Balancing Meals: How to Avoid Overloading Your Child’s Diet

1. Balancing Meals: How to Avoid Overloading Your Child’s Diet

2. It can be a task to make sure that kids are eating wholesome meals with all essential nutrition. As parents, you need to offer them nutrition rich food to support their kid’s growth without overwhelming their diet. Overloading their meals can make it harder for them to complete their meals and get the nutrition they require. This blog will guide you on how to create healthy balanced meals that meet your child’s nutritional needs.

3. The Importance of Balanced Meals • Balanced meals provide children with adequate calories, proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients are required to perform a wide range of functions in the body. A balanced diet can be achieved by eating a variety of foods during meal times.  • However, overloading plates to make sure every vital nutrient is consumed is not an ideal option. In place of doing this, parents can divide meals in 3 courses so that children can have adequate meals that they enjoy.  • When you aim for healthy balanced meals, it’s not just about adding more food to the plate but making sure that each meal serves a specific purpose. 

4. Steps to Create Healthy Balanced Meals for Kids • 1. Follow the Food Group Guidelines • Include the 10 food groups suggested by ICMR 2020 to make sure that children consumed all essential nutrients. The 10 good groups include: • Cereals and millets • Pulses • Vegetables • Nuts, oil, seeds and fats • Green leafy vegetables • Fruits • Dairy • Roots and tubers • Flesh foods • Spices and herbs • ICMR suggests that out of these 10 food groups, 5-7 should be consumed daily and the rest atleast twice a week. 

5. 2. Watch Portion Sizes • Kids have a smaller appetite so they can only eat small portions of food. Overloading their plates will lead to food wastage or overeating. Offer more food if kids are still hungry.  • 3. Spread balanced meal through the day • Plan meals in a way that food groups get divided between breakfast, lunch, healthy snack and dinner. Rather than overloading with everything at once, spread the food throughout the day.  This will help in variety as well.  • 4. Minimise Junk Foods • While occasional treats are fine, excessive junk food can disrupt the balance of your child’s diet. Limit their sugar, salt and junk intake and rather offer them some homemade healthy snack options.  • 5. Make It Fun • Children are more likely to enjoy meals that look appealing. Use colourful ingredients and creative presentations, such as making fruit kebabs or arranging veggies into fun shapes. Pair these with a fortified drink like Complan to make sure they’re getting essential nutrients.

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid • Ignoring Hunger Cues: Forcing children to eat when they’re not hungry can create negative associations with food and discourage them in completing their meals.  • Overusing Processed Foods: Even if they seem convenient, processed foods lack the essential nutrients found in whole foods. • Skipping Meals: Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can disrupt a child’s metabolism and energy levels. Make sure that children do not skip meals. • Forgetting Hydration: Encourage your child to drink water or nutrient-rich drinks like Complan instead of sugary sodas or juices.

7. Conclusion • Creating healthy balanced meals for your child is about quality over quantity. Focus on incorporating nutrient-rich foods in appropriate portions to avoid overloading their diet. With the right mix of food groups and portion control, you can help your child receive the nutrition they need to thrive. • You can include Complan, a nutritional drink in their diet to add extra nutrition. It contains 100% milk protein and 34 vital nutrients to support kids in consuming wholesome nutrition.  Start today by making simple adjustments to your child’s meals and watch them flourish! • Image Source: https://www.strong4life.com/

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