Healthy Kids

'Everyday' food or 'Sometimes' food? Teach kids about healthy choices.

Kids learn food habits at an early age - so it's important to teach your young ones the value of a healthy and well balanced diet. If they're eating the right foods, they'll also be getting the nutrients they need to stay fit, active and alert.

Unsure where to start? Try these handy tips:

1. Add colour to the menu!

Children respond well to bright, colourful food that's easy to hold and eat. For younger children, try serving a "funny face" made from slices of fruit and vegetables. Use melon to represent a mouth, blueberries for eyes, shredded lettuce for hair, a carrot stick for a nose, and capsicum for eyebrows. For older children, serve sandwiches with plenty of fresh, attractive fillings - such as capsicum, beetroot, grated carrot, tandoori chicken, avocado, or sliced radishes.

2. Fast-food for the playground

To make the most of their playtime, school-age kids tend to eat food that's conveniently packaged - so it's quick and easy to eat. Rather than giving children potato chips or biscuits, which are high in salt, saturated fat and sugar, serve them fresh food in small, individually wrapped portions - such as a handful of nuts, a few reduced-salt rice crackers, grapes, sultanas, or a tub of reduced fat yoghurt.

3. Variety is the spice of life.

A healthy diet is all about balance, and small bodies need a particular combination of foods in order to grow strong mentally and physically. To ensure children don't become fussy eaters, it's also important to introduce a wide variety of healthy foods in their younger years. As a handy guide, try making meals based on the five food groups.

4. Explain healthy choices
Teach your children how to make healthy food decisions by showing them the difference between better heath, "everyday" foods (e.g. vegetables, bread, cereal, milk, cheese, fruit, meat, fish and nuts) and "sometimes" foods (e.g. sweet biscuits, chocolate bars, soft drinks, chips or cake). Get the kids to help you draw and apply adhesive labels to specific items in the fridge or pantry to help them remember and don't forget to define 'sometimes' foods or else your child will think 'sometimes' is 'now'. Sometimes foods should be a special treat – perhaps once a week.

5. Make breakfast an important meal

Eating breakfast is a must for young kids. It assists with concentration, recall and memory - and helps them stay focused at school. Encourage kids to eat a healthy and filling breakfast before school and if possible, make a special family time for breakfast on the weekends.

6. Don't forget the special dietary needs of teenagers
To cope with the demands of puberty, teenage bodies need plenty of extra vitamins and minerals. Some teenagers, especially girls, may be low in iron, which is essential for making red blood cells and for energy and concentration. Serve iron-rich meats such as lamb or beef - as well as fish, chicken and foods such as lentils, chickpeas or tofu, which also contain iron.

7. Pack a yummy lunchbox
To help your child stay away from junk foods, try to make their lunchboxes as tasty as possible. Great snacks include some different fruits (such as a few blueberries, kiwi fruit or cubes of melon), a box of sultanas, a tub of low-fat yoghurt, or a small handful of dried fruit and nuts. Use a variety of wholemeal breads (such as lavish, Lebanese or pita) to add excitement to lunchtime sandwiches, and as often as possible, vary the fillings. Try light cream cheese with tinned salmon and cucumber, or grated carrot mixed with reduced fat cream cheese and sultanas. View more sandwich ideas

8. Water, water, water!

Teach your child the importance of drinking water when they are thirsty - especially after exercise.  Add lemon, lime, mint or sliced oranges to water for some natural sweetness. For an extra special treat, get the kids to make their own healthy fizzy drinks by mixing carbonated mineral water or soda water with natural fruit juice.

9. Have fun in summer with homemade ice-blocks
In summer, encourage kids to make their own ice-blocks by freezing fruits such as sultana grapes, quartered oranges, halved peaches or peeled bananas. Or use fresh fruit juices in plastic moulds (available from most Woolworths stores).  Fill them with freshly squeezed or bottled fruit juice (choose one that's 100% natural with no added sugar). Add a little water to make them go further and freeze better. You can also blend fruit iceblocks to make delicious and refreshing frappes and a frozen banana is great in a smoothie.

10. Still allow treats

There's nothing wrong with the occasional treat (e.g. lollies, cake, chocolate, chips or soft-drink) at birthday parties or other special events. If hosting your child's own birthday party, take them shopping and get them to help you select the treats to be served, and ask them to select a combination of "sometimes" and "everyday" foods (e.g. using red capsicum and carrot sticks to serve with a dip rather than corn chips). This will give them a feeling of responsibility, but will also establish an important mental connection between "sometimes" foods and special occasions.     

Where can I find out more?
The following Australian websites*  provide a range of useful information about healthy eating for kids. 

• The Children's Hospital Westmead: Fussy Eating
• The Children's Hospital Westmead: Healthy Eating for Toddlers
• Better Health Channel: Children's Diet

*Links to non-Woolworths websites have been provided for information purposes only. Woolworths is not responsible for the content on those websites.