A healthy diet prevents disease. Meal care should start in childhood, but what to offer to little ones? Learn here how to assemble the children's daily menu and preserve the health of your children.
The importance of healthy eating in childhood
Up to two years of age, breast milk is the only food to be offered, according to the World Health Organization. Neuropediatrician Antonio Carlos de Farias, from Hospital Pequeno PrÃncipe, in Paraná, explains that its proteins protect against allergies and help in the consolidation of brain connections.
In the sixth month, solid foods enter between feedings. Pediatrician and nutritionist Ary Lopes Cardoso, a member of the Children's Institute (São Paulo) advises giving rice and beans mashed with small pieces of chicken or meat that should be sucked by the child. Fruits also enter this phase, in the form of porridge or peeled, without pits, cut into sticks or stems. In the first year, legumes, vegetables and proteins enter. Meals should be every three hours.
Learn how to create a balanced children's menu
Children's breakfast menu needs to have carbohydrates, fiber, calcium and protein. The good fats from oilseeds (flaxseeds, quinoa and nuts) can be included in yogurt, milk or fruit. Know what to offer for the first meal of the day:
• Carbohydrates: breads and biscuits, preferably wholemeal.
• Fibras: fruits (papaya, apple, pineapple, peach, guava, banana, among others) and oilseeds.
• Calcium and proteins: yogurt, milk, cheese — another source of protein is eggs, which must be scrambled.
• Fats: butter or margarine, a knife edge is enough.
Include in the children's menu of intermediate snacks nutrients that may have been lacking in the main meals:
• Dairy.
• Carbohydrates: a fruit, wholemeal cracker or oilseed mix.
Finally, the lunch and dinner menus for children are divided into four sections: 2 for vegetables and salads, 1 for carbohydrates and 1 for proteins. Here's what to include in these meals:
• Vegetables, salads and fiber: spinach, beets, carrots, squash, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce.
• Carbohydrates: rice (preferably wholegrain) and tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes, manioc, manioc and yams).
• Vegetable proteins: legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans and peas).
• Animal proteins: beef, chicken, pork, fish and eggs. Meat should preferably be boiled or grilled and eggs scrambled.
• Fats: olive oil in salads.
• Fiber in dessert: fruits (papaya, apple, pineapple, peach, banana, among others).
Drinking fluids during meals, can you? Yes, as long as it does not exceed 200ml in each one.
A balanced diet in childhood is the first step towards a healthy life. Not giving sweets is an important measure, know why.
Written by Sumaia Santana from the Eu Sem Fronteiras team
