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why our meals

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Children have special nutritional needs. Not only is it essential to get all of the nutrients they need for their daily activity needs, but also to ensure that they get all of the nutrients that they need for their growth and development. To provide a nutritious diet for your child, follow these tips:

Ensure that your child’s diet meets the Australian Dietary Guidelines

Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia (2003)

Encourage and support breastfeeding
Children and adolescents need sufficient nutritious foods to grow and develop normally

Growth should be checked regularly for young children
Physical activity is important for all children and adolescents

Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods
Children and adolescents should be encouraged to:

Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits
Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain
Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives
Include milks, yoghurts, cheese and/or alternatives
- Reduced-fat milks are not suitable for young children under 2 years, because of their high energy needs, but reduced-fat varieties should be encouraged for older children and adolescents
Choose water as a drink
- Alcohol is not recommended for children

and care should be taken to:

Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake
- Low-fat diets are not suitable for infants
Choose foods low in salt
Consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars

Care for your child’s food: prepare and store it safely

The “Australian Guide to Healthy Eating” recommends that children include the 5 core food groups in their diet daily to meet their nutritional requirements.

Food Groups	Children 4-7 years	Children 8-11 years	Adolescents 12-18 years
Grains & cereals	3-4	4-6	4-7
Vegetables & legumes	4	4-5	5-9
Fruit	2	1-2	3-4
Dairy	3	3	3-5
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes	½ - 1	1-1 ½	1-2

What’s a serving?
Grains & cereals 2 slices bread; 1 medium bread roll; 1 cup cooked rice/pasta/noodles; 1 cup porridge; 1 1/3 cup breakfast cereal flakes; ½ cup muesli
Vegetables & legumes ½ cup cooked vegetables/legumes; 1 cup salad vegetables; 1 potato
Fruit 1 medium piece of fruit eg. Apple, banana, orange; 2 small pieces eg. Apricots, kiwifruit; 1 cup canned fruit; ½ cup juice; 4 dried apricots; 1 ½ tbsp sultanas
Dairy 1 cup milk; ½ cup evaporated milk; 2 slices cheese; ¾ cup yoghurt; 1 cup custard
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes 65-100g cooked meat, chicken or fish; ½ cup lean mince; 2 small chops; 2 slices roast meat; ½ cup cooked legumes; 1 small fish fillet; 3 fish fingers; a small can tuna/salmon; 4 prawns; 2 small eggs; 1/3 cup nuts; ¼ cup seeds

Eat a healthy breakfast

It is important for children to start the day with a healthy breakfast. Studies show that children who have breakfast have better concentration and perform better at school.

Try:

a bowl of hot porridge with slices of banana and a drizzle of honey
fruit toast spread with low fat cream cheese
crumpets with avocado and slices of tomato
a bowl of fruit salad and yoghurt

Enjoy nutritious snacks

Ensure that you have plenty of nutritious snacks on hand for when your child is peckish. Limit highly processed choices such as chips, chocolate and sweet biscuits for occasional foods only. Some nutritious snack ideas include:

fresh fruit skewers
raw veg with hommus dip
yoghurt
bake bean jaffles
low fat smoothie

Drink plenty of water

Active kids need plenty of water. Water is the best drink for them, and sweet drinks such as cordial, juice and soft drinks should only be enjoyed occasionally. It is especially important

for kids to be drinking water on hot days, and before, during and after sport. Drink bottles are a good way to ensure that your child has access to water at all times. You can freeze the water overnight to ensure a plentiful supply of icy cold water all day long.

Make food fun

Let your kids be involved with choosing and preparing meals. This teaches them a lot about food preparation, and encourages them to try new foods. Children are more likely to try new foods if you sit down and eat meals together as a family. Try to eat meals together as a family even if it only happens a few times each week. Encourage your children to try new foods regularly. Children’s tastes change and develop as they grow, so it is important to keep trying foods even if they didn’t like them the last time.

Be physically active

Physical activity is really important for the development of your child’s co-ordination. Team sports, such as netball and cricket are also great for social interaction. Kids need to be physically active to help reduce stress. Your child should be aiming to do at least an hour of physical activity each day. Ideas include:

play at a local park
go for a family bike ride
start dancing classes
plan a treasure hunt in the backyard
play beach cricket