Toddlers & eating part 3

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
HOW TO PLAN A BALANCED DIET

Directions

One of the easiest ways to make sure that your toddler or preschooler is getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals is to use the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new food guide triangle, a graphic illustration of a balanced diet.

Food groups are placed on the triangle in order of their prominence in the diet, from the base up. At the base are breads, grains and cereals. Most chilren can eat the recommended six servings per day from this group. On the next level are fruits and vegetables. Offer five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Make sure that at least one serving is high in vitamin C. Fortified juice, citrus fruits, melon, mango, potatoes, ad broccoli are good sources. And at least one serving should supply vitamin A, some sources of which are dark green and orange vegetables.

The dairy and meat groups are on the next level. Serve foods from the dairy group three times a day and foods from the meat group two to three times a day.

Just how big should these servings be? As a rule of thumb, serve your child one tablespoon per year of age from each food group. If your child is three, for example, serve her three tablespoons each of rice (bread group), carrots (vegetable group), applesauce (fruit group), and chicken (meat group). A serving from the dairy group is one-half cup of milk or one-half ounce of cheese.

If your child won't eat the whole serving, don't worry. Chances are he'l make up for it the next day. Unless your child's diet stays off-balance for a long time, he'll get all the nutrients he needs.

*Final section from an article by Mindy G. Hermann, RD out of the Spring/Summer 1993 issure of Healthy Kids -Birth to 3 by the AAP* ~Posted for you by Michelle Bruce Submitted By MICHELLE BRUCE On 02-09-95

Related recipes