Parents should provide healthy meals for their children so they can be mentally and physically prepared for the day. While eating healthy meals, parents should educate their children about the importance of healthy food, and teach them to some healthy living rules they can rely on. Include your children in the process of “Healthy eating”.

When you go shopping, let your children choose healthy food instead of you and let them be helping hand while you cook. Teaching your children eat healthy at a young age, will help them build some healthy eating habits. Although forcing your kids eat junk/fast food is a bad idea.

Children like healthy foods a lot. Parents often pass these healthy food, and go straight to fast food such as pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, french fries, soda. Children should be aware of the effect of high-fat and high-calorie food, and eat more food rich in fiber, low in fat, rich in iron, calcium and other minerals and vitamins.

 Milk

-Generally, children love to drink milk, but as they grow up, many kids drink less milk. After they turn 2, children should have their regular milk dose, including high-fat milk. Fat is necessary for the brain and nerves development. Advice: If your baby gains too much weight for its height, it’s recommended to switch high-fat milk to low-fat before the age of 2.

Milk is the main factor in building strong bones, because of the high calcium level. It is the best source of calcium. Milk is also rich in biotin, magnesium, selenium, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and many vitamins such as vitamin A, B12, D and vitamin K. Consumption of milk is effective in stimulating muscle growth and helping post exercise muscle recovery.

And if your child does not like drinking milk, try offering the flavoured kind of milk, or prepare fortified tofu, broccoli, white beans, or some cereals.

Peanut Butter

-Peanut butter is very healthy and it is made of dry roasted peanuts. Peanut butter contains protein, vitamins E and B3, folate, arginine, iron, zink, magnesium, dietary fiber and high level of antioxidant p-coumaric acid. Natural peanut butter does not have partially hydrogenated oils.

The best timing to start including peanut butter in your child’s diet is after the 14th month. Peanut butter is relatively high in fat, but it is often rich in polyunsaturated and mono-fat, so it is way better than other saturated fats, which can be found in other high-fat food.

Kids would love if peanut butter is included in many recipes, especially healthy cookies and candies. Peanut butter’s flavour can be combined with other flavours like oatmeal, chocolate, cheese, various types of sauces and with crackers and breads. Kids love this!

Fruit and Vegetables

-Fruit and vegetables enjoy deserved reputation of a great helpers  in our daily effort to stay healthy and fit, and are associated with the reduced risk of many serious diseases. Studies have shown that by consuming fruit and vegetable you can reduce the risk of cancer (such as cancer of the oral cavity, throat, stomach, colon and respiratory system).

According to this, the diet rich in fruit and vegetables is associated with the reduced risk of developing type of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure (hypertension). Fruit and vegetables help in prevention of various diseases, but they are also an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, contain low fat level and contain folic acid (green leaf vegetables).
Here are some useful and interesting tips,  how to make your children eat more fruit and vegetables:

Vegetable combination:

1. Make mashed pumpkin or sweet potatoes instead of regular mashed potatoes.
2. Power up pizza with tomato, peppers, mushrooms, pineapple, green garlic and spinach.
3. Add vegetables in the soup.
4. Fill roasted potatoes with wheat grains, young garlic, mushrooms and red pepper.
5. Be creative when serving the salad. Do not just make a  tomato and cucumber salad, you can also add some paprika, shredded mushrooms, grated ginger, onion chopped in circles, spinach leaf or any other favoured vegetables.

Fruit combination:

1. Add fruit in green salads – try adding pieces of pear, apple, grapes, mango, strawberries, almonds or blueberries.
2. Add a handful of blueberry, or grated banana in the dough for pancakes.
3. Add exotic fruits such as papaya, mango or pineapple in the fruit salad.
4. Blend some apples, ginger, carrot and orange, and serve it as a refreshing drink.
5. Pack fresh fruit in a plastic box, which the child will carry to school. Drain a little lemon juice at apples and pears to prevent it turn brown.

Little creativity and effort can stimulate your children eat more fruit and vegetables, enrich their diet, and thus get their body strengthened and boost their immunity.