Healthy Eating for Kids

• 05 Dec 2014
• FWD Admin
• Eatout

We all have grandmothers who keep telling us that a growing child needs a lot of nutrition. A day at school and an evening in the playground always has your kid coming home hungry. So how much do kids need to eat? Let’s find out.

Eat a variety of foods. A balanced diet is one that includes all the food groups — have foods from every color, every day! Protein and oils are skinnier than the others. That’s because you at less of some foods and more of others. The bands for meat and need less of those kinds of foods than you do of fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy foods. You also can see the bands start out wider and get thinner as they approach the top. That’s designed to show you that not all foods are created equal, even within a healthy food group like fruit. This food pyramid should go along increased activity. For this reason, Gold’s Gym India announces Fitness for Kids for various age groups this year.

GRAINS
Serving size is based on the foods consumed. Here are serving sizes for common grain foods: 1 slice of bread
1/2 cup cooked cereal — oatmeal/ porridge
1/2 cup of rice or pasta
1 small chapatti
4-8 year olds need 4-5 servings a day
9-13 year old girls need 5 servings a day
9-13-year-old boys need 6 servings a day
One last thing about grains: Try to make at least half of your grain servings whole grains, such as 100% whole-wheat bread, brown rice and oatmeal.

VEGETABLES
Of course, you need your vegetables, especially those dark green and orange ones! But how much is enough? Vegetable servings are measured in cups...
4-8 year olds need
11/2 cups of veggies each day
9-13 year old girls need 2 cups of veggies each day
9-13-year old boys need 21/2 cups of veggies each day

FRUITS
Sweet, juicy fruits are definitely part of a healthy diet. Here’s how much you need:
4-8 year olds need 1-2 fruits each day
9-13 year olds need 2 fruits each day

MILK & OTHER CALCIUM-RICH FOODS
Calcium builds strong bones to last a lifetime, so you need these in your diet...
4-8 year olds need 2 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day
 9-13 year olds need 3 cups of milk (or another calcium-rich food) each day
If you want something other than milk, you can substitute yogurt, cheese, or calcium fortified orange juice, just to name a few.

MEATS, BEANS, FISH, & NUTS
These foods contain iron and lots of other important nutrients. Like grains, these foods are measured in serving sizes:
30gm of meat, poultry, or fish
1/4 cup cooked dry beans
1 egg
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
About a small handful/10gm of nuts or seeds
4— 8 year olds need
3-4 servings a day 9-13 year olds need 5 servings a day