What does it mean to eat healthy?
You’re busy. I get it.
So, I’ll get right to the point.
Healthy eating boils down to two things: eating real, whole foods and moderation.
That’s it.
Ensuring your kids get lots of the good stuff- fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, healthy fats and dairy (or non-dairy alternatives) so they stay healthy and allowing the occasional treat so they stay happy.
Of course, this advice can be interpreted in a million different ways, depending on your dietary needs, but it still boils down to the same things.
If your child can’t have dairy, look for dairy alternatives- just make sure they’re fortified with calcium and vitamin D.
Vegetarian? Lean protein is still vital for growth. Skip the meat and poultry and choose beans and legumes, whole grains, soy products, eggs and diary.
This guide will help get you going, but tweak and adjust as you and your family need.
When it comes to feeding your kids healthy foods, the focus should be on nourishing the body via the consumption of whole foods.
What are “whole foods”?
We’re talking, fruits, legumes, whole grains, vegetables, proteins and more that have been minimally processed.
Let’s talk a bit about processing. It’s a quick but important side bar we need to take.
Processing has become a bit of a dirty word in the food world, but not all “processing” is bad. Processing means altering the food from its original form. Minimally processed foods are often just as healthy and usually more convenient.
Canned beans have been processed to a certain degree but are infinitely easier to use. Frozen vegetables, applesauce, almond flour/butter, herbs in a tube, etc.- all have been processed.
It’s all about the extent of the processing. Let’s look at corn.
- Corn on the cob has been minimally processed- you’ve cooked it and added salt and pepper (all of which are kinds of processing) but you can still identify it as an ear of corn, you can also pick out all the additions- the salt and the pepper.
- Creamed corn has been processed further- with a little imagination we can still see how it was corn, once. It’s probably not a great choice since there are some questions about what else is in there to make it look like that.
- And now think of corn chips- sure, they say corn, but nothing in that bag looks like that original ear of corn. At all. Definitely not a great choice as we wouldn’t have a clue where it came from if the bag didn’t specifically label them as “corn chips”
So, where do we draw that line in the sand?
If you can’t identify what the food originally was or where it came from, give that food a pass. That means eating the food in it’s natural, whole food form most of the time.
If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it’s made in a plant, skip it.
Manufacturers are getting wise- they slap lots of fun buzzwords onto labels with the intention of getting consumers to believe their products are less processed and closer to “real food” than they truly are. “100% Natural”, “Made with Whole Grains”, “Made with Real Fruit” and more in an attempt to get your hard-earned dollars.
They all sound good like they’re products make with whole foods. But the reality? Those terms don’t mean anything. Sure, that product may have a pinch of whole grains or you may be able to spot the real fruit with a microscope, but those terms are misleading at best. And the term “natural”? No one regulates it, meaning anyone can say anything is “natural”. Don’t fall for it.
Thriving Through Healthy Eating
Healthy eating can mean different things to different people, there is lots of room for interpretation (we touched on it a bit above), but there are a few things that remain true when it comes to healthy eating.
No matter what your dietary preferences or what foods your kids can and will eat, their growing bodies need certain nutrients. Feeding them a variety of unprocessed, unrefined, wholesome food will provide them with the key nutrients they need.
What do your kids need to feel good and stay healthy?
To grow and thrive, kids need a constant supply of nutrients from a well-balanced diet. A good diet should contain plenty of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide the body with the energy it needs to be active. Everything from breathing to blinking to running to tummy time uses energy and carbohydrates are the best source of energy for the body.
There are two main forms of carbohydrates: simple and complex.
Simple carbohydrates are sugars. They include fructose, glucose, lactose and galactose. Complex carbohydrates are made up of those sugars as well, but because there are more of the sugars, they take longer to break down.
All carbohydrates are broken down in the body into simple sugars. Think of carbohydrates as a lego tower. Complex carbohydrates are five, ten, twenty or more legos long. Simple carbohydrates are one or two legos long.
Now, imagine taking those lego towers apart.
It takes a lot longer to break down the bigger stack of legos into individual legos than it does to break down the lego towers that are only one or two legos.
This is essentially what is happening in the body. Complex carbs take a long time to break down into simple sugars. Because of this complex carbs provide long-lasting energy for the body.
Simple carbs take almost no time or effort to break down, so the body uses them- and uses them up- quickly. They provide a burst of energy and then a crash (a cycle we’re all too familiar with!) as they are used up.
Simple carbs cause the glucose levels in the blood to spike, triggering an insulin response. When there is glucose floating around in the blood, the body releases insulin to help get glucose into the cells where it belongs and out of the bloodstream. But, when there is too much glucose, the body can overshoot and release too much insulin causing blood sugar levels to drop too low. When this happens the body starts looking for a quick pick me up- usually in the form of more simple sugars.
It’s a vicious cycle, one that can lead to kids craving and eating excessive simple sugars.
Simple sugars are found in highly processed carbohydrates like white flour or sugars from granulated sugar and coconut sugar to agave syrup. Soda, candy and baked goods tend to contain plenty of simple carbohydrates.
Another problem with many simple carbohydrates?
As these foods are highly refined or processed, they are stripped of many of the nutrients that they would otherwise naturally contain. This is why they are often known as “empty carbs”- they contain plenty of calories but almost no essential nutrients.
When your kiddo munches on beans, sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat berries, fruits and vegetables and other whole food sources of carbohydrates they are fueling their bodies with complex carbs (and all the nutrition that comes along with these unrefined carbs!). Because it takes the body longer to break those down into simple sugars the simple sugars don’t overload the bloodstream, the body is able to release a measured amount of insulin and the gradually released sugar is escorted into the cells where it is used as energy. Complex carbs leave your kids with the lasting energy they need to get through the day.
Simple sugars are sometimes naturally found in healthy foods like fruit. This doesn’t mean your kids should avoid fruit or other healthy foods just because they contain simple sugars.
Why not?
There is a third kind of carbohydrate: fiber.
Fiber is a carbohydrate that cannot be digested by the body. It helps slow down the absorption of sugars. It also helps sweep the body out, preventing constipation. Fruit, vegetables and other complex carbs often contain plenty of fiber. This helps prevent fruits and other foods containing simple sugars from causing blood sugar spikes and crashes.
A quick note about juice: even 100% juice is high in simple carbohydrates. When fruit is juiced, all the fiber has been removed. Without the fiber there is nothing to slow down the absorption of the simple sugars. Because of this juice should only be consumed in small amounts and only occasionally.
By providing complex carbohydrates in the form of whole grains, fruits and vegetables most of the time you’re providing your children with the all-day energy they need to live their busy, adventurous little lives.
Protein
Another macronutrient (meaning your body needs it in larger quantities), protein is responsible for restoring and repairing tissue. Proteins are behind the production of hormones, enzymes, skin, and blood and are known as the “building blocks of life”.
Yes, protein is a very important part of your childs diet. Yes, it’s important to make sure they have an adequate amout.
But, just because some is good, does not mean more is better.
Kids need a balance of protein and the other macronutrients, carbohydrates and fat. Only about 10-30% of kids calories need to come from protein.
Most kids in developed countries get plenty of protein.
How much is enough?
Generally, 3-4 servings of protein per day will do. That can come from dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt etc.), lean meat (chicken, beef, pork), fish, eggs, beans/legumes, soy products and other foods. Animal proteins will give your kids the biggest bang for their buck, while they may require a bit more if they eat plant proteins.
Many kid favorites pack protein- think grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks and peanut butter and jelly- so even picky eaters tend to get enough protein.
Are we advocating for fish sticks and chicken nuggets? No. Choosing higher quality proteins- proteins that more closely resemble the food they originally came from- more often gives your kids the most nutrition.
Although there are special cases where some kids may need additional protein or protein in the form of protein shakes, in general, these are not advised as most kids are getting plenty of protein. However, if you have any questions or concerns, ask your dietitian or pediatrician.
TALK ABOUT importance of LEAN protein or grass fed and finished organic IN VIDEO- importance of avoiding toxins
Fat
The final macronutrient kids need is fat.
Fats have a number of benefits in the body from building tissues and hormones to helping bodies absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, K and E. It’s also essential for kids developing brains and growth.
Of course, not all fats are created equal.
There are four kinds of fats: monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, saturated fats and trans fats.
Although there is plenty of debate about the merits of saturated fat (more on that in a minute) one thing everyone can agree on is trans fats are no good and should be avoided.
Trans fats raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes and increase inflammation throughout the body. While it’s not likely that your toddler is going to develop heart disease, there is evidence that too much trans fat in childhood lays the groundwork for these diseases later in life. Trans fats should be limited to 1% of calories per day– for kids, this ranges from 1g for young kids (2-3 years old) up to 2-3g for kids 14-18 years old.
Trans fats have been in the American diet since 1900. Manufacturers love them because they’re cheap, they increase the shelf life of foods and they provide a pleasant texture to food. When they are used for frying, they can be used many times over, more than other kinds of fat.
The detrimental effects of trans fats are well documented, in fact, the FDA no longer recognizes them as GRAS (generally recognized as safe). However, shockingly, the FDA still allows them in foods, as long as the amount is stated on the label. What’s more, the FDA allows foods to say they have zero grams of trans fat even if they contain up to 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Though that may not seem like a lot, it can add up quickly- if your child eats more than one serving of a food or eats three or four foods each containing 0.5g of trans fat they can easily reach or exceed the 1g- 2g limit of trans fat per day.
The best way to avoid trans fats is to read the ingredient list and look for the words “partially hydrogenated“. Any oils or fats that are partially hydrogenated are a source of trans fat. You’ll most likely find them in baked goods, margarine, and convenience foods.
Another fat we can all agree on is Omega-3 fats. Unlike trans fats, however, we love these healthy fats which are essential for developing a healthy nervous system, key to brain and heart health and play a role in healthy eye function.
They’re anti-inflammatory as well and their role in neurotransmitter function may help manage psychological and behavioral conditions. It’s no wonder we love these wonderful fats!
Find omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish (like salmon, tuna, sardines and anchovies), as well as certain brands of milk, eggs and meats. They can be found in their precursor form, alpha-linolenic acid, in chia, hemp and flax seeds and walnuts.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a kind of polyunsaturated fatty acid. In general, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats are considered healthy fats.
Mono and polyunsaturated fats provide the body with the fat it needs while keeping it healthy. Mono and polyunsaturated fats keep cholesterol levels under control, protect the heart and have health benefits.
Nuts and nut butter, seeds, olives and olive oil, avocados (and avocado oil), chia, hemp and flax seeds, and fatty fish are good sources of heart healthy fats. Canola oil, corn oil, soy oil and vegetable oil are also sources of unsaturated fats, but they’re so highly refined and often made from GMO products, so I don’t often recommend them.
What about saturated fats?
For years saturated fats were maligned for their detrimental health effects and raising the risk of heart disease. Then, suddenly, butter was back and saturated fats were all the rage again. What gives?
Here’s what happened: folks were removing saturated fats from their diets and they were still getting heart disease. This led to the conclusion that saturated fats were not the culprit after all. Seems logical, right?
Except you have to look deeper- when folks gave up saturated fats they were often replacing those fats with fat-free products that were high in processed carbohydrates, sugar and refined grains. Turns out, those are worse than saturated fats when it comes to heart disease.
Why? Because they are converted to saturated fat in the body, increasing the amounts of saturated fat in the blood stream.
What you replace saturated fat with matters greatly. Replacing it with sugar and refined carbs leads to more heart disease. Replacing it with mono and polyunsaturated fats lead to less heart disease.
So, all that to say: saturated fat does raise the risk of heart disease, but when replacing saturated fat, skip the “fat-free” highly processed foods and instead opt for foods with monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
Some saturated fats, like full fat dairy, may even have a beneficial effect for the heart. However, that doesn’t give full fat dairy a pass as more research is needed.
If you have a child under 2 years of age restricting their fat intake can cause issues with growth and development. Until they are 2 years of age, fat should make up the majority of kids’ calories.
After age 2, kids should switch to lower fat dairy, but they should continue to get plenty of healthy fats and trans fats should always be avoided. At about 5 years of age, a childs eating pattern should be similar to yours- about 30% of calories should come from fat, with most of those coming from mono and polyunsaturated fats.
TALK ABOUT HOW TO CHOOSE FATS IN VIDEO- importance of not getting oxidized fats (nuts, oils, fryer oil). Talk about lean meats and avoiding conventionally raised animal fats. Talk about a small study looking at the effects of replacing some of the sugar allowed in the DASH diet with saturated dairy fats. The DASH diet was developed by NIH to help lower blood pressure.Participants who ate saturated dairy fat instead of sugar had less of a fat called triglycerides in their bloodstream. The higher-fat diet was also as effective at lowering blood pressure as the standard DASH diet.
What Else do kids need?
There are three macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates and protein), nutrients kids need in relatively large quantities. But, they also need micronutrients, nutrients they need in small quantities- namely, vitamins and minerals.
They may only need small amounts of vitamins and minerals, but they are necessary for a variety of functions within the body from growth and development to healthy organ function and mood. Minerals such as calcium support the development of strong bones and teeth while iron helps to carry oxygen in the blood. Our best sources of vitamins and minerals are fruits and vegetables, but lean meats, whole grains and fats also contain essential vitamins and minerals.
Last but not the least, water.
The body cannot survive without water. Kids, like adults, are mostly water – it makes up 60% of human body weight. Some of its functions in the body include lubricating the joints, flushing waste out through urine, regulation of the body’s internal temperature, and metabolism and transportation of nutrients in the body.
Principles of Healthy Eating
Now that you’ve got a little more insight into nutrition and how important good nutrition is for kids, let’s get down to the basic principles of healthy eating.
- Stick Primarily to Whole Foods
“Whole foods” refers to foods that have not been modified, enhanced or tampered with excessively. Applesauce, canned beans, frozen fish, precut herbs in a tube are all fine, but things like fish sticks, corn chips and juice drinks? Maybe think again. Figure out where you draw the line. These foods are convenient and are fine for “sometimes foods”, but the bulk of kids’ diets should be foods that grow on a plant, not come from a plant. Make sure you provide your kids with a wide variety of high-quality carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains) lean proteins like grass-fed meats, legumes, eggs and dairy, and healthy fats such as avocados and nuts.
- Watch out for Refined Carbs and Added Sugars
Food manufacturers often add sugars to processed foods to improve their flavor, taste, texture or simply to preserve them. Too many refined carbs and added sugars can pose a serious risk to kids’ health. Weight gain, blood sugar problems and heart disease are all risks. These in turn can lead to far more serious complications. White flour and things made from white flour including baked goods, and sugar in all its forms are considered highly refined carbs. Sugar is not always easy to spot in foods. There are 61 different names for sugar (see the list here), any one of which could be lurking in foods your kids eat regularly from spaghetti sauce to granola to bread. Drinks are another big culprit when it comes to added sugars. Soda packs a sugary punch and while much is made about the “natural” sugar in 100% juice, even 100% fruit juice often contains as much or more sugar than soda.
- Reduce Take Out, Fast Foods and Restaurant Meals
When you cook your food, you know what goes into it. You also know what’s not in it- added sugars, preservatives etc. You know what items were fresh and which ones were more convenience type foods and you know exactly how they were cooked.
I am a big fan of making treats at home vs buying them. When you measure out the sugar for cookies, you see exactly how much is going into them. You also only add real food ingredients, no emulsifiers, preservatives or weird, hard to pronounce ingredients.
It’s wonderful to have nights you don’t have to cook (believe me, I get that), but when you make those nights the exception rather than the norm you know that your family’s overall diet is still a healthy one and that the occasional deep-fried meal won’t set them up for heart disease down the road, thanks to their healthy foundation.
You’ll also save yourself a big chunk of change.
Instead of ordering takeout, find time during the weekend to go grocery shopping to enable you to prep your meals for the week if you find that you are short on free time during the week.
- Pay Attention to Ingredient Lists
Remember, there are 61 different names for sugar. If a product has less than 0.5g of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled “trans fat” free. In order to find the very best products for your family, you have to be a detective, and the best way to find the truth about a product is to read the ingredients list. Ingredients are listed in descending order so you’ll know if a product has a lot or a little of something. If you see a product with 14 different ingredients and the final one is sugar, you can bet there is not too much added sugar there. However, if a product has 8 ingredients and 4 of them are different kinds of sugar, you can bet it’s got plenty of added sugar.
IN the video- show how to read a label, talk about the new label.
- Drink Lots of Water
Water should be the primary beverage for kids over 1 year of age at meals. The amount they need varies by age. For kids age 1-3 years 1-4 cups of water a day are recommended. For kids 4-5 it jumps up to 1.5-5 cups a day and from there, kids should be drinking 7-10 cups a day or more if they’re active or during the heat of summer. Water flushes the system of harmful toxins, helps keep energy levels high and regulates body temperature.
How to Make the Switch to Healthier Eating
Try to focus on developing a sustainable healthy eating habit by making small changes one step at a time instead of overwhelming yourself with everything at once.
Swap out whole grains: start by using half whole grains and half refined grains. Make a sandwich with one slice of white bread and one slice of whole wheat. Make half of your pasta whole grain and half white pasta. In cookies and bread, swap out half the flour for whole-grain flour. Gradually increase the amounts of whole grains until you and your family are used to them.
Don’t forget, kid favorites like oatmeal and popcorn are whole grains as well!
Use a similar technique with other foods. Gradually choose leaner cuts of animal proteins, introduce plant proteins slowly. Add small amounts of fatty fish to foods while kids get used to the stronger flavors and gradually increase it.
Switch out your fats: use olive oil and avocado oil in your cooking. Choose heart healthy fats more often and skip the butter and anything with “partially hydrogenated” anything.
Start serving slightly more fruits and vegetables at meals. Don’t make eating them a requirement, but encourage kids to explore new foods and textures. Model eating fruits and vegetables yourself- kids learn from their parents example.
If they hate a new vegetable at first, that’s ok. Don’t force them to eat it. Try again a few days later, maybe prepared in a different way. For example, instead of cooked beets, try raw shredded beets mixed with shredded apples or carrots. Instead of steamed broccoli try roasted.
Serve a vegetable as an “appetizer”. This can be as simple as a salad or whatever vegetable you’re serving with dinner or as fancy as your imagination allows (a few fun ideas here, here and here). Not only can this feel special, but hungry kids are more likely to eat their vegetables when that’s what’s in front of them than kids who have lots of other options.
Finally, Moderation.
Because kids are kids.
They want to eat candy for breakfast lunch and dinner. If they can’t have candy they’ll settle for chicken nuggets with ALL the ketchup.
They’re going to go to birthday parties and spend the weekend with Grandma.
So let them. Well, not the candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner part, but let them eat cereal for dinner once in a while. Let them enjoy their chicken nuggets, even if you can’t quite tell what part of the nugget exactly is the chicken.
Allowing kids to eat what they want to eat on occasion helps to build a healthy relationship with food. If a food is “off-limits” or not allowed, it becomes all the more desirable, which can lead to disordered eating behaviors.
Plus, cookies are delicious and make life more fun.
Kids preferences and food habits are developed at a young age. Help your kids build a healthy foundation now by providing a healthy, well-balanced diet most of the time, allow treats in moderation, and model healthy eating yourself.
And don’t sweat it when things go awry once in a while.
Instead of worrying about the amount of added sugars or saturated fat in a diet or focusing on a single nutrient, look at the big picture. A healthy dietary pattern, overall, is what matters. Getting plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, fats and whole grains is most important. The occasional cookie, birthday cake or weekend at Grandma’s won’t derail a kid if they’ve got a solid foundation.