Kid Meals Good Enough for Adults

You may think your child knows how to eat all too well, but the truth is that in today’s modern society nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, most of us (even our young children) have lost some or all of our original wisdom of the body that guided us naturally to eat in a healthful way. Here are some practical guidelines for re-learning how, when, and where to eat.

BEGIN THE DAY WITH A BRAINY BREAKFAST

As mom said, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many kids don’t have an appetite for food when they first wake up, and many of us are in such a rush to get our families up and out for the day that we don’t have time for breakfast. Yet, once you understand everything breakfast can do for your child, you’ll never skip it again.

5 QUICK BRAINY BREAKFAST SUGGESTIONS:

1. High-fiber, high-protein, low sugar-added cereal with milk; fruit
2. Peanut butter and banana slices on a whole wheat English muffin, milk
3. Low-fat cheese melted on toast, a piece of fruit, yogurt
4. Low-fat cream cheese on a whole-grain bagel, orange juice
5. Fruit smoothie – your kids may even get up early for this one! Go to Dr. Bill’s special Schoolade™

A POWER PACKED LUNCH

A high calorie, high carbohydrate meal, such as pasta with a fat-laden sauce, is likely to diminish your child’s academic performance after lunch. A high fat meal diminishes mental alertness by diverting blood from the brain to the stomach to help with digestion. Fewer carbohydrates and calories with more protein, on the other hand, make the eater more alert after lunch. Also, Encourage your child to skip dessert after lunch and to save his daily dessert treat for after dinner. Try a few of these healthy lunch ideas:

1.Tuna or turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, and a low fat mayonnaise made with canola oil
2.Peanut butter and spreadable fruit on a small whole grain tortilla or wrap – just roll it up for small hands to grasp easily.
3.Lunch bites – 2 to 3 slices of turkey cut into 4 pieces each, 3 to 4 small slices of low fat cheese, 4 to 8 whole grain crackers. The kids can “build” their own mini-sandwiches.
4.Chicken burrito – low fat mayonnaise made with canola oil, shredded chicken (from dinner last night), lettuce, tomato, low fat shredded cheese, put everything in the center of a whole grain tortilla and roll it up, folding in the ends.
Note: Try to always include a fresh fruit or naturally sweetened applesauce, a glass of milk or water, and some type of veggie they can eat with their hands (i.e. carrot or celery slices, jicama, cucumber slices, or bell pepper slices) and dipped in low fat ranch dressing (or other favorite low fat dressing).
DR BILL’S SCHOOLADE™

If your home is like ours during morning rush hour, busy parents and sleepy kids, are not a recipe for a sit-down breakfast. Our solution is to let our kids drink their breakfast. Here’s a smoothie recipe we’ve been enjoying every school day for over six years. We call it “Schoolade.”

+ 3 cups low fat milk or soy beverage
+ 1½ cups yogurt
+ 1 banana
+ 1 cup frozen blueberries
+ ½ cup of several of your favorite frozen fruits (e.g. mango, pineapple, organic strawberries)
+ 4 tbsp. ground flaxseeds (for a grainy texture) or 2 tbsp. flax oil (for a silky texture)
+ 4 ounces tofu
+ 2 tbsp. peanut butter
+ 2 tbsp. wheat germ (optional)
+ cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
+ 2 servings of a chocolate or vanilla-flavored multi-nutrient supplement.

Serving suggestions: Combine all the ingredients, blend until smooth, serve immediately when it has a bubbly, milkshake consistency.

Nutritional breakdown: One average serving size for a child from age six to twelve would be 2½ cups (20 ounces). One serving would provide a perfect nutritional balance for a brainy breakfast: 500 calories, 30 percent fat (mostly healthy omega 3’s and monounsaturated fats), 20 percent protein, 50 percent complex carbohydrates, 8 grams of fiber, and 25 grams of protein. The above recipe makes around eight cups, just right for three school-age children or a family of three.

To introduce your child to smoothies and Schoolade breakfasts, start with a simple smoothie, like “Schoolade Quick.” Gradually add the other ingredients, such as flax oil or flaxseed meal (ground flax seeds), tofu, peanut butter, wheatgerm, and any other nutrient your child needs but won’t otherwise eat. Children usually love smoothies, and you can camouflage foods, like tofu, in a smoothie and your child won’t even know it’s there. Gradually add the other nutrients to shape your child’s tastes toward the full recipe. Experiment with the flax oil or flaxseed meal. Flax oil gives the smoothie a more silky consistency; flax seed meal a more grainy texture. (Flax seed meal is actually more nutritious since it contains not only the oil but fiber, protein, and other nutrients.) Gradually building the brainy breakfast Schoolade smoothie introduces the child to the concept of “drinking meals,” in addition to the contents of the smoothie.

Did you know that they have a separate food guide for kids? Or that they updated the food guide in 2005? They do and they did so let’s go over it and see what’s new.

Eat a balanced variety of foods. A balanced diet is one that includes all the food groups. Bottom line is, have foods from every food group, every day.

Eat less of some foods, and more of others. You can see that the bands for meat and protein (purple) and oils (yellow) are skinnier than the others. That’s because you need less of those kinds of foods than you do of fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy foods.

You also can see the bands start out wider and get thinner towards the top. That’s to show you that foods are not all created equal, even within a healthy food group like fruits. For instance, cherry pie might be in that thin part of the fruit band because it has a lot of added sugar. A handful of cherries would be down in the wide part because you can eat more of those within a healthy diet.

Personalize. Through the USDA’s MyPyramid website, people can get personalized recommendations about the mix of foods they need to eat and how much they should be eating. There is a kids’ version of the website available too.

How Much Do I Need to Eat?
Everyone wants to know how much they should eat to stay healthy. It depends on your age, whether you’re a girl or a boy, and how active you are. Kids who are more active burn more calories, so they need more calories. But we can give you some estimates for how much you need of each food group.

Grains
Grains are measured out in ounce equivalents. What is an “ounce equivalent”? Ounce equivalents are just another way of showing an approximate serving size.

Here are ounce equivalents for common grain foods. An ounce equivalent equals:

• 1 piece of bread
• 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, like oatmeal
• 1/2 cup of rice or pasta
• 1 cup of cold cereal

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 4-5 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 5 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 6 ounce equivalents each day.

And one more thing about grains: Try to eat a lot of whole grains, such as 100% wheat bread, brown rice, and oatmeal.

Vegetables
Of course, you need your vegetables, especially those dark green and orange ones. But how much is enough? Vegetable servings are measured in cups.

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 1 1/2 cups of veggies each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 2 cups of veggies each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 2 1/2 cups of veggies each day.

Fruits
Sweet, juicy fruit is definitely part of a healthy diet. Here’s how much you need:

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 1-1 1/2 cups of fruit each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day.

Milk and Other Calcium-Rich Foods
Calcium builds strong bones to last a lifetime, so you need these foods in your diet.

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 1-2 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 3 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 3 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day.

If you want something other than milk, you can substitute yogurt, cheese, or calcium-fortified orange juice – just to name a few.

Meats, Beans, Fish, and Nuts
These foods contain iron and lots of other important nutrients. Like grains, these foods are measured in ounce equivalents.

An ounce equivalent of this group would be:

• 1 ounce of meat, poultry, or fish
• 1/4 cup cooked dry beans
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• a small handful of nuts or seeds

* 4- to 8-year-olds need 3-4 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old girls need 5 ounce equivalents each day.
* 9- to 13-year-old boys need 5 ounce equivalents each day.

That’s a lot of information to take in. The good news is that your mom, dad, and the other grown-ups in your life will help you eat what you need to stay healthy. There’s more good news – you don’t have to become a perfect eater overnight. Just remember those stairs climbing up the side of the new pyramid and take it one step at a time.

The USDA offers several free resources for parents and kids worth checking out:

USDA Kids Nutrition Resources

You’ll find free posters and coloring books you can order, an online game your kids can play, and material for teachers as well.