Children between one and twelve years of age need healthy food because they are in the stage of continuous growth and development, which means that they need a large amount of energy. Nutritionists advise providing healthy and balanced diets to children, because the work and harmony of their body organs depends on the balance of protein, fat, sugary, mineral elements, vitamins, and water. Although most foods contain a variety of nutrients, we do not find a food that can contain all the nutrients needed to build a child’s body. For this, nutrition experts advise that it is necessary to eat different types of foods and not to limit themselves to one item.
What is healthy food for children?
Essential nutrients that children need
- Calcium: A large number of children lose calcium due to drinking soda and other sugary foods because it absorbs calcium from the bones, which leads to their weakness and fragility. For this the child needs about 500 mg a day of calcium. To obtain it, he can drink whole milk, grains, and orange juice.
- Iron: Children need 7 millimeter daily from iron, the most drink contain of it is milk and cereals, Meats and Eggs.
- Fruit and Vegetables: Child needs to eat vegetables and fruits regularly and twice a day, preferably eating vegetables and fruits in the form of snacks.
- grain: Grain is one of the nutrients necessary to build the child’s body, because it needs four servings of grains per day, and the mother can provide grains to her child in the form of wheat pancakes, unshelled bread, or a plate of brown rice.
- Zinc: Recent studies and research confirm that zinc strengthens children's memory, and to get it you must eat beef, liver and whole grains, milk, cocoa, nuts, and poultry meat.
- Salt: Food salt improves the taste of foods and foods, but an increase in its percentage leads to raising blood pressure, so its amount must be reduced and the use of herbs, spices, and lemon juice to add flavors to foods. Children should also reduce the consumption of cooked cheese, ready-made sweets, canned soups, potato chips, pickles and foods containing Preservatives.
- Milk and dairy products: Milk and its derivatives work to strengthen the bones and teeth of children, because it contains a high percentage of calcium, and this is why doctors and nutritionists advise providing milk to the child from the age of one year, and it is preferable to give him whole milk cow three times daily for its importance.
- Fats : The diet of children cannot be free of fatty substances because fats are an important source of energy, but the percentage of fats in foods should not exceed the normal position in order not to raise the level of cholesterol in the body.
Ingredients of some healthy meals for children
- Flax seed: It contains omega-3 fatty acids that improve brain development and can be added to cereals and sweets such as banana and apple cake.
- sweet potato: Potatoes contain vitamin A, which maintains the beauty and health of the eyes, and is considered an anti-oxidant in the human body, so children can take it because of its natural sweetness and eat it as a snack.
- Yogurt: A child can eat yogurt with a tablespoon of fruit or honey, and it is advised to eat yogurt products that contain the flavors of chocolate, strawberry, and banana.
- Mango: Drinking a cup of mango juice provides all the vitamin vitamin a child needs per day.
Make a healthy meal for children
The ingredients:
- Brown Toast Bread.
- Cucumber.
- Carrots.
- Beans.
- Peas.
- Sliced beef salami.
- Sliced black olives.
How to prepare:
- We cut the tips of the toast and get rid of it until we get the shape of a fish body, then put between each two pieces of toast three slices of salami, and put the bread in a serving dish white color.
- We cut the carrots into half-circles and half on the body of the rail to form the artichoke, and with a small circular piece we form the eye and put in the middle a slice of black olives.
- We draw the fish's tail by cutting half of two circles of cucumber, and half of them then put a few peas next to the fish's mouth until they indicate the source of their breathing.
- We cut carrots and beans into small pieces to get the shape of seaweed.
- We put the dish on a piece of cloth or a blue sheet to denote the sea.
