Top Healthy and Nutritious Foods for Kids

Everyone needs good food and potable water everyday, to live a healthy life. This is especially true for children, as they need high amounts of nutrients in the form of vitamins and minerals from a balanced diet that comes from all food groups. This is because their brain, muscles, bones and organs are developing rapidly. Children need to eat a highly varied diet, though this may not always be possible with picky eaters. So, let us learn about foods that are great for kids, why encouraging healthy eating habits is more important than forcing them to eat something that has been prepared and how it all pans out with respect to their physical and mental growth.

Top Superfoods To Enhance Children’s Brain Development-

The brain controls all bodily functions using a highly organised network of cells and tissues. The brain functions that develop by leaps and bounds in children include the following- critical thinking, language development, motor and spatial skills, attention and focus and cognition along with memory formation and retention, among others. Since so many different functions need to get better, you will need to ensure that kids eat appropriately. Including superfoods in their diet is one of the easiest ways to do that. You should note this down- fish, eggs, dals, dairy products, whole grains, millets, different lentils, colorful fruits and vegetables and plenty of water.

How To Encourage Healthy Eating Habits In Picky Eaters-

As a parent, caretaker or guardian, you need to take a good long look at your food habits because kids tend to emulate us as they grow. So, if you like eating fresh produce, have good eating habits, don’t watch TV while eating and like to try different things and switch stuff around, there is a high chance your kids will do the same. Apart from that, you should always stick to small portion sizes, let them know that it is okay to not like something and to try to work as a team. Meal times do not have to be fraught with danger and judgement.

Importance Of Balanced Diets For Children’s Academic Performance-

You should actively prepare and provide foods from all the categories- fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals from a variety of sources- meat, pulses, dals, greens, semolina, fresh fruits and veggies etc. Children love to snack. So, it makes sense to make them ahead- like dry fruit ladoos or nut chikkis, cookies with whole grains and dried fruit to sweeten them, yoghurt, paneer, peanut butter, sandwiches with veggies and just a touch of mayo etc., though there are loads of other ideas you can try out.

Conclusion

Having kids eat 3-4 large meals a day can be tough when they get hungry in between. This is why nutritious snacks to support children’s energy levels are a necessity, but when you look at options available in a supermarket, they have lots of added sugars in them, are fried or have food colouring, among other issues. Encouraging good eating habits takes time and effort, but it pays off handsomely in the future. Also, remember that kids are not automatons and there will be days when they refuse to eat anything at all. Go easy on them because it generally won’t happen everyday, give yourself some grace and start over- at the next meal, next day or the next week.