YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Spring 2018 | Page 17
It’s okay to have an occasional treat
You’ll never hear a dietitian refer to a food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. We
prefer to use terms like ‘sometimes’ and ‘everyday’ foods. While
an apple is a food that should be enjoyed regularly, a chocolate
bar should only be consumed from time to time. It’s important to
teach kids this philosophy from an early age and how to identify
which food and drinks are for ‘everyday’ and which ones are for
‘sometimes’.
Australian Guide to Healthy
Eating
Enjoy a wide
variety of nutritious
from these five
food groups every foods
day.
Drink plenty of
water.
The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating
provides a simple visual guide to help
kids understand this, and can be printed from
www.nhmrc.gov.au
Vegetables and
legumes/beans
Grain (cereal)
foods,
mostly wholegrain
and/or high cereal
fibre varieties
Muesli
Polenta
Quinoa
Fettuccine
Penne
Lentils
Red kidney
beans
Wheat flakes
Red lentils
Chickpeas
Red kidney
beans
Mixed nuts
Chickpeas
Lean meats and
poultry, fish, eggs,
tofu, nuts and
seeds
and legumes/beans
Use small amounts
fruit, yoghurt, a glass of milk and baked
beans or eggs on toast. Lack of time is a
common excuse among those who skip
breakfast; however, eating breakfast
needn’t be a laborious task for you or
your kids. Make the extra 5 to 10 minutes
needed to consume breakfast quality
family time – you may want to tackle the
morning crossword together. Win-win.
Fruit
Milk, yoghurt,
cheese and/or
alternatives, mostly
reduced fat
Only sometimes
and in small amounts
Practise good food safety
Young children are more at risk of getting food poisoning as their
immune systems are not yet fully developed. The bugs that trigger
food-borne illness grow between 5°C and 60°C, so it’s vital to
keep food cool. Using insulated lunch boxes or cooler bags,
placing a frozen drink bottle next to foods that should be kept
cool, and ensuring that packed lunches are kept out of direct
sunlight will minimise the risk of food poisoning. Also,
encourage your kids to consume at-risk foods like
cheeses, eggs, dips and milks at morning recess, and to
save their fruit, popcorn, crackers and other less
vulnerable foods for their mid-afternoon break.
By sending your kids to school armed
with nutritional goodies, as well as
ensuring they don’t leave home without
breakfast, you’ll be maximising their
potential in the classroom and on the
sporting field – now that’s something
every parent can be proud of.
Make time for breakfast
Research shows that Australian kids who skip
breakfast are heavier than those who eat
breakfast. The evidence also
shows that kids who do skip
breakfast may struggle to
obtain
their
daily
requirements of fibre, iron,
calcium, zinc and riboflavin.
Eating a nutritious breakfast
reduces fatigue, facilitates
learning and increases
concentration. Some easy-
to-prepare breakfast foods
include porridge, whole-wheat
and
wholegrain
cereals,
multigrain toast with peanut
butter or VEGEMITE, fresh
SPRING 2018 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE
17