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Food Groups in Childcare

Posted on | October 1, 2010 | No Comments

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To help preschoolers eat healthy, it is important to give them a large variety of food choices. At this age, the amount of any particular food they eat is much less important than having a well rounded diet. A child’s appetite may even decrease over the next few years as her growth rate slows. As a parent, you have little to worry about as long as your child is still gaining weight and has a normal activity level. But how do you decide what choices to make at home? And what should you be looking for in a child care or daycare facility who feeds your preschooler during the day?

There are six basic food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meats, and finally fats.

A preschool serving of the grain group is one slice of bread, ½ cup of cooked pasta or rice, ½ cup of cooked cereal, or one ounce of ready to eat cereal. A child should eat six grain servings a day. It is helpful to make as many of these as possible whole grain, such as whole wheat bread or pasta.

A vegetable group serving consists of ½ cup of chopped or raw vegetables or 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables. Children should eat 3 vegetable servings a day and 2 servings of fruits. A serving of fruit would include 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge, ¾ cup of 100% fruit juice, ½ cup canned fruit, or ¼ cup dried fruit.

Your child should eat 2 servings of dairy products daily, which would be 1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 2 ounces of cheese. Chocolate milk is an easy way to get even the pickiest of eaters to drink milk.

A meat portion is only 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish or ½ cup of cooked dry beans. Most kids love peanut butter, and 2 ounces of it can be substituted for a meat serving. 2 eggs could also be substituted for a meat serving. Children should eat 2 meat servings daily. Most kids like meat and peanut butter, so the meat serving is usually the least of the problem.

Fats are a needed part of a child’s diet, but only 30% of his or her diet should consist of fats and oils. Saturated fats should be limited to 10% of daily intake. Unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils, as well as safflower, sunflower, corn soybean and cottonseed oils, are healthier.

Kids will usually get the good fat in nuts and fish. Tuna salads make a good meat and fat meal.

Foods high in sugar pack a lot of calories with very little nutritional value. Limit soft drinks or sugary fruit drinks, candy, and foods containing a lot of sugar. Over the course of one day, your child may not eat exactly the right number of servings of each of these food groups. It is more important to look at a child’s diet over a period of time and see if they are eating a generally well rounded diet. By offering them a wide variety of each group as choices, most children learn to eat healthy.

When choosing a day care facility, don’t overlook their meal plans. You want your child’s diet to mirror the healthy eating you have at home. Daycare facilities can get nutritional food items such as 100% fruit juice from a national daycare supply company.

Choose healthy juice concentrates for your childcare facility at http://www.purefunsupply.com/Purefun-daycare-Concentrated-Juice-s/3.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Kampel
http://EzineArticles.com/?Food-Groups-in-Childcare&id=5061632

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