Basic principles of healthy and proper nutrition for children. Healthy eating for children

Dairy and lactic acid products

Let's take an unbiased look: which mammal uses milk after emerging from infancy? None! It’s very simple: when a baby emerges from infancy, his production of those enzymes that are capable of 100% breaking down the milk that has entered the gastrointestinal tract dies off, because nature in its evolution is economical and expedient and therefore quite reasonably removed from the body what was in Natural conditions after infancy will never be useful to him again. This enzymatic ability to split is subsequently retained only in an insignificant part of individuals.

We are able to drink milk with pleasure, especially, on occasion, real fresh milk. Why not? Occasionally, not as a system. If we engage in such activity regularly, then we will begin to accumulate in our body a significant amount of internal waste, which in the form of mucus will gradually begin to envelop our internal organs.

Note: if you still consider it necessary to give your child milk, provided that he tolerates it well and is not allergic to it, then we recommend that you consider the following:

1. It is best to give your child natural goat milk, if possible.

2. If you are interested in the best nutrition for your baby, try to get your baby natural milk, not something sterile from a bag. As a rule, if you really want to, you can buy milk from pets. Spare no time in searching, no time in delivery, no spare no money - everything will pay off handsomely when the child grows up.

Natural milk does not need to be boiled! When boiled, milk proteins coagulate and transform into an indigestible form. Boiled milk cannot be compared with fresh or even cooled unboiled milk. If you cannot provide your baby with natural milk all year round, give him unboiled milk in the summer, at the dacha.

True, when drinking unboiled milk, there is a certain danger of catching some kind of infection. Therefore, never buy milk at the market, from random people. To minimize this likelihood, you must carefully select the animal and its owner. A goat or cow must be clean, well-groomed, with a clean udder, the owner must be neat, and the milk must not smell like a barn. Don’t be shy to ask your neighbors, visit the barn, and be present during milking. Pay attention to whether the milk pan is clean, whether the housewife washes the animal’s udder before milking, whether she washes her hands, and whether she pours milk into clean jars. If you have doubts about its cleanliness, it’s better not to risk it - boil the milk or buy bags.

But what about the widespread recommendations for a predominantly dairy-vegetable diet? Yes, it’s very simple: an analysis of the diet of centenarians proves that a significant part of it consists of lactic acid products! This is yogurt, this is kefir, these are cheeses, these are feta cheeses (soaked with salt, of course), this is cottage cheese, etc. That very residue in milk that a person is not able to completely break down is completely “overcome” by food fungi, which and prepare us a truly priceless product.

SIMPLE RECIPE

If you have a food processor or mixer at home, it will only take you a minute to make a delicious dish by diluting any lactic acid drink with fruit. For example, acidobiphilin with banana is very tasty; the proportion is approximately one banana per glass of acidobiphilin.

In recent years, there has been a general transition of the population to yoghurt. Curdled milk is no longer held in high esteem, although in vain. They are no less useful.

Of course, you buy yoghurts for your children? Then keep the following in mind. According to international standards, yogurt is a product containing live bacteria. Therefore, it has a limited shelf life, especially in the refrigerator. The manufacturer has no right to call a canned product yogurt. So be careful what you buy. Look not at the inscription on the price tag, but at the product packaging itself. If it says something like “yogurt” or “frugurter” or anything other than the clear word “yogurt”, it’s not yogurt! Don't flatter yourself! This is something stuffed to the brim with preservatives so that it can be stored for a long, long time and without problems. Do you need this?

Real yogurt, with fruit, without sugar, is not a bad thing. But it can't be cheap. Whether it is worth spending money on it, decide for yourself. But it’s better not to buy surrogates for children. Honest acidobiphyllin or yogurt is both better and cheaper.

Yes, yes, yes, children should eat cottage cheese. Again, natural if possible. And again, unsweetened. If you want to make it tastier, add sour cream. If you want it sweeter, add raisins and dried apricots. Top with good yoghurt. Add milk and add a little salt. As a last resort, add a little jam or honey, although this option is a last resort if you have already accustomed your child to sweet curds.

Cheesecakes, casserole? Perhaps, if occasionally and fully aware of the fact that by adding flour and sugar to cottage cheese, and then also exposing it to high temperature, you significantly impoverish it. Try cooking with fructose, but only occasionally, it is now sold everywhere. And it’s better not to have any glazed curds, curd mass, “Miracle” curds and other similar things containing sugar, which will not be beneficial.

As for soft curds without sugar in sealed packaging, packaged in 100-200 grams, even with fruit and berry fillings, this is very convenient for the mother and, hopefully, not bad for the child, if, of course, they do not contain preservatives or dyes , flavorings, etc. But it is hardly worth giving them to your child all the time; it would be better for him to have cottage cheese of normal consistency that is familiar to him.

As a rule, children love cheese. And great! Cheese contains a lot of calcium, it is a very healthy product. True, the product is concentrated, so you don’t need to eat a lot of it. But a couple of sandwiches with cheese, and if eaten with raw vegetables, and not with sweet tea, and if on bread, and not on a bun, is excellent food, extremely healthy and well-balanced.

There are many varieties of cheese, you can find something for every taste. Does your little one not like spicy food? Buy him a gentle, sweetish “Maasdam” or a firm, sweet “Camembert”. Search, and you will definitely find those varieties that will suit his taste.

Ice cream

One thing you should avoid giving your child as long as possible is ice cream. Up to five years, or better yet, longer. This is a practically indigestible product. What makes it so is the heavy combination of sugar, fat and milk. And the fact that it is cold is additional stress for the stomach.

But suppose your grown-up child asks, demands, extorts ice cream - and dad, grandmother, aunt actively support him. What to do? Peace comes first. If you have not yet managed to convince the adults, buy ice cream for your child. But! Not soft, made from who knows what, but best of all our regular ice cream. And in his other hand - fruit: apple, banana, orange, any fruit, and more. With fruit, ice cream will at least somehow be digested.

Fruits and vegetables

Raw fruits and vegetables are the basis of your child's healthy diet. Normally, they make up at least 60% of everything a child eats per day.

Lots and lots of carbohydrates (bread, cereals, potatoes)

This is a traditional food for Russian people. “Soup cabbage soup and porridge are our food,” “Bread is the head of everything.” Everyone loves bread and potatoes. But how can it be used to bring benefit to the child and not harm? First of all, give your child carbohydrate foods only with raw vegetables and never with fish or meat! We'll talk about meat and fish below. Dishes such as navy-style pasta, potatoes with cutlets, porridge with stewed meat are unsuitable for children. However, for adults too. But while adults already have established taste stereotypes, children are just developing them. So let's form them correctly!

The most famous naturopath Galina Shatalova completely excludes bread from the human diet. Although she admits that for her personally, to this day, even after many years of “proper nutrition,” a piece of black bread remains the best delicacy. But she cannot afford to feast on it. Why does she - and not only her - have a negative attitude towards bread? So ours, Russian, traditional, beloved...

It's quite simple. Traditional, Russian, etc. is bread made from freshly ground flour (because the flour was not stored for a long time, it went bitter). Moreover, the grain was ground as a whole, with the shell and germ, which alone contained useful substances. The leaven was hop-based, or the dough simply stood without leaven and rose on microorganisms that entered it from the air. So this bread really was “the head of everything.”

What do we eat? Flour is made from grains that have been cleared of their shells and germs so that they do not go rancid. All sorts of preparations are added to it to promote long-term storage, and whitening agents are also added to white flour to make the baked goods look beautiful. The bread is baked with thermophilic baker's yeast, which destroys beneficial bacteria in the human intestines and causes fermentation. Therefore, our bread is really, to put it mildly, unhealthy.

Delicious, fresh, warm bread is especially harmful. The baker's yeast in it is so active that, once in the intestines, it simply begins to rob, destroying the microflora. Bread should only be given to your child when it is dried out or at least slightly stale.

In fact, every home with children needs a toaster. While you are setting the table, the toaster dries the bread and even forms a golden, appetizing crust on it. Spread a warm toast with good butter and offer it to your child. I assure you, this is an exceptional delicacy, much tastier than cookies and waffles!

Pay attention to the different types of bread on sale. Some bakeries already bake bread without yeast or with hop yeast. There are many types of bread made from whole flour, first grade flour. And, of course, rye bread is still beyond competition.

Pay attention to the different breads. There are now many different varieties on sale, including whole grain varieties. But it’s better not to give a bun to a child. For him it is a completely empty product.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Prepare a healthy alternative to yeast bread - wheat cakes. Buy wheat. It is sold in supermarkets and on the market. Sprout it for a day and a half in a dark place, until the beginnings of the sprout and roots appear. To do this, wheat grains need to be placed in a tray, flat pan or dish and covered with a clean wet cloth. Then rinse the sprouts under running water and grind them in a food processor or through a meat grinder. You will get a viscous dough-like mass. Form the cakes and bake them, preferably in the oven (20-30 minutes), but you can also in a frying pan without oil, first over high heat to form a crust, then reduce the heat and let it steam under the lid on a small fire. You don't need to add anything - no salt, no honey, no butter, no eggs. I assure you, once you try this flatbread, you won’t even want to look at the bun!

You can make flatbreads even easier without sprouting wheat. True, they will be a little less useful. We take wheat and grind it in a coffee grinder. We dilute the resulting flour with water to such a consistency that you can make flat cakes. Add a lot of coarsely grated carrots, a little salt, a spoonful of any vegetable oil, the taste of which is not disgusting to the child. And we bake regular flatbreads in the oven.

Sprouted wheat is possible - and necessary! - give the child a little every day, 50-100 grams, the easiest way is just whole sprouted grains. They are tasty. Just be sure to follow two conditions.

First: the sprouts must be white; green ones are considered poisonous. If the sprouts become overgrown, put them in the refrigerator, where they will stop growing.

And second: so that instead of benefit there is no harm, you need to thoroughly rinse the sprouted wheat every day under a strong stream of water in a colander. This will prevent the growth of mold fungi.

And before giving your child raw sprouted grains, rinse them again under running water and quickly pour boiling water over them.

The best porridges are made from whole grains. Brown rice, oatmeal, millet, whole buckwheat - they are all good. General principle: the less the grain is destroyed, the healthier the porridge. Particularly advanced mothers manage to prepare porridge from whole grains every morning for breakfast, which certainly benefits their children.

Crushed cereals are less useful, but since they cook faster, they can always help us out when we don’t have enough time. We are talking about barley and corn grits, wheat.

SIMPLE RECIPE

A particularly healthy porridge of brown rice or oatmeal for breakfast is cooked like this. In the evening, the cereal is thoroughly washed in several waters, scalded and soaked, preferably in boiled water. Early in the morning, at about five o'clock, mom cheerfully jumps out of bed and lights the gas under the pan, makes a very tiny light, covers the pan with a lid, leaving a small crack, and goes back to bed. By seven or half past seven the porridge is ready. We wake up the child, and while he washes and gets dressed, quickly stir the porridge, add some salt, if desired, throw fillers into it (berries, herbs, seaweed) and peel a couple of carrots and a few cabbage leaves for a snack. All. The child receives a full breakfast. But closer to reality, soak the buckwheat in the evening, then in the morning it is enough to bring it to a boil under the lid and leave under the same lid for about ten minutes while the child washes himself.

Almost instantly, porridge is prepared from various grain flakes; you can simply pour boiling water over them in a plate and cover with another plate for five minutes, and while they are infused, scald raisins for porridge or, for example, wash and chop the dates. However, the flakes undergo multiple processing: they are flattened at high temperatures and further processed, so please be aware that their use is extremely convenient for the mother, but not entirely useful for the child.

Cereals obtained from grains that are completely devoid of shells and germ, that is, completely “dead,” are completely unsuitable for baby food. This is semolina and white rice.

Naturopaths do not recommend cooking porridge with milk! Cereals are incompatible with milk. But it is a mistake to believe that porridge can only be eaten empty: cereal and water.

It is possible and even useful to add butter, butter or vegetable oil, cream or even sour cream to the plate. Very tasty with sour cream, for example, lightly salted barley porridge. It’s a good idea to add sour cream to millet as well. Porridge can be cooked with different vegetables, with dried fruits, you can pre-cook the dried fruits and use the cooking water to prepare the porridge, it is also good to add greens to the finished porridge - in a word, there are many options.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Everyone knows about porridge with pumpkin. But few people cook it. But it’s so simple and so delicious! Cut the pumpkin into small cubes, cook until almost soft, add washed and scalded millet, salt, cook for another fifteen minutes and leave covered for another fifteen to twenty minutes. It is good to cover the top of the lid with a towel or even a pillow. You can put a little cream in the finished porridge. Try it, your child will definitely like it!

Potato

It is impossible to imagine that potatoes appeared in Rus' only under Peter I. Well, where are we without them, my beloved? And it seems that everything is simple with potatoes. Boiled or fried, ate - what are the tricks?

However, there are still a couple of tricks. Firstly, do not forget that potatoes contain so many carbohydrates that they no longer belong to vegetables. Naturopaths classify it as a carbohydrate group: “bread-cereals-potatoes”.

This means there is no need to eat it with meat and fish. Do not create fermentation in the child’s stomach.

Fried potatoes are very tasty, but, unfortunately, like any fried food, they are quite harmful due to the formation of carcinogenic compounds during frying. So it’s better for the baby to boil the potatoes - and with a salad, sour cream, and dill! Yes, add stewed vegetables if you want to see something else on the plate. And it will be excellent, healthy food.

In summer and autumn, it is better not to peel young potatoes; eat them straight with the skin. Because it is the skin that contains enzymes that help absorb starch. But after the New Year, and especially closer to spring, advanced people who care about their health try not to eat potatoes. The fact is that it gradually accumulates a toxic substance - solanine. When there is a lot of it, the potato turns green.

Of course, you will throw away such green potatoes. But even if there are no visible signs of the presence of solanine, the longer the potato sits, the more it accumulates. So spring potatoes are a product from which it is better to protect your child.

They say that imported potatoes are irradiated so that they do not germinate and are stored well. It is difficult to say how widespread this practice is and how irradiation affects potatoes, so it is better to buy your own, Russian ones. Out of harm's way.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Everyone loves fire-baked potatoes. But for some reason they are too lazy to bake it in the oven, even though it is very simple. And if the baby is capricious and doesn’t want to eat, then it’s useful. After all, you can turn lunch into a real meal for a great traveler. So, we washed the potatoes, but we didn’t peel them. Then they cut it in half, greased the cut with oil, laid it on the skin - and put it in a hot oven for half an hour. Fast and tasty. Potatoes cooked in an air fryer also have excellent taste. And you don’t need to add anything, just add some salt. Try it!

Pasta

Ordinary white pasta is the same empty, “dead” product as white bread, semolina, and white rice. Of course, you can feed your baby them, but why, when there are so many truly healthy things? And if you do give your child white pasta, do not forget to generously feed him raw vegetables at the same time. A lot of pasta from different manufacturers made from first-grade flour, rye flour, with Jerusalem artichoke additives and other additives appeared on sale. They are much healthier than white ones made from premium flour. Be sure to teach your child to use them.

Basic principles of nutrition for preschool children

The most suitable type of heat treatment when preparing dishes intended for children is boiling, then stewing and baking.
To add flavor to dishes, you can use salt in small quantities (so that the child does not get used to the excessively salty taste of food), as well as herbs (dill, parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc.)
It is advisable that the child drinks at least 1 liter per day. liquids.
The daily calorie intake at this age is 1400-1500 kcal.
Adequate fiber intake is a good prevention of constipation.
It is necessary to include fish in a child’s menu at least 2-3 times a week, as it contains the necessary omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, fluorine, vitamins A and D.
Do not allow your child to eat a lot of sweets (maximum 3 sweets per week).
Don't forget about movement - this is the best prevention of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Try to eat together at least once a day (for example, at dinner) as a family. You need to eat while sitting, slowly, chewing your food thoroughly and enjoying it.
Don't force children to eat. This develops in them the habit of overeating, violating their natural ability to eat exactly as much as necessary.
Don't force children to eat healthy foods at any cost. If a child does not like a product, then forcing it will not achieve anything. It’s better to try to interest him in a playful way or replace this product with another healthy one that the child likes.

Products that should be included in the diet of a preschool child:

Bread, cereals, potatoes

Bread and cereals form the basis of our nutrition and are a source of energy, vitamins and minerals.
Give preference to whole grain bread and baked goods, products made from wholemeal flour, and Graham flour. They are much healthier than products made from white flour, in which very little useful remains.
Cereals are an excellent source of energy and easily digestible carbohydrates. Therefore, they are well suited for breakfast, but can also be part of lunch or dinner.
Potatoes are also a source of carbohydrates.
The number of servings of bread for preschool children is 2-3 per day, with 1 serving being 1 piece of bread, a bagel or a small bun.
A lack of carbohydrates in a child's diet can lead to increased fatigue and lack of attention.

Milk and dairy products

Milk and dairy products are an important source of calcium, necessary for healthy growth and development of bones, teeth and the nervous system.
The daily intake of milk is about 250 ml.
If your child doesn't like milk, don't force it. Try offering him other dairy products: cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream, acidophilus milk, fermented baked milk, cheese, yogurt. It is advisable to prepare yoghurts at home or buy non-perishable yoghurts, without sugar and fruit additives (white). It is better to add a little homemade jam or jam to this yogurt.
In the diet of young children, dairy products should form a significant part of the daily diet; children should receive them several times a day. Number of servings – 2-3 per day. One serving – approximately ½ tbsp. milk, kefir or 20 gr. cheese.
Low-fat dairy products are not suitable for children in this age group; fat is essential for their growth, energy and brain function.
The fat content of milk, kefir, and yoghurts should be from 2 to 5%, and the fat content of cheeses should be up to 45% in dry matter.

A lack of protein in a child’s diet can cause:

Insufficient growth;
Poor development of bones and teeth;
Excessive susceptibility of teeth to caries;
Decreased immunity.

Meat and fish

Meat is a valuable source of complete proteins, vitamins and minerals important for the child’s body.
Meat contains essential (which the body cannot create on its own) fatty acids - substances necessary for the body to function normally, grow, and renew tissues.
Meat is a source of some minerals - for example, iron, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium. Contains B vitamins, vitamins A and D.
Fish should be included in your child’s menu at least 2-3 times a week.
Smoked meats, canned food, store-bought sausages and pates are not recommended for baby food, as they contain a lot of harmful cholesterol, fats, salt, preservatives, flavor enhancers, and dyes.
Types of meat suitable for feeding children: poultry, fish, rabbit, beef, veal, lean pork, lamb.
Types of meat and meat products that are not suitable for feeding a child: smoked meats, sausages, canned food, store-bought pates.

During this period, children should not strictly limit their intake of fats; they play an important role in their nutrition as a source of energy, vitamins and other substances necessary for their development and body growth. Children should get 30-40% of their energy from fats.
If there is a lack of fat, the child develops the habit of eating more food in order to get the required amount. However, along with fats, the child also consumes more carbohydrates and protein, which increases the load on the kidneys.
The daily intake of fat is 20-25% of the total amount of calories consumed, i.e. 2.5 g/kg of the child’s weight, with 1/3 of animal fats and 2/3 of vegetable fats.
Vitamins A, D, E, K are soluble only in fats, that is, they can be absorbed by the body only in the presence of fats.
Fats ensure the normal functioning of the hormonal system and the production of certain hormones, mechanical protection of internal organs, stability of body temperature, etc.
If possible, periodically add various vegetable oils to your child’s diet (as part of salads and other dishes): olive, corn, rapeseed, flaxseed, pumpkin, sesame.

Lack of fat in a child's diet can cause:

Lack of fat-soluble vitamins;
Insufficient growth;
Disturbances in the production of certain hormones;
Decreased mental activity.

Attention! Don’t forget that fats are also found in meat, cheese, cottage cheese, milk, eggs - we are talking about the so-called hidden fats, which must be taken into account when creating a child’s menu taking into account the daily energy intake.

Eggs contain vitamins A and B, minerals (iron, calcium, phosphorus).
Normally, children of this age can consume a maximum of 3-4 eggs per week, including those eggs that were used in cooking: soups (okroshka, beetroot soup), cutlets, and baked goods.

Vegetables are a source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
They have low energy value.
Vegetables should be included in a preschool child’s diet several times a day, preferably fresh.
Adding vegetable oil or sour cream to vegetables improves the absorption of certain vitamins by the body.

Legumes (peas, beans, lentils, soybeans, beans)

Legumes are a source of quality plant proteins, vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Peas, beans, lentils, soy or beans should be included in children's meals 2 times a week.
Do not forget that for better absorption by the body, it is advisable to soak some legumes (for example, beans, lentils) in water before cooking.

Fruits and berries

Fruits and berries contain vitamins, minerals, water and carbohydrates.
Fresh fruits contain more nutrients than those that have been stored for a long time.
Dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots, prunes, etc.) can replace candies and other sweets, as well as various salted nuts, croutons, and crackers.
The most vitamin C is found in black currants, strawberries, and citrus fruits.
Red fruits, vegetables and berries have an important role in cancer prevention.
Attention! Fruit and berry preserves and jams contain a large amount of sugar, so they can be given to children only in small quantities to children who are not prone to excess weight.

Nuts contain many healthy fats - unsaturated fatty acids necessary for the heart and blood vessels.
, so the number of nuts eaten should not be large.
Salted nuts (salted peanuts) are not suitable for children.

Attention! Nuts are a strong allergen.

It is not advisable to give mushrooms to children under 10 years of age.

Sugar, sweets

The child gets the sugar necessary for growth from bread and other baked goods, potatoes, pasta, vegetables and fruits.
A large amount of consumed sugar and sweets leads to the occurrence of weight gain and obesity, to an increase in the level of fat in the blood; leads to a lack of appetite, which can lead to severe weight loss.
Brown sugar, contrary to popular belief, is not healthier than white sugar.
Artificial sweeteners are not suitable for baby food.
Sweets have a high glycemic index - this is a value that shows how long a given product can satiate us. The higher the glycemic index, the shorter the time when we feel full. Therefore, after eating sweets, a person soon feels hungry again.
Honey is more suitable for feeding children than sugar, but it should be remembered that it contains 80-90% sugar and is a strong allergen, so you should not abuse it either.
You should not completely exclude sweets, since sugar is needed for brain function, but the amount of sweets in the diet of preschool children should be limited. the site recommends giving preference to high-quality chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa, nuts and fruits, dried fruits (not candied fruits!), desserts with fruits and berries, jellies and jelly.

Salt and pickles, spices

The sodium and chlorine contained in salt are needed by our body.
Sodium prevents the body from losing fluid, plays an important role in the restoration of nerves and muscles after injury, and activates many enzymes.
Chlorine is a component of gastric juice and maintains the balance between the acidic and alkaline environment in our body.
Food intended for children should not be seasoned with spices.

Attention! Excessive amounts of salt in food lead to high blood pressure, fluid accumulation in the body (edema) and kidney problems. Children should not receive more than 3 grams of salt. per day (as part of dishes), with age this amount can be increased to 5-6 grams. per day, which is the maximum for adults.

You should be careful with vegetables and fruits that are sold on store shelves all year round. For example, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons and melons, sold at the very beginning of the season, often become a source of poisoning in children.

The safest and healthiest to eat are porridges. They contain a lot of easily digestible vegetable protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements.

Diet during the day

meal schedule:
7.00 – breakfast
9.30-10.00 – second breakfast
12.00-12.30 – lunch
15.30 – afternoon tea
18.00 – dinner
19.00-20.00 – second dinner

Sample daily menu for preschool children

Breakfast.
250 ml. milk or cocoa, a piece of bread, a bagel or bun with butter, a slice of cheese or quality ham (unsmoked, low salt, no preservatives), vegetables or porridge with butter. Or cottage cheese with sour cream, a bun, tea. The calorie content of breakfast should be about 20% of the daily value.

Lunch.
The basis of the second breakfast should be fruits or vegetables; you can add bread or a cone (preferably whole grain or wholemeal). For example, bread or a horn with butter, a piece of ham or boiled meat, or a slice of cheese. Or cottage cheese and tea. Or an apple. Or grated carrots with sugar. Or vegetable salad and bread and butter. Or homemade bun (pie, not fried) and tea. The calorie content of second breakfast should be up to 15% of the daily value.

Dinner.
Sample menu: soup, borscht or other first course; vegetable stew or salad; boiled or stewed meat (or poultry, fish), meatballs; tea or compote. The calorie content of lunch should be up to 30-35% of the daily value.

Afternoon snack.
Tea and a bun or cheese cakes, pancakes or pancakes (with jam or sour cream). Or cottage cheese with sour cream. Or pudding, milk jelly, casserole. The calorie content of an afternoon snack should be 10% of the daily value.

Dinner.
As with the afternoon snack, the amount of food should be sufficient, but the food should be less caloric. When choosing a menu for dinner, you need to take into account what the child ate during the day and supplement with those necessary products that were not in his diet. Sample menu for dinner: a small amount of unsweetened porridge or pasta, boiled meat or fish, poultry, whole vegetables (cucumber, tomato, carrot) or as a salad. Tea. The calorie content of dinner should be 15-20% of the daily value.

Second dinner.
If your child is active from morning to evening, plays sports and expends a lot of energy, and is hungry after dinner, you can give him a second dinner. Sample menu for the second dinner: a glass of kefir, or a glass of white unsweetened yogurt, fermented baked milk, biscuits. Or an apple (pear, orange), or whole vegetables (cucumber, carrot, tomato).

Also make sure your child drinks enough throughout the day. The most suitable drink for a child is clean water.

Simple but sensible nutrition will only benefit your preschooler.

Good afternoon, dear parents. Today we will look at the basic principles of healthy nutrition for children, because eating right is very important - it is the basis of the health of any person. And for a child, eating right is especially important.

Food should give the body not only vital functions, but also growth, development, and lay a high-quality foundation for health. Nowadays, there are many varieties of products that can provide a child with everything he needs.

And for food to be beneficial, parents must adhere to some rules and principles of healthy nutrition for children.

What are the laws and principles of good nutrition?

We need to focus on natural products, put them in... The diet should not include substances that can harm the body. Nowadays, store shelves are full of products containing various chemicals, so it is quite difficult to comply with this.

Natural natural products are processed with those harmful additives so that they can be immediately consumed in finished form, and for home preparation.

To do this, you need to maximize the shelf life of the resulting products, and so that they look natural and fresh.

But this cannot be achieved without the use of preservatives, flavors and various dyes. And everyone, without a doubt, knows that all this is not good for the body.

So why not give children ready-made industrial ones at all?

Natural products should be a priority, of course, but there are exceptions when you can keep a few jars of ready-made canned puree and baby cereal in instant packs in reserve. The mother can use these products, for example, when she has a catastrophic problem with cooking, or in case the child is unwell, when it is difficult to chew and swallow other food. But you still shouldn’t get carried away with such products, and you should use them as rarely as possible.

Another principle of a healthy diet is its variety. An actively growing body needs proteins and fats, simple and complex carbohydrates, as well as microelements, vitamins and mineral compounds every day. How can a mother try to ensure that all this variety is included in the child’s daily diet?

Every mother tries to feed her child everything and more, guided by the fact that the body itself will accept what it needs and eliminate what it doesn’t need naturally. But this is not at all correct. Anything in excess is very harmful, since the body needs a lot of time and energy to digest all the excess food.

Only a variety of dishes and products can provide the baby’s body with everything it needs. For example, today there is cottage cheese for breakfast, tomorrow - an omelet, the day after tomorrow - porridge, it would be nice if the porridge was different every day, they need to be alternated.

For lunch or dinner, you need to add sweet red pepper every day. It contains a lot of vitamins, especially vitamin C and beta-carotene.

Offer your child fresh vegetable salads every day. Let it be a few slices of tomato, grated carrots with an apple and walnuts. For lunch, always put boiled or stewed vegetables on the table: chopped carrots, broccoli florets, cauliflower and young beans. But cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocados need to be put raw.

If Mom herself willingly takes these vegetables from the plate and eats them, then the baby, looking at you, will also willingly gobble them up, and this will become a habit for him. What can you do if your child does not like these vegetables separately and is not yet used to them?

They need to be hidden in various puddings, casseroles, stuffed dishes such as peppers, cabbage rolls, tomatoes.

In meat dishes, you also need to strive for variety. They need to be prepared every day. After the age of three, there is no need to limit yourself to chopped dishes. You can cook beef stroganoff, liver, which can be stewed in sour cream, boil tongue, you can prepare a chop from the tenderloin, which needs to be carefully fried. It is better to choose vegetable side dishes.

It is useful to add variety to the first courses. Include pickle soup in the menu, and occasionally pearl barley soup with vegetables and crushed garlic. Barley and garlic will help strengthen the child's immunity. Brussels sprouts, which should be added to all vegetable soups, cabbage soup and borscht all year round, will also help strengthen the immune system. It contains a lot of vitamins.

The basic principles of healthy nutrition for children are to eat only freshly prepared dishes.

Within an hour or two, after preparing borscht, the amount of nutrients contained in beets, carrots and other components decreases. There are much more vitamins in buckwheat, oatmeal, and wheat porridge if it has just been removed from the stove, but when it is heated, even on the same day, it is much less.

Perhaps nothing devalues home-cooked food more than preparing food for several days and then reheating it.

Even after half an hour, after turning off the heat on the stove, some of the vitamins are lost, but after three hours we will be missing about forty percent of the nutrients. There are dishes that take a few minutes to prepare, and their subsequent heat treatment in a steamer or oven does not require constant attention. These include fish fillet with vegetables, baked eggplant and pumpkin.

Spinach soup seasoned with lemon juice, dill, hard-boiled egg, and sour cream is very healthy. It contains a lot of folic acid. Beetroot soup is also good, made from boiled beets and other vegetables in their skins. Using the latest products, in different versions, saves time and preserves all useful substances.

And the meat broth can be prepared for future use. Pour a set of “spring soup” or “ratatouille” into the boiling broth, plus any cabbage, and in just a few minutes the soup is ready.

It is very convenient to keep a freezer at home that maintains a temperature no higher than minus eighteen degrees. In it you can store vegetables and berries from your garden beds, thereby you can provide your child with useful substances all winter.

These foods should be frozen immediately after you pick them, placing them in plastic bags. Thus, you can freeze ready-made buckwheat porridge, dumplings, and pizza. If necessary, such dishes can be on your table in just a few minutes.

The basic principles of healthy nutrition for children are adherence to a strict regimen. Only with its help will you be able to organize your family’s life in order to get everything done without haste. But the most important thing is that the child needs the regime for proper digestion.

If your baby receives food at certain hours, then at these very hours he begins to produce gastric juice and an appetite appears, and the whole necessary process starts.

By the age of one and a half years, four meals a day are usually established: breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. It’s good if such a regime is accustomed to by the age of three, when the child goes to kindergarten. After waking up, you can give your baby a fermented milk drink with fruit or cereal fillings.

If after returning home the child immediately wants to have a snack, then there is no need to prevent this. A light snack will not prevent your baby from having a hearty dinner a couple of hours before bedtime. Thus, two or three snacks can be allowed between main meals.

If, at least in general terms, you try to follow all these four, then the baby will grow healthy and develop correctly!

Healthy nutrition is very important for a child. Thanks to nutritious and proper food, the body grows and develops correctly. The brain functions normally, the nervous, vascular, respiratory, cardiac and musculoskeletal systems are strengthened and respond adequately to the environment. The basics of nutrition for a healthy child include the right carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins and fats, fiber, micro- and macroelements. Don’t forget about the quality of the products and their naturalness. Only the best, because children are our continuation and future.

You always want to please your child with something tasty and sweet, but this is a “slippery slope.” Overfeeding a child leads to a variety of diseases, from damaged teeth to obesity. Remember, calorie intake and expenditure should be the same. That is, if a child loves chocolate and cakes, but also abuses sweets containing fast carbohydrates, sports should be present in his life!

It is important to divide your daily meals into 5-6 parts. Make sure your child drinks enough water per day.

Principles of children's healthy nutrition

The mandatory consumption of slow, healthy carbohydrates - energy, that is, a variety of cereals, should be unconditional. Accustom your children to oatmeal and buckwheat, rice and semolina porridge. Preferably for breakfast.

Add protein foods, which must be combined with fiber for the gastrointestinal tract to function properly. These are meat and fish (fish, by the way, is filled with the necessary elements for the growth and development of the child’s body), cottage cheese, kefir and milk, homemade yoghurts and fermented baked milk. Also nuts and seeds.

Fiber is a wide variety of vegetables; they are rich in such a complex of vitamins that no pharmaceutical product can replenish their quantity. In addition, eating raw herbs and vegetables. The basics of a healthy diet should include fruits, preferably in the first half of the day, as well as diluted freshly squeezed juices and natural fruit and vegetable purees. Don't forget about bread and butter, as fats are an essential component of a child's diet.

For sweets, it is better to consume marmalade and marshmallows, jelly and chocolate, in moderation. An excellent solution would be homemade bars with honey and dried fruits, cereals and cereals. Pamper your kids with cocoa and milk, and don’t forget to praise them after eating a plate of broccoli or zucchini.

Let’s dot all the i’s right away. What is the most important thing in a child's nutrition? Products must be of high quality. This doesn't mean expensive. This means - as natural as possible. Most of us live in cities, but even in the city you can try to bring your child’s nutrition closer to natural. For example, look for natural milk, eggs, and more often use vegetables and fruits from the garden.

I won't eat your...!
Everything is clear what should happen with these quality products. They should be eaten by your child with pleasure and gratitude. And if he doesn’t want to eat, if you heard: “I don’t want to!”, what should you do? Yes, let him not eat. Thank God, the war ended sixty years ago, and there is no need to eat at least something in reserve. Of course, there are families where there is so little money that even now the issue of physical survival is very acute. But if your family has the opportunity to eat not only tea with a bun and pasta, then everything is in order. A child will not starve himself to death.

The medal with the title “I don’t want!” there is another side. The child’s body, if its taste stereotypes have not yet been completely distorted, intuitively knows what it currently needs and what it does not. And here the question of family position arises. If you think that the child should eat what is given to him, this is your choice. But still, without following his demands, take a closer look at what exactly he doesn’t want. Adapt to the needs of his body. Maybe my son ate a kilogram of apples before lunch and was ready to continue, but the problem is that he ran out of apples. And stewed zucchini is now “out of the question” for his body. But my mother believes, and not without reason, that he is not in the restaurant. Need is need, and family is family. Then give him these unfortunate zucchini, give him a little, a drop. Out of principle. And for the afternoon snack, buy another kilogram of apples, let him eat.

Of course, this principle applies only to simple food. Common sense will tell you that the body cannot have a need to consume only sausages, muffins and cola every day. But vegetables, fruits, simple boiled meat or fish, prepared without any special frills, simple unsweetened porridge, eaten in huge quantities - this is exactly what the body needs. When the child’s need is satisfied, he may even forget that the buckwheat porridge or carrots he so adores today exists in the world. In the meantime, let him eat. Either he doesn’t eat, or he eats purely symbolically.

After all, has it ever occurred to you that every adult has an inalienable right to never eat, for example, fried onions or kiwi fruit? So why are we trying to deprive a child of the right not to like certain foods?

Compatible - incompatible
There are many different schools of thought in modern dietetics. Let everyone adhere to the food system that is closer and dearer to them or simply more convenient. But in addition to rights, parents have responsibilities, and their main responsibility is to raise their children healthy.

In the field of healthy nutrition, in our opinion, naturopaths hold the bar highest and longest of all. Their system has been used for over a hundred years. Without going into details that can be read in the books of Shelton, Bragg, Litvina, Shatalova and other famous authors (these books are now freely available on the shelves), let’s focus on the main thing. And the main thing in their system is the following: proteins and carbohydrates are digested in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, and therefore they must enter the body separately, with an interval of several hours.

Carbohydrate foods are digested in the intestines, in its alkaline environment. And protein is in the stomach, where it is broken down by acid, that is, gastric juice. If you give your child potatoes and meat, neither one nor the other will be properly absorbed. Result: we spent energy, time, money, love to nourish the child better, but he has undigested food in his body. Instead of benefit there is harm! But how easy it is to avoid this! Give your baby these same potatoes with vegetables for lunch, and cook a piece of meat for dinner, also with vegetables, and now everything is learned, the product is used for future use. The same applies to bread with sausage, pasta with meat gravy, duck with porridge, chicken with potatoes, fish with mashed potatoes... The list goes on. Naturopaths have proven that just by eating proteins and carbohydrates separately, at intervals of several hours, you can even cure diseases.

Proteins are any meat, fish, poultry. Carbohydrates are cereals, potatoes, pasta, bread. They are incompatible with each other. But both of them are perfectly compatible with raw vegetables, which should begin and accompany every meal, making up at least 60% of the daily diet. Remember, classical dietology talks about this. Simple, tasty, healthy and not burdensome for a child’s delicate body!

Broth for the sick
Typical situation: a child is sick. He lies there, unhappy, and looks pitifully. I really want to console him, please him, give him something tasty! And then the grandmother arrived: “What, he still hasn’t been fed?! He doesn’t have the strength to fight the disease! The body needs strength! More broth soon!”

So: everything should actually be exactly the opposite. Let’s make a reservation: we are not talking about protracted, complex illnesses. Something like a standard acute respiratory infection, flu, sore throat is discussed. Remember: in the acute phase of the child’s illness there is no need to feed! If he is lying down with a fever, or without a fever, but is very unwell, simply do not offer him food. Now when he asks for food, then it’s a different matter. Then - go ahead, mom!

Squeeze the juice the way he likes it. Cut a peeled apple into pieces, separate a sweet orange into slices. If it's summer, offer any fruits or berries. Make cranberry or currant juice with honey. But - in moderation! Yes, he himself won’t eat or drink much. If you don't want it anymore, you don't need it. If he asks for more, give him more. Usually, for the first day or two during illness, children limit themselves to fruit. It happens even longer.

The basic principle: while you are sick, if possible, you should not give food that is difficult and takes a long time to digest; vegetables, lactic acid products are best, and later - porridge. On such a diet, the child will recover much faster.

By the way, the notorious broths certainly belong to difficult-to-digest foods. Some nutritionists believe that broths are very unhealthy even for healthy people, because they are an extract of all the harmful things that are in meat. It is much better to give the child, when he is seriously hungry, a piece of well-cooked meat, boiled in several successively drained waters. The meat can be ground to make it easier to chew if the baby is still weak.

Of course, let's be reasonable. When a sick baby, sobbing, asks for a chocolate bar or a cutlet, only an evil stepmother will refuse. But keep a sober view of things, such food is only a concession to his grief, and not at all something useful that promotes recovery.

Dairy and lactic acid products
Let's take an unbiased look: which mammal uses milk after emerging from infancy? None! It’s very simple: when a baby emerges from infancy, his production of those enzymes that are capable of 100% breaking down the milk that has entered the gastrointestinal tract dies off, because nature in its evolution is economical and expedient and therefore quite reasonably removed from the body what was in Natural conditions after infancy will never be useful to him again. This enzymatic ability to split is subsequently retained only in an insignificant part of individuals.

Note: if you still consider it necessary to give your child milk, provided that he tolerates it well and is not allergic to it, then we recommend that you consider the following:

1. It is best to give your child natural goat milk if possible.

2. If you are interested in the best nutrition for your baby, make sure your baby gets natural milk rather than something sterile from a bag. As a rule, if you really want to, you can buy milk from pets. Spare no time in searching, no time in delivery, no spare no money - everything will pay off handsomely when the child grows up.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Yogurt
In recent years, there has been a general transition of the population to yoghurt. Curdled milk is no longer held in high esteem, although in vain. They are no less useful.

Cottage cheese
Yes, yes, yes, children should eat cottage cheese. Again, natural if possible. And again, unsweetened. If you want to make it tastier, add sour cream. If you want it sweeter, add raisins and dried apricots. Top with good yoghurt. Add milk and add a little salt. As a last resort, add a little jam or honey, although this option is a last resort if you have already accustomed your child to sweet curds.

Cheese
As a rule, children love cheese. And great! Cheese contains a lot of calcium, it is a very healthy product. True, the product is concentrated, so you don’t need to eat a lot of it. But a couple of sandwiches with cheese, and if eaten with raw vegetables, and not with sweet tea, and if on bread, and not on a bun, is excellent food, extremely healthy and well-balanced.

Ice cream

Fruits and vegetables

Raw fruits and vegetables are the basis of your child's healthy diet. Normally, they make up at least 60% of everything a child eats per day.

Lots and lots of carbohydrates (bread, cereals, potatoes)

Bread

SIMPLE RECIPE

Sprouted wheat is possible - and necessary! - give the child a little every day, 50-100 grams, the easiest way is just whole sprouted grains. They are tasty. Just be sure to follow two conditions.

First: the sprouts must be white; green ones are considered poisonous. If the sprouts become overgrown, put them in the refrigerator, where they will stop growing.

And before giving your child raw sprouted grains, rinse them again under running water and quickly pour boiling water over them.

Porridge

Crushed cereals are less useful, but since they cook faster, they can always help us out when we don’t have enough time. We are talking about barley and corn grits, wheat.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Cereals obtained from grains that are completely devoid of shells and germ, that is, completely “dead,” are completely unsuitable for baby food. This is semolina and white rice.

Naturopaths do not recommend cooking porridge with milk! Cereals are incompatible with milk. But it is a mistake to believe that porridge can only be eaten empty: cereal and water.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Potato

This means there is no need to eat it with meat and fish. Do not create fermentation in the child’s stomach.

SIMPLE RECIPE

Pasta

Basic principles of healthy and proper nutrition for children. Healthy eating for children

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Principles of children's healthy nutrition