This kiddies menu (see the recipes below) is somewhat different to the standard kiddies menu found at fast food outlets or restaurants. With the alarming rise in obesity among pre-school aged children, childhood nutrition requires much more care. Adulthood obesity and disease is effected by childhood obesity, eating habits and nutrition intake. Obesity is likely to follow children into adulthood.
While authoritarian parenting styles are likely to promote obesity, authoritative parenting is required to prevent or manage childhood obesity. This means that while children should not be given the freedom or control to choose what they eat or when, they should be given the freedom to determine the quantity of any meal or snack, offered by a parent or caregiver, that they eat. This allows children to exercise and develop self-regulation, a wonderful skill for long term weight management and a life long healthy relationship with food. Simply put, food choices and therefore nutrient quality is a parental responsibility.
For this reason, I do not advocate making separate meals for children at family meal times but lunch boxes, homework snacks, garden picnics, sport snacks, hiking foods and parties may call for some novelty. A treat does not have to be laden with sugar or salt. The treat could be in the novelty of the food item, the setting in which it is eating or simply in the presentation of a snack.
Including children in the preparation of healthy foods is a a great way to promote an interest in healthy food and broaden the horizons of young taste buds for the development of a diverse food and ultimately nutrient intake. Key to remember is that healthy eating needs to both taught and modeled by all relevant caregivers. Read more about the very important nutrition manipulation opportunity that complementary feeding offers.
I have had great fun preparing these recipes. Follow me on Pinterest for further inspiration.
Baking with kids can be a fun, bonding activity. It can also teach kids many skills and keep them busy when they need ‘entertainment’ at home. Baking with kids can be the centre of many wonderful memories and family traditions. Yes, it is messy and requires patience, but keen little bakers should be encouraged. The problem with eager bakers is the volume of baked goods in the house, the cost
A healthy twist on a favourite dish, this Mac ‘n Cheese is higher in fibre and lower in fat that the traditional recipes out there! Macaroni and cheese is a popular go to dish for a quick family meal and is often made at the request of the smalls in the family. As a result, this dish is consumed with regularity. Mostly served minus vegetables and often with with added bacon,
Meat balls & Spaghetti is a favourite meal of mine and super easy to prepare. I love making meat balls and eating meat balls in equal measure. I enjoy making them from scratch and adding additional fibre. Using oats or oat bran instead of bread crumbs is an easy way to increase the fibre content of the meat balls. The addition of oat bran to meals is good for cholesterol reduction. Adding
These gluten free pancakes are made with a combination of buckwheat flour and rice flour as alternative to cake flour which contains wheat. These pancakes are a great gluten free starch option for patients with coeliac disease, including those with type one diabetes. While they lack sugar, they also lack fibre and protein. The choice of filling is therefore very important as it needs to make up for this lack in
A regular intake of fatty fish helps to supply essential fatty acids, not made by the body, but much needed for brain health and their anti-inflammatory properties. These star fish cakes are made from pilchards and are the perfect way to disguise these often rejected fish. Without a regular intake of fatty fish and omega enriched food products, supplementation of omega 3 is required. Omega 6 is more readily available
Popcorn is a popular treat for movie watching, lunch boxes, after school snacking and birthday parties. It does make for a healthier snack alternative to crisps, sweets and chocolates. Homemade popcorn is healthier than store bought and is easy enough to make. It is something kids can learn to make for themselves in a first cooking lesson. Nutritionally speaking, this whole-grain, naturally gluten free snack is high in fibre and
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