Healthy Foods for Young Children
Anytime a group of parents get together, one of the things that always comes up is the question of how to get their kids to eat better. Finding healthy foods for toddlers can be problematic when their answer to everything is NO.
Defining even what is considered healthy foods for babies is a discussion on its own and any kind of healthy foods for young children, especially once they start school is a challenge to any parent.
Healthy Foods for Babies
So at what point in a baby’s life do we start introducing healthy foods for babies? For most of us, I would say that the time to start is as soon as you can. If you are still breast-feeding, than the best way to ensure healthy food for babies is to be sure that you are eating healthy yourself.
Even if you do not breastfeed, introducing healthy foods for babies at a very early age is a great way to ensure that your child has a healthy start in life. Talk to a nutritionist about any possible allergies your child may have before introducing any new foods and always start with as small an amount as possible.
If you have time, cooking vegetables and then running them through the blender will be better for them than buying processed baby food. Another great option when considering healthy foods for babies is to look for organic baby food.
Babies are far less tolerant of chemicals than adults are, and do you want to try to ensure that if it is labeled as healthy foods for babies it comes with as little processing as possible and is exposed to as little chemicals as you can control.
Healthy Foods for Toddlers
As almost any parent knows, toddlers are often the ones that are the hardest to feed. They are fussy, hard to please, and finding healthy food for toddlers can be a challenge. But if you do your homework, you can find that healthy food for toddlers is not impossible to create. It just takes a bit of planning.
Most toddlers want to eat what you are eating, so one of the best ways to get them to go for healthy foods for toddlers is to eat them yourself. It may sound simple, but it works more often than you would think. If you are eating a salad for lunch on a Saturday, you can bet that toddler will want some too.
Healthy foods for toddlers in prepackaged meals can be expensive and not always as healthy as you think. Just make a plan for the week to eat healthy yourself, making sure that there is plenty of good nutritious fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads around.
Healthy Foods for Young Children
Once kids are big enough to start school one of the biggest challenges is going to be to keep them eating healthy foods for young children even though you aren’t there. They will still snack at school, so make them little snack packs with fun animal crackers and fruit cups, and make sure they have enough to trade with other kids.
Most of the prepackaged kits that are sold as healthy foods for young children have a fair amount of sugar and salt, so be sure to read the labels if you are buying prepackaged snack packs. Carrots and celery will pack and stay crispy if packed in a bit of water (or kept in a jar of water in the fridge).
Apples are great choices for healthy foods for young children, but check if they are not eating because they don’t like the peel. Some apples have acidic peels that are hard on kids stomachs, so if they are not eating them for that reason try peeling them first.
One of my earliest memories is of my mother peeing apples for me, a true act of love. So find what they love, look for fun ways to present the food to them and you will find there are plenty of ways to introduce healthy foods for young children. Soon you will find them asking for fruit instead of chips, and loving that trail mix you made “just for them”.