Healthy diet meal plan for kids

It is an eternal problem for all parents: what should my children eat? If you can control your small kids, when they go to school and college, it becomes much harder. Teenagers and students undergo a lot of stress, they often don’t have time to cook a proper meal, and that is why they prefer to eat junk food to save some time for studies and entertainment (although they can order help from a professional service like writingpapersucks. Of course, parents share their knowledge and recommendations on eating healthily while you grow, but it doesn’t always work. As social media and blogging make a healthy lifestyle more popular today, you can try to instill in your kids this habit.

How to create a healthy meal plan for your kid

Just like students read a speedy paper review before ordering a paper, you should read the necessary information on your kids` nutrition and advice from professionals on creating a healthy meal plan. Today, the food industry invests billions of dollars annually for advertising different products belonging to junk food – sweetened cereals, candies, juice, and packaged lunches – so it becomes harder for parents to convince their kids to consume healthy food. But it doesn’t mean you should try, especially when creating a meal plan is as easy as for adults, just with different caloric requirements.

Nutritionists say: adults need, on average, 2000 calories consumption a day, while children from 9 to 13 should consume from 1400 to 1900, and three-year-old kids need just 1000-1400 calories. Depending on the activity level, their meals should include products from different food groups:

• Protein that can be found in seafood, eggs, peas and beans, meat and soy products, and nuts;
• Grains – we recommend choosing whole grains like quinoa, whole-wheat, or brown rice;
• Fruits should be encouraged as much as possible: they can become a healthy snack during the day, and when the kid feels hungry. When it comes to juice, just make sure it is 100% with no sugar;
• Vegetables are also very welcome, from salads to being cooked with meat. You can use either fresh or canned, dried, and frozen vegetables if they don`t contain sodium;
• Dairy is a must and should be included in a weekly meal plan for your kids. Buy fat-free (or at least low-fat) products like milk, cheese, and yogurt with no sugar.

Your healthy meal plan can look like this:

• One or two cups of fruit daily (if your kids are older than 12, they may need more);
• One to four cups of vegetables a day;
• Two or three cups of milk a day;
• Meat or fish (two to seven ounces);
• Whole grains for breakfast.

Of course, these products can be combined in different tasty dishes by baking, grilling, stewing, or roasting. All of them are rich in fiber, calcium, and other vitamins that will help your kids grow healthily. If the kids are pickers and don`t want to follow a diet, give them an opportunity to combine these products on their own. Experts also recommend encouraging them in the process of cooking and having meals with the whole family to move away from junk snacks and fried potatoes for dinner.

What you should definitely avoid is:

• Flavorings that make milk products like yogurt and cheese less healthy. Chocolate and strawberry milk is also not an option;
• Fried meals that contain a lot of fat (corn dogs, chicken, and fish sticks, sausage, bacon);
• Drinks that contain much sugar like fruit punch, coca-cola, and sweetened tea;
• Fast food and sweets on a regular basis.

Here are some good examples of a healthy meal plan for a day:

1. Serve a cereal for breakfast that contains whole grains and nonfat milk. You can also cook a toast with nut butter and orange juice. For lunch, cook tuna salad or a sandwich. As a snack, you can give carrot sticks, fruits, or yogurt. For dinner, you can offer your kid a bowl with meat and vegetables or a green salad with fish;
2. Breakfast can contain yogurt and fresh berries and fruits. For lunch, your kid can have a sliced roast with cream cheese and vegetables wrapped in a tortilla. For dinner, you can cook some chicken with vegetables or brown rice. As a dessert, you can offer a melon, fruits, or berries;
3. What about whole-grain waffles for breakfast combined with orange slices and apple juice? For lunch, you can prepare a whole-grain pizza with chicken and vegetables; for dinner, noodles with mushrooms or seafood. Rice cakes will work perfectly as snacks.

Healthy food combined with activities and some simple exercises will help your kids keep a healthy weight and feel great in general. It doesn’t have to be a strong diet: you just need to fit more healthy products into your daily meal plan adding some sweets and cola occasionally.