Feeding my child a healthy menu

Whether you are a parent, grandfather, uncle or part of a large and beautiful family, you certainly have children around you. These mini-people, who work like new adults, only according to slightly different rules.

In fact, children have the same nutritional needs as adults in terms of the foods they need to eat, the only difference being their calorie needs.

Some children have a lower caloric need than adults, those of young age or lower height. Other children may have a need similar to that of adults, more specifically for children who are in full development, have grown much in height, or children with a higher need than adults, for example adolescents who also practice increased physical activity.

To ensure that these children receive all the nutrients they need, it is necessary to provide them with 5 meals each day (3 main meals and 2 snacks) at an interval of approximately 3-4 hours. Why these hours? Because our stomach, and theirs, empties every 3-4 hours depending on the previous meal, and the feeling of hunger will set in.

Breakfast should be taken in the first part of the day, after waking up, and should contain both protein-rich foods (for satiety) and carbohydrate-rich foods (for energy) and vegetables (for vitamins and minerals). A good example would be boiled eggs, wholewheat  bread and tomato salad.

The first snack can be taken at school, because the little ones spend quite a few hours there and need fuel to sustain their energy level and be able to cope with the challenges. Thus, being still the first part of the day it needs to be a bit more consistent. For example, a sandwich with wholewheat bread, some cheese and vegetables, cucumbers or peppers.

We will serve lunch after school, at home, so that we can easily follow the pattern of the healthy plate: a quarter of protein-rich foods, a quarter of carbohydrate-rich foods and half a plate of vegetables. According to this model we can serve the children a main course. For example, baked chicken with potatoes, and a large salad of greens next to it.

Between lunch and dinner it is necessary to have another snack, in order to keep our blood sugar level constant, and to be able to concentrate on extracurricular activities. A very suitable snack for the afternoon is a portion of fresh fruit rich in vitamins and a dairy product, for example a yogurt rich in calcium.

In the evening, when the little ones do not need as much energy as during the day, we will be able to serve a lighter dinner, which will prepare them for a restful sleep and pleasant dreams. We can try in the evening a soup, which contains both meat and vegetables, and which we will serve with wholewheat bread or croutons.

As long as we care about the health of our children, we will provide them with all the food groups in optimal proportions and we will try not to overdo it in any way, we can be sure that we will help them to have a wonderful start in life.

Iulia Hădărean nutriționist-dietetician