Whether you have a toddler or a teen, diet and nutrition for children is a challenge. Most children are confused by attractive and convenient food which is advertised in the media.  This confusion starts from a very young age. Most convenience foods tend to be high in sugar, salt and saturated fats and these are not good for anyone's health.

You cannot ask a child to choose between veggies and sweets. The answer is obvious - they would go for the sweets and chocolates almost every time. The solution; if you want them to eat their veggies you should make an agreement that if they have finished their veggies without complaint, they will be rewarded with a sweet.

In most cases school ends earlier than work, and this means that your kids may spend some time at home alone after school. When they come home from school they could be starving, and may not be interested in making healthy meals. A big bag of greasy potato chips, burgers, gatsbys, vetkoek, some dip, and sugary soda or squash drinks will probably become the after-school snack of choice because these are easy and taste good. You can help your child by providing healthy, easy-to-prepare after school snacks.  Here are some tips for you:

Lite Popcorn

Popcorn is easy to prepare and tastes good. Popcorn is high in fiber, so it makes a good snack. You can choose brands that are lower in fat and salt or buy a microwave popcorn popper.

Precut Vegetables and Dip

Teens love chips and dip, but food with extra fat and sodium are not good for their health. You can replace the chips with fresh-cut raw vegetables. You can try carrot sticks or slices of tomatoes and beetroot, along with lettuce, snap peas, celery and cabbage. You can ask them to cut the veggies in their own preferred shapes. Even fussy eaters will find one vegetable to eat, especially carrots.

Kids love potatoes and you must have creative ways of preparing them. You can cut them in nice shapes, roast them and add some tasty flavour. You can mash them or fry them in low fat oil depending on their preference.

Bread and Peanut Butter

Switch from white to brown bread or try seed bread or whole wheat bread.   They may not like it at first, but once they get used to it, they will prefer it.  Spread some peanut butter on the bread - it adds proteins and healthy fats and tastes good, so children like it.  You can also enjoy other types of butters such as soy nut butter, almond butter and cashew butter.  Don't let them eat it straight from the jar though; that's simply unhygienic.

If your child has a sweet tooth, buy or prepare a jar of 100% fruit spread that is naturally sweet, rather than a jar of jam.

Healthy Beverages

Teens often like beverages with lots of sugar and caffeine sodas, coffee drinks and energy drinks. The caffeine may cause wakeful nights and extra sugar means extra calories. Rather give them healthy beverages that taste good, such as 100% fruit and vegetable juices, low-fat milk, sparkling water and plain chilled water. Keep sliced lemons and limes handy to add a bit of flavor to plain water. Lemons are multifunctional, they help to detox, and they contain vitamin C etc.

For more information on children's snacks, click here.

 Breakfast

Research has shown that children who regularly ate breakfast had better standardised test scores, better behaviour, and were less hyperactive than children who skipped breakfast. For more information, click here.

Family meals

Family meals are a comforting custom for both parents and kids. Family meals offer the chance to introduce children to new foods and to act as a role model for healthy eating. For tips on family meals, click here.

 Sources:

• Kids health
• About.com
• Everydiet

Updated: 03 February 2012

by Zanele Matshotyana