6 Best Foods to Feed your Children and Why

Good nutrition is essential during childhood, as it is a time of rapid growth, development, and activity. Indeed, it has been scientifically proven that what children eat and drink during their early years can affect their health for many years to come. General eating habits are formed in the first few years of life, so it is important that we encourage our children to eat nutritious food.

So the question is: what really constitutes nutritious food? Here are 6 of our best picks.

1. Apples

We all know that fruit is good. But why?

Fruit in general contains lots of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Different types of fruit contain different vitamins and minerals, so the more different types your toddler eats, the better. We chose apples as our top fruit for many reasons: firstly, because it is easily found in most countries, most often at a fairly reasonable price. Apples are a great snack food because they are juicy and sweet and they are also a great source of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that helps keep your toddler's body cells healthy and protects them from infections. An unpeeled whole apple has, on average, 5 grams of fiber, which is important to keep the digestive tract moving along as it should.

However, parents need to be careful of the “kid-friendly” versions of apples that might not be as nutritious as you might think: for instance, although your child might prefer apple juice over a simple apple, the nutrients you get from an apple are far greater than you get in juice. Indeed, apple juice is really high in sugar, encourages tooth decay, and is low in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

2. Sweet Potatoes

Starchy foods provide energy, nutrients and some fibre. Although wholegrain starchy food is also a great alternative, it is not recommended to limit your kid’s diet exclusively to wholegrain until at least the age of two. This is because wholegrain foods can be high in fibre and they may fill your child up before they have taken in the calories and nutrients they need.

Luckily, sweet potatoes provide all the benefits of starchy foods while limiting the downsides. Sweet potatoes contain more calories, carbohydrates and fat than regular boiled potatoes. In terms of fiber, both sweet potatoes and potatoes contain similar amounts. However, boiled potatoes contain almost twice the amount of starch compared to boiled sweet potatoes. Although starch is a good source of energy and nutrients, diets with high levels of refined starches are linked to a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and weight gain, so this is why it is widely recommended not to overdo the amount of starch in your diet. Moreover, sweet potatoes are often more appealing to kids because of their sweeter taste, so it might be easier to find recipes to whet their appetite.

3. Beans

Young children need protein and iron to grow and develop. Beans are a great source of both: they are rich in plant protein, fiber, B-vitamins, iron, folate, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. Most beans are also low in fat. Beans, like apples, are cheap, very easy to find, and take little time to prepare.

Studies show people who eat beans have better control of their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol and have a lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes and cancer. Although these may not be a concern for your kids when they’re young, the way they eat now will set the stage for their diet later on in life so it makes sense to start early.

Unfortunately, beans can seem boring and bland for some kids and often the texture is enough to turn them off for good. Some tips to help you feed beans to your kids despite their distaste could be to feed them as an appetiser (so as to take advantage of their hunger) or make a bean dip, which seems to be much more appreciated by kids compared to normal beans.

4. Eggs

Similar to beans, eggs are a good source of protein and contain some iron and many other vitamins and minerals. Although eggs do contain cholesterol, they do not contain a lot of saturated fat, which is the more important factor in raising a person's cholesterol level. As such, an egg every other day is fine for most kids.

Breakfast is a great occasion to serve eggs to your kids: studies have shown that eating eggs at breakfast increases feelings of fullness, reduces calorie intake at the next meal and helps maintain steady blood sugar and insulin levels. Moreover, eggs can be prepared in so many different ways that it will be hard not to find one that your kids enjoy: scrambled, boiled, poached and so on.

Although doctors used to recommend not giving eggs until babies were 12 months old, research now shows that introducing allergenic foods between 6 and 12 months may help prevent food allergies.

5. Fish

Fish is a highly nutritious food for young children, providing a range of benefits, including omega-3 essential fatty acids that nurture brain development and a healthy nervous system.

Good fish to try with young children include tuna (great mixed with sweetcorn), fish fingers/fish sticks (including homemade versions) and grilled white fish (which typically have a delicate taste that kids like). You will need to help your child to remove small fish bones and skin, but fostering a love of fish at a young age will encourage healthy eating habits later on.

Where possible, always try to buy locally caught and sustainably fished products.

6. Vegetables (ALL!)

It might be a cliché but vegetables are the best possible food to feed your kids. While some fruits might have high levels of sugar that is not ideal for children, vegetables have no downsides!

Vegetables give your child energy, vitamins, anti-oxidants, fibre and water. They help protect your child against chronic diseases later in life, including heart disease, stroke and some cancers. A diet cannot be considered healthy unless it includes plenty of vegetables.

As we all know, feeding vegetables to young children is not an easy task, however it is crucial not to give up! Eventually, your child is going to learn to appreciate vegetables and this will turn out to be extremely beneficial for the rest of his/her lifetime.