HEALTHY FOOD AND NUTRITION

 Summarize why good nutrition and eating habits are so important to children in each age group. Cite evidence from Chapter 6 in your text and/or other resources to support your claims.

Good eating habits and nutrition are good for children at each age group because of development and growth. Children require good eating habits and nutrition to grow mentally, emotionally, and physically. Children need good basic nutrition for normal growth and development, cognitive function, immunity, and energy expenditure (Robertson, 2013). The importance of nutrition and the right food, start as soon as a baby is born into this world.  The food and good nutrition fully helps the child to develop all their developmental domains in all their early childhood development stages. The children need the parent to provide the proper food with the proper nutrition in it while developing from one age stage to the next age stage. Parents play the important role in a child’s life of making good decision when it involves a child’s health. To reduce the effect of poor nutrition in children, parents need to monitor the eating habits of their children to ensure that the foods that these children are eating are healthy and balanced to support their childhood development (Robertson, 2013).

Refer to Chapter 8 in your course text and explain why adults should actively help children develop healthy eating habits and at least two ways this can be accomplished.

The importance of providing good nutrition in early childhood can be very stressful. Parents have an important role to make sure that their children develop healthy eating habits. Parents are supposed to be good role modelers for their children because a                                                                                                                                             child will see you doing something and will try to imitate what they see you doing. So it is very important that the parents eat healthy around or in front of the child so that they can pick up the good eating habits that the parents are doing, and become healthier, develop and grow proper. If a child sees you eating unhealthy then soon or later they will pick up your bad habits. Let the child help to prepare the meals that way they can know what food is good for them and which one is not. They would know how to adjust to good eating habits.

Adults should commit to themselves of being healthier by eating the right food, and living a healthy life to help the child develop some healthy eating habits. The parents should call a meeting once a week on learning about good eating habits, exercising, and how to be healthier as they grow older. If the child does well that week of eating healthy, reward them with something, but not junk food. Observing the behaviors of children are easier when growth and developmental levels are understood (Robertson, 2013).

Provide three nutritious recipes that family members can prepare with preschoolers and explain the nutritional value of each. (To locate recipes, look through the various suggested Web sites or do research as needed.) Offer strategies and suggestions to make cooking together an enjoyable learning experience for children.

Here are some recipes that are easy to make with good nutrition in them and are easy to prepare with their children.

1. Chicken Salad and Greens

Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes

½ cup of plain, non-fat Greek-style yogurt

¼ cup of low-fat mayonnaise

½ teaspoon of salt 

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped

¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup of grapes cut in half

2 cup roasted chicken, chopped into ½-inch pieces

4 cups romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped

Equipment and supplies needed:

Mixing bowl

Knife for chopping

Bowls for serving

What to do:

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, celery, red onion, grapes and chicken.

2. Mix gently until everything is well coated in dressing.

3. Divide lettuce between four bowls.

4. Top each bowl with some chicken salad.

Serve cold. This meal can be served for at least four people. The nutrition in this meal include: Calories 220, Calories from Fat 60.Vitamin A 25%, Vitamin C 20%, Calcium 4%, Iron 8%

2. Awesome Applesauce                                                                      

 Prep times: 10 minutes

2 small red apples

2 tablespoon lemon juice 

2 teaspoon sugar

2 pinches of cinnamon

Equipment and supplies needed:

Knife (with supervision)

Blender or Food Processor

Measuring spoons

Serving bowls

What to do:

1. Peel apples and cut into small pieces. Throw away the core.

2. Put the apples pieces and lemon juice into the blender or food processor. Blend until the mixture is very smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into two small bowls and stir in the sugar and cinnamon.

4. Enjoy your awesome applesauce.

This meal can be served for at least two people. The nutrition in this dish include: Calories 84, Calcium 14mg, Iron 0.3mg. Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.

3. Garden Chicken Wrap

Prep time:  5 to 10 minutes

4 whole-wheat wrap (8 inches)

2 cups store-bought rotisserie chicken, shredded

½ cup shredded carrots

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1 cup baby spinach leaves

¼ cup of your favorite fat-free/low-fat dressing (about 1 tablespoon per wrap)

Equipment and supplies:

Cutting board

Sharp knife

Measuring cups

What to do:

1. Place wraps side by side on a flat surface. Divide chicken into four portions (about ½ cup each). Place a portion of chicken on each wrap.

2. Top each wrap with carrots, avocado, and spinach. (Have an adult help with the chopping)

3. Drizzle dressing evenly over each wrap.

4. Roll each wrap up tightly and cut on the diagonal.

5. Serve immediately or wrap tightly in aluminum foil and refrigerate for lunch the next day.

This meal can be served for at least four people. The nutrition in this meal include: Calories 320, Calories from Fat 140, Vitamin A 90%, Vitamin C 10%, Calcium 4%, and Iron 15%. You can use some mini carrots for a side dish.

                                                                                                                                 

A good strategy and suggestion to make cooking enjoyable is to do it together. Cooking together can be fun and a learning experience when you involve your children. When you go to the Super Market to make grocery, let them help pick out the products that are needed for your meal, and show them which one is good to buy for a nutritional dinner. Let them help prepare the meal to cook or make when you get home. Let them also set the table. Practicing good eating habits with your child, in your everyday eating routine, will help them to be better and healthier eaters.

                                                     

Reference:

http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.