|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
| FOOD FOR KIDS | |||
It's not really that hard to put together healthy snacks your children will enjoy eating, if you start by building on the basics. |
Most of us can rustle up a fairly healthy main meal, but when it comes to snacks, it's all too easy to resort to prepacked options that can be high in saturated fat and salt, and lack the nutrient density children need. One study done among more than 1 200 children in the North West province showed that potato crisps and maize-based snacks dominated, having been eaten by one in four children on the day before the study.
Another study done in the Western Cape revealed that children aged 11 to 12 were getting about one third of their daily energy from food eaten away from home. Here are some more varied choices to have on offer or to tuck in a pocket, and none of them involves a great deal of hard kitchen slog.
Cereal – Breakfast cereals with added sugar get a bad rap, but they also have added vitamins and minerals, some of which many children don't get elsewhere. A small packet of cereal can be eaten on the run if your child doesn't have time for breakfast at home. (And yes, it does matter.)
According to info from the Child Nutrition Expert Panel, children at a farm school in Gauteng improved in both physical and cognitive tests after three months of being given a breakfast of cereal, a banana and milk at school. Instead of biscuits for an after-supper snack, offer cereal with milk (two percent is fine for children of two or older, but younger ones should drink full-cream).
Veggie sausages – For a quick lunch high in protein and containing less saturated fat than a boerewors roll, try microwaving a frozen soya sausage. They may not look too great to adult eyes, but children of all ages enjoy the texture and the spicy taste. Get sneaky with a splash of tomato sauce for a little added lycopene, an important antioxidant. Yes, tomato sauce is now a vegetable!
Dried fruit – Dried fruit is extremely nutrient-dense, which is why prunes are revered as the king of antioxidants. Other dried fruit, such as raisins, mangoes and apricots, also provide a quick energy boost and have much more to offer than sweets from the tuckshop.
Peanut butter – Yes, it's high in fat, but it also has an incredibly high protein content, and offered on slices of apple, chunks of celery, or wholewheat crispbreads instead of white bread, it's a real winner.
Yeast spread – Marmite contains a high concentration of B vitamins, and few children will turn down toast fingers with a thin layer of the brown stuff and some cucumber or tomato slices.
Grapes and Co – Fresh fruit is still the best snack of all, containing a variety of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. If fruit gets squashed in a lunchbox (a common complaint), invest in a tiny plastic container for individual grapes or slices of pineapple, for example.
Pasta – Instant pasta is a very convenient source of carbohydrates, but be aware that the packaged flavourings are high in salt. Rather cook extra at suppertime and toss in a tomato or basil pesto made with olive oil so it stays separate and moist. For an even more nutritious option, choose wholewheat pasta, or cook half wholewheat, half white together. Teenagers may even enjoy this as a lunch box option (it's too fiddly for the younger crowd who want to eat and run).
Yoghurt – Drinking milk tends to go out of fashion with older children, and yoghurt is an easy, portable way to get the calcium they need for strong bones, along with protein for growing tissues. The sweetened kind is fine, although for added benefits make sure the yoghurt you choose is made with live AB cultures.
| story by Adele Hamilton from FAIRLADY | |
| image by kids | |
