Your Baby to Develop a Taste for Healthy Foods

The baby that is fed the most nutritious, fresh and low-calorie foods is the one that is going to grow up to be the most healthy. There are many baby friendly foods out there but there are some that are super-powered foods.

You should consider making pureed baby food out of the following foods that qualify as being nutritional powerhouses.

Avocadoes – Puree this food with a bit of olive oil and your child will have all of the omega 3 fatty acids he or she needs to grow up very smart. They are wonderful pureed with yams, bananas or tomatoes.

Blueberries – These berries contain anthocyns which assist with the health and development of the eyes and circulatory system. They also help fight infections everywhere in the body. You can swirl ground up berries with a bit of plain yogurt for a delicious treat.

Broccoli – Cook it, grind it up and mash it. It is full of fiber, folate and calcium. A bit of parmesan or cheddar cheese blended in with it makes it ultra tasty. It also goes well with blended cooked fish like salmon.

Leafy vegetables – Leafy greens have high amounts of iron and folate. Steam greens like kale, chard and collard greens and then mix with meet or cereal to serve up a delicious but healthy mini-meal for your child.

Lentils – Lentils of all sizes and colors are good for baby. They are rich in protein and B vitamins and blend well with rice and vegetables.

Meat – Lean ground cuts of meat can be chopped up or bought ground. They are a good source of protein, B vitamins and trace minerals. One of the best ways to serve meat to a baby is with ground up vegetables and potatoes as a stew.

Squash – This yellow vegetable should be baked and then pureed. Once mashed up it has a very creamy pleasant texture. You can roast the squash first and add a bit of cheese to make it tastier. It also goes well mixed up with peas, corn, potatoes and other foods.

Sweet Potatoes – These and their yam cousins are very rich in Vitamin A and minerals and pure very nicely after they have been roasted. Sprinkle with parsley for a tasty treat.

Keep in mind that it is very important to thoroughly wash and clean vegetables before you serve them to your children to make sure they are free of pesticides.

Parenting Tips
, , , , , , , , ,