Nutrition for Kids
- Does your child have multiple food allergies? And you are not sure if he gets all the nutrients he needs.
- Is your child/baby on a special diet/formula and needing guidance?
- Is your child falling behind in growth?
- Do you know how much to feed your baby or toddler?
- Are you frustrated by a picky eater at home?
- Why doesn’t your son eat vegetables? Does he have texture or sensory issues?
- Does your child use a feeding tube? Is your child having problems transitioning from tube feeding to eating food by mouth?
- Do you have one child who needs to lose weight and another who needs to gain?
Ms. Shih helps parents feel confident about feeding their kids. She takes over the tension between parents and their children at meal time.
Grace has over 25 years of experience working with the pediatric population both in and outpatient settings at LPCH (Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital) Stanford Medical Center. She has also worked at LPCH gastrointestinal (GI) clinic helping patients with failure to thrive, GI nutritional problems, feeding difficulties, and their special diets.
Many pediatric facilities consult Grace’s expertise in managing their patients/clients’ nutritional care and education. These facilities include Children’s hospital at Northern California, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and pediatricians in private practice setting.
Below are some useful tips and tools for ensuring your child is getting proper nutrition.
1.Introducing Solid Foods
2. Getting Picky Eaters to Eat
3. Healthy Snack Ideas
4. Serving Kids fruits and vegetables.
Introducing Solid Foods
Many first-time parents wonder when to start feeding their baby solid foods and what to give them. Use these guidelines to gradually begin introducing your infant to solid foods. Teaching them to feed themselves table food is a process done with “baby steps” over the first year of a child’s life.
Age: 4-6 Months
• Semi-liquid at first; gradually add less liquid for a semi-solid
consistency
• 1 or 2 teaspoons at first; gradually increase as baby gets older
• One to two times a day
Age: 6-9 Months
• Soft foods and some finger foods that dissolve easily
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of semi-solid foods; bite-sized pieces of soft
foods
• Two to three times a day
• Mashed bananas, Applesauce, Cottage cheese, Graham
crackers, Mashed potatoes, Ground meat or poultry
Age: 9-12 Months
• Finger foods and most table foods
• Small, bite-sized portions
• Three times a day
• Examples: Apples, peeled and cut in eighths; Soft cheese, well-
cooked noodles, spaghetti with meat sauce; tender meats,
such as tuna, chicken or turkey
Getting Picky Eaters to Eat
Many parents struggle with getting their little ones to eat healthy foods. There are some tips and strategies you can use to encourage your children to eat a variety of foods and to ensure they are getting good nutrition. Remember your primary responsibility as a parent is to determine what, when, and where your child eats. Your children are responsible for how much and whether or not to eat.
As a parent you should provide the following:
An inventory of healthy foods Presenting meals to your child Insisting that children show up for meals Making mealtimes pleasant Teaching children good table manners Setting the timing for meals and snacks
How Do I Get My Child to Try New Foods?
Set a good example Offer one new food at a time Be realistic about serving sizes Don’t worry if he won’t try it. Offer it again another time. Make it fun by including your child in meal preparation
What Do I Do If My Child Won’t Eat at All?
Keep meal times within reasonable time-frame (20 minutes),
then take the food away Limit milk, juice, and other sweet drinks between meals The next meal or snack is around the corner He/she will make up for it at the next meal Kids are more in tune with hunger and satiety signals than
adults
Remember to Involve your children in grocery shopping and meal preparation – kids are more likely to eat what they have invested their time in creating!
Healthy Snack Ideas
In today’s busy world in can be tough to find snack foods that are not only = easy to prepare, but also healthy. Too often ‘convenience foods’ are highly processed and loaded with unhealthy fats, refined sugars, or too much salt. Grabbing something healthy to eat doesn’t have to mean eating prepared foods that are packaged and sold as ‘snack foods’. Try some of the ideas below and you’ll soon find that healthy snacking doesn’t require a lot of time and effort.
Dairy
Cheese sticks
Yogurt
Frozen yogurt
Milk
Pudding made with milk
Protein
Nuts
Turkey slices
Hard-boiled egg
Edamame
Cottage cheese (try it with fruit)
Fruit
Sliced apples or oranges
Raisins
Dried cranberries
Grapes
Try slicing a banana, then freeze. Tastes like ice cream!
Vegetables
Carrot, celery and zucchini sticks with yogurt dip
Cherry tomatoes
Sliced bell pepper
Marinated artichoke hearts
Grains
Whole-grain crackers
Pretzels
Popcorn
Bowl of cereal
Rice crackers, rice cakes
Cookies made with whole grains and/or real fruit
Serving Kids Fruits and Vegetables
Here are some fun and delicious ideas for serving fruits and vegetables to your child that may encourage your picky eater to eat!
Serving Fruit to Kids
Breakfast
Serve pancakes, waffles, or French toast with fruit such as berries, sliced peaches, bananas, or applesauce
Try fresh or dried fruit with cold or hot cereals (raisins or dried cranberries in oatmeal)
Salads
Carrot and raisin salad can be made with added apples or pineapple
Fruit salads go with any meal or snack
Snacks or Anytime
Fresh or canned fruit can be blended to make refreshing smoothies and shakes
Bake muffins or breads with added fresh, frozen, or dried fruits or grated carrots for extra sweetness
Bananas, apples, carrots and celery are good with peanut or almond butter
Use a French-fry cutter for potatoes to slice an apple and make ‘apple fries’
Fruit kabobs are fun to make, but more fun to eat
Desserts
Fresh fruit pies or cobblers count, too!
Ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sherbet topped with fresh fruit is a great finish to a meal, or for a snack
Serving Vegetables to Kids
Breakfast
Add fresh spinach, onions, or bell peppers to scrambled eggs, or an omelet
Salads
Leafy green salads have infinite variety, good with almost any fruit or vegetable added, served with a light vinaigrette, or low fat ranch dressing
Cabbage and carrot slaw, or cole slaw is also good with added pineapple
Pasta salads are yummy with lightly steamed and chilled vegetables, such as broccoli, green beans, fresh pea pods, sweet red peppers, carrots, or even fresh pear or cantaloupe
Side Dishes or Main Course
Corn on the cob or “Mexican corn” made with peppers and onion is popular with kids
Spaghetti squash with a red sauce is a change of pace. Kids love how it looks like real pasta!
Grilled or roasted vegetables are special when served with polenta, pilaf, or pasta
Steamed assorted vegetables can be served plain, with a sprinkle of cheese (try Parmesan or cheddar), or a bit of soy sauce
Acorn squash or other winter squashes, are wonderful baked or microwaved and served with a little butter/margarine and brown sugar, or stuffed with rice pilaf or risotto
Slice carrots, red bell peppers and zucchini and sauté in olive oil and fresh garlic, or cook in foil on the grill – the color combination has visual appeal
Brush fresh asparagus spears, or corn on the cob with olive oil and cook right on the grill
Potato pancakes with grated carrots added are good served with warm applesauce
Try pizza with green or red peppers, onions, mushrooms, pineapple, and tomatoes, or a white pizza with lightly cooked broccoli
Fried rice or noodles are a great vehicle for a wide variety of vegetables such as carrots, onion, broccoli, peppers, green beans and peas (snow peas or sugar snap peas)
Fajitas can be made with grilled vegetables in addition to meat of your choice and served with fresh tomatoes, avocado and leafy lettuce
Many wonderful soups can be made with vegetables from the traditional to root-vegetable soups. Gazpacho, a cold tomato and vegetable soup, or creamy soups made with tomato or winter squash
Vegetable chili made with beans, carrots, onions, peppers and tomatoes is great with a corn muffin and a sprinkle of cheese
Vegetable lasagna with a tomato sauce, or a white cream sauce with such vegetables as tomato, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms and onion can’t be beat
Pesto made from fresh basil or parsley can be eaten with pasta, on pizza, or as a spread on a sandwich
Ratatouille, a dish made with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, and peppers can be seasoned with Italian herbs and served with Parmesan cheese, or try it flavored with a little cinnamon and dill and served with feta cheese for a delicious variation
Snacks or Anytime
Ripe, round sweet cherry tomatoes make a great, bite-sized snack
Pickled beets offer a tangy complement to many meals as a side dish
Baby carrots, celery sticks, cucumber spears, and red bell pepper rings make a crunchy complement to a meal or snack. Try with a low fat ranch dressing
Sautéed vegetables with or without your favorite meat can be wrapped inside a tortilla to make a “wrap”. Try cheeses, herbs and spices for different taste combinations
Add your own ideas to this list and keep it handy for some quick ideas!