Nutritionist-consultant, healthy lifestyle trainer, author and ideologist of the fitness camp “TELU Vremya!” Laura Filippova listed the main principles of healthy baby food.
Diet
Children’s diet must necessarily include:
- cereals, bread, durum pasta;
- high-quality protein – lean meats and poultry, eggs, fish – 2-3 times a week;
- vegetables, herbs – better those that are in season;
- milk, dairy products, cottage cheese;
- berries and fruits;
- fats – butter (82,5% fat);
- nuts, dried fruits.
And don’t forget about clean drinking water!
Mode
On average, a child should eat 4-5 times. Be sure to have breakfast, and this breakfast should include complex carbohydrates to “charge” energy for the whole day. The first snack can be 1,5-2 hours before lunch – for example, fruits or berries. Second snack – around 16 pm-17pm: tea / kefir / yogurt plus a whole grain bread sandwich with butter and a slice of cheese or lean meat. Casseroles, cheese cakes, pancakes and other flour products can also be a snack option, but preferably not from premium white flour. The child should ideally dine with soup.
“Why is he so thin with you!”
If you think that relatives are overfeeding the child, do not be silent! You need to talk to grandparents who love to pamper their grandchildren so much! If it does not help, the ultimatum is to prohibit those products that you consider unhealthy for your child. This is, first of all, about candy waffles, and not about grandmother’s homemade cutlets (provided that no fat drips from them).
With those around you who pester with phrases: “Why is he so thin!”, It’s even easier – just don’t listen to them! Plumpness is no longer an analogue of health. I really like the phrase of Evgeny Komarovsky: “A healthy child should be thin and with an awl in the bottom.” Of course, this is not about painful thinness. If suddenly you have this case, run to the pediatrician!
Baby and candy
The later your child tastes the sweets, the better! And, believe me, this does not deprive him of his childhood. On the contrary, the healthier the teeth, the pancreas is more prepared for new tastes, and the first taste of sweets at a later age will be more conscious for the child.
If your child is already eating sweets, do not allow candy cookies on an empty stomach. Only after eating. Unfortunately, the situation when a child is eating goodies all day, and then refuses normal food, is common for many families.
Childhood obesity
Unfortunately, this is now a common problem. According to the WHO, more than 40 million children under 5 have extra pounds. The saddest thing about this statistic is that the numbers are growing. The main reasons are low physical activity and poor nutrition, as well as the lack of a regimen.
What if this is a problem for your family too?
At first, you need to start with yourself, reconsider your own eating habits. For children, the argument: “I can, but you cannot, because you are small” is valid only for the time being. Words will not help, only a personal example.
Secondly, limit consumption of simple carbohydrates – white bread and rolls, sweets, cookies, cakes, sweet soda and packaged juices, fast food.
Thirdly, try to make the child move more.
If there are no medical problems (pah-pah, no matter what), these three points should help.