Sunday, December 22
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An Overview of a Well-Balanced Meal Plan for Children

There are many picky eaters at home especially the kids who are not at all near a healthy food chart for kids. The parents can take the help of the food pyramid to set up a diet plan for their kids if they do not eat well. It is the duty of parents to make their children understand the importance of nutritious food and healthy eating.

Here are some tips that should be kept in mind while devising a diet plan –

  • One serving of fruit should be included in the diet of your child each day.
  • Similarly, offer one serving of vegetables to your child every day.
  • Include at least one glass of non-fat milk or low-fat milk each day in the plan of your child.
  • Instead of a hundred percent of juice include only one serving of juice in a day.
  • Plan your meals in such a way that the whole family eats them together.
  • Your diet plan should include one whole grain like whole-wheat bread, whole-grain cereal, oatmeal every day.
  • Try not to fry the food, instead use baking, roasting, grilling for cooking the food.
  • Whenever your child will eat or sitting at snacks you should make sure that you provide age-appropriate portions.
  • The packaged food is quite rich in fats and calories so instead of serving them prepare and serve a whole food meal according to the healthy food chart for kids.

Healthy Meal Plan During the Day

  1. Breakfast Time – A healthy breakfast meal contains items such as whole-grain toast along with nut butter or slices of apples or another combination of milk and oatmeal with berries or diced bell pepper with scrambled eggs or low-fat yogurt with whole-grain pancakes. For a healthy breakfast make sure to include milk with a combination of low sugar cereal.
  2. Lunch And Snacks – The lunch should include a whole meal of healthy veggies and items like fresh turkey, low sodium vegetable soup, on a piece of whole-grain bread, banana and peanut butter on a piece of whole wheat bread, a whole-grain pita with hummus, whole-grain crackers with low-fat cheese. Include salad in your lunch that comprises of carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, etc., serve water and avoid drinks and sodas.
  3. Dinner Options – In the dinner you can include something tasty as per your child’s wish like pizza, baked potatoes with a pinch of mild salsa, whole wheat spaghetti added with steamed broccoli. Lean ground turkey or beef can be used for burgers to enhance the taste of your dinner.

When a planned and set up meal is there you can avoid the cries of your child for junk and fast food. All the parents try their best to expose their children to different variety of foods and hence streamline their shopping in that way. Above is a directional guideline for creating a healthy meal plan for the kids providing a balance of all the food groups.