Children Diets
We are seeing a growing surge of adults and children getting obese. There is also something else that is happening behind the scenes. Children are developing eating disorders and not getting proper nutrition. This can be a very bad thing from a developmental standpoint as at this age, children are setting the tone for their bodies for the rest of their lives.
Children can sometimes get the wrong idea about what is a desirable way to eat to achieve proper health. The massive amount of media that children are exposed to can sometimes give a bad example of what is normal and healthy as a child. In the early stages of development for a child there are several things that should and should not be found in the daily diet in order for the child to progress normally.
Complex carbohydrates should be found in children’s diets because it breaks down slower than simple sugars and can be used more effectively as a long lasting energy source. This comes into play when children are required to concentrate in class for long periods in order to learn new material. The brains main source of fuel is glucose, which is the end product of ingesting complex carbohydrates. If only simple sugars like candy are eaten, not only will a child gain weight but will experience wild energy fluctuations.
 Of course most parents are aware of the food pyramid but it does get hard to prepare healthy meals when both parents are on the go. Creating full meals for your children that include meats, vegetables and grains requires a lot of preparation. There are ways to facilitate this that are not as demanding as you would think.
To fulfill the vegetable requirement, frozen vegetables are a great replacement and quite quick to prepare and add to a main meal. Grains can come in the form of whole wheat breads and shredded wheat cereals at breakfast. Fruits are very easy and simply need to be purchased and kept available in an easy to reach location.
Meats seem to cause the most problem because it doesn’t keep as well once prepared as some other food groups. However if you buy a bulk package of chicken breasts and then as soon as you get home from the grocery store break it up into family size servings your on the right track. Store three or four chicken breasts in a zip lock an throw them all in the freezer. From here it is simply a matter of pulling the chicken out in the morning and letting it thaw in the fridge all day. When you get home you can throw some BBQ sauce in the zip lock, shake it around and throw it on the BBQ for a couple of minutes. Done.
With your chicken it is always nice to have a side dish prepared. Salads will always work but here is an idea for something different. Cook in bulk. Cook up several cups of rice and then store them in family size servings in zip locks. When you want a side of rice you can just pull it out warm it up and serve. You could also add chicken broth or maybe some peas and corn to spice it up a little. There is also yams and potatoes that can be bulk cooked and stored. Yams can be bulk cooked and then warmed up with a little cinnamon to add flavor.
There are a ton of options available, its just a matter of getting out of the box literally. Once you start bulk preparing your meals and stop opening boxes from the grocery store you will end up saving money and providing a great platform for your children to launch their future off of.
