3 Ways Parents Can Give Their Kids A Balanced Diet

• As parents, you want and aim to give only the best for your children, especially when it comes to health and nutrition. You can start by learning more about how to achieve a balanced diet for your sons and daughters.

  A balanced diet, as explained by experts, is eating the correct amount of a combination of Go, Grow, and Glow foods. They also receommend for children to eat many times each day, like having three meals and three snacks. Such amount of food will supply the energy they need all day.

  The 3 Gs of proper nutrition

  It’s important to remember the three types of food in preparing meals and feeding your children. 

  Go foods

  Those categorized as Go foods are rich in carbohydrates that power the body with energy. Prime examples are pasta, rice, and potatoes. 

  Grow foods

  Grow foods are packed with protein, whose main job is to build and repair muscles. You can find these in chicken, fish, and beans.

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  Glow foods

  Fruits and vegetables that contain vitamins and minerals are called the Glow foods. They are good for the hair, skin, and nails, while helping strengthen the immune and fight disease.

  Additionally, you also have to heed the doctor’s advice in giving five out of the seven food groups to your child every day. The food groups are:

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  • Meat
  • Beans, Nuts, and Soybeans
  • Grains
  • Root crops
  • Eggs
  • Milk and Dairy
  • Fruits and Vegetables

  Speaking of fruits and vegetables, their colors represent specific nutrients, such as:

  • Red–keeps your heart healthy and strong
  • Orange–good for your eyes
  • Yellow–aids in fighting disease and infection
  • Green–helps your body make healthy bones, muscles and blood cells
  • Purple–wards off heart disease and cancer

  Your efforts in giving your kids a balanced diet should also include avoiding unhealthy food and drinks. Opt for healthy snacks, like fruits, oatmeal, peanut butter sandwich, and camote. They have more nutrients than candies or chips.

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  Some drinks likewise only have artificial flavors. Milk is always the best option. It’s loaded with nutrients, including arginine, vitamin K2, calcium, protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, potassium, and riboflavin. Even with just one glass of milk a day can help you make taller and stronger.

  Ways to help achieve a balanced diet

  Get your child into a food challenge. Each time he or she gets to try a new food, you give him or her a star.

  Encourage your son or daughter to participate in making the household menu for the week. With the use of visual aids, teach them about the Go, Grow, and Glow foods, as well as the seven food groups. From there, let them pick what they want and create a recipe that you can try together.

  Try also to consult a nutrition counselor, who’s a food expert who can give advice on what you can eat to grow taller, smarter, and stronger.

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  (For correct food portion sizes for kids, read here.)

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