Children spend 3-4 hours a day eating three meals, two snacks and different snacks. If you develop a comprehensive nutrition plan in advance, your child's diet will be well-balanced. If you think it’s too troublesome to list all the recipes for the week, you can list them once every two or three days, or you can just plan dinner every day. Dinner doesn’t need to be fancy, but it can be designed to be nutritious and balanced, with fresh vegetables, Rice, pasta and fruit, with protein such as lean meat, cheese or soy products.
Snacks provide necessary energy for children, who need more calories than adults. The best snacks should contain carbohydrates and protein, such as celery and carrots, yogurt and juice, soy milk, etc. It is recommended to avoid foods that only contain carbohydrates such as candies, biscuits, etc. in snacks, because these only provide a lot of energy with little nutrition.
But don’t reject sugar completely. Children love to eat sweets. Sometimes, a moderate amount of sugar will encourage children to eat more vegetables and fruits. For example, tomatoes mixed with sugar will make children like them very much. The last thing parents should do is refuse to give their children any sweets, which will only make them want sweets more. For three or four-year-old children who like to eat sweets very much, the most important thing is "moderateness". Occasionally, children may eat sweets such as cookies and candies as part of a normal, comprehensive diet. You can store some nutritious sweets in the refrigerator or cupboard, such as raisins, dried apricots, fruit yogurt, pears, oranges, melons, whole-wheat crackers, etc. You can serve these as snacks to your children at any time. If he is used to eating only cookies, churros, and candies, he may resist nutritious fruits and other sweets at first, but you must stick with it.
Here are some good suggestions given by nutritionists to help our children fall in love with eating vegetables, drinking milk, and be willing to try new foods.
1. Don’t be a short-sighted chef. If you develop the habit of cooking two kinds of meals every day, one is what your children like to eat, and the other is what you and your husband like to eat, then you are wrong. You should design a eating pattern that is suitable for the whole family, and the child can choose what he likes. In this way, the child will often imitate the behavior of his parents. Over time, the child will naturally slowly accept the food and vegetables you provide him.
2. It is better to say less. Don't always comment on what and how your child eats. Try to stay neutral and remember that you have done your job as a parent by providing your child with nutritionally balanced foods and it is your child's responsibility to eat them. If you always force your child and tell him: "Eat vegetables!", then all he can do is refuse.
3. Slowly introduce several new foods. Children are born with a natural instinct to reject new foods. Before the child is willing to taste it, tell the child which flavor this food resembles that he has eaten in the past, and that this is a flavor that a certain hero also likes. For example, if he doesn't like eating peas, you can tell him that this is what the little Lion King also likes, and he might like it.
4. Calculate it every morning. Many families do not eat enough fiber every day, and even choose the simplest foods for breakfast. You should calculate whether these foods contain enough fiber and nutrients.
5. Don’t let junk food into your home. Remember, it’s you, not your kids, who controls the entry of junk food into your home. There are several kinds of junk food at home, but it is simply impossible for you to force your children to eat fruits and vegetables or dairy products. Whenever you take your kids out, you can prepare an incubator in the car with carrots, yogurt, whole-wheat crackers, and water so your kids don't expect to eat fast food.
6. Allow some indulgence. It's okay to give your child a small amount of unhealthy food every once in a while. It's much better than hiding it away and your child always craving it. For example, every time you go to grandma's house, you can eat McDonald's.
7. Eat interestingly. The more creative you are, the more variety your children will eat. You can make a pumpkin pie with a smiley face and give the food funny names. For example, you can call broccoli food for dinosaurs.
8. Be a role model. If you don't eat this or that, your children will think it's normal. Be honest with your child about why you sometimes can't eat, when you're hungry and you want to eat, and when you're full and you don't want to eat at all. Children will learn this too.
9. Adjust your attitude. If your child eats popcorn or creamy ice cream while watching a movie, it is of course an enjoyment of life. At this time, if you adjust your mentality and feel that this is a smart choice or a need for physical vitality, your child will also feel it. Comfortable.