Healthy Meal Ideas for Kids and Busy Parents

Time to recommit to our health, and that means it is time to start thinking about what you want to change. One of the most common resolutions for parents is to improve their children's eating habits by providing healthier meal options.

Healthy kids have more energy, do better in school, and are less likely to develop chronic diseases such as heart conditions or diabetes later on in life. But healthy food can also be expensive and difficult to prepare when you're short on time. So we've put together a list of quick and easy recipe ideas for busy parents who want their kids eating healthy without going broke!

The problem today is our habits

The health and well being of our children is of the utmost importance. Studies show that obesity rates are high in children, and parents should take measures to ensure that their kids eat healthier. The following article will provide you with guidelines on how to feed your child a healthy diet, as well as recommendations for what they can eat during meals and snacks.

Obesity is becoming a real problem in our society. In the United States, more than a third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. (reference "Obesity in America"). Parents should take responsibility for what foods are available to kids during meals. It is too easy to allow kids to grab a quick, and unhealthy, snack.

Obesity in our society is increasing but do our kids have to follow this trend?

Children who are obese have more health risks in their lives. They're at risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart conditions and diabetes later on in life which costs a lot to treat. Encouraging kids to eat healthier is important if we want them living long healthy lives and not being burdened by the expenses that come with illness.

One way we have reduced this is by eliminating unhealthy snacks and only providing options that are healthy.

Consider the nutritional benefit to children in reducing the processed sugar intake and changing that to natural sugar intake.

Studying Sugar and Energy

There was a study done with the amount of sugar in an apple showing it to be the same in a Snickers bar. Some might say, "well, if they are the same, what is the difference?" There is a huge difference. The natural sugar will help kids get the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for growth.

The study showed that a Snickers bar is made up of mostly processed sugars, which lack the nutritional benefits to children in general.

This can cause problems with weight gain as well as dental decay. The point here is not to say "don't let your child eat any candy," but rather make sure they are eating healthy snacks like vegetables or fruit instead of candies or sweets regularly.

Parents should take responsibility for what foods are available during meals - It's too easy for kids to grab an unhealthy snack when it's so convenient and accessible on their own time! One way we have reduced this temptation has been by eliminating unhealthy options from our pantry entirely.

Pro Tip: Letting children help you make food, setting up an eating schedule, and using herbs, spices and natural oil instead of butter when cooking can all be beneficial! 

Healthy Meal Ideas

Here are some healthy meal ideas for kids and busy parents:

breakfast:

- Scrambled eggs with cheese and ham, pancakes with 100% maple syrup, fruit salad.

Dinner

- Spaghetti with meatballs or chicken breast, baked potato, steamed vegetables. Fish and roasted vegetables.

Lunch:

- Grilled turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread topped with low fat mayonnaise or avocado slices; spicy black beans over brown rice served in a tortilla shell - just be careful about serving too much!

how Does our body deal with food

In order to better understand how our body deals with food let's take a look at the digestive process that starts when we put something into our mouths...This is followed by chewing which breaks down large pieces of food into smaller ones so they can pass through the esophagus. The esophagus is a tube-like structure that connects the back of our mouth to the stomach.

Studies have found that chewing food is better than drinking food. Our bodies use more calories to process the food that we chew. So there are a lot of benefits to skipping the smoothie.

As we chew, our saliva contains an enzyme called amylase which helps break down carbohydrates. The stomach and small intestine are the next parts of the digestive system where food is broken down and nutrients absorbed into your body. Food enters the stomach through a tube called the esophagus from both ends: one end connects with your mouth while another leads to your intestines. When you eat too much at once it will make its way back up this tube-like structure until there's enough room in your stomach for more food!

Some people believe that eating slowly or chewing each bite before swallowing can help reduce feelings of hunger because this takes time which tells us when we're full.

Science Talk and Kids Health

The conversation around the science of our bodies puts our kids health into perspective. They may not understand, or care to understand, what happens to our food, however, as parents, we choose what goes into our kids diet. We get to train their appetite to choose foods that are beyond healthy or overly damaging.

All of this information is great, but keep in mind that it's not a "one size fits all" approach to eating.

Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another. It doesn't matter if you're at home or out with friends- make choices about food based on your personal health goals!

The Diet For Children

A diet (pattern of what is eaten) for a child between the ages of seven and eight years old should consist of five servings of vegetables and fruit every day during meals and snacks. They drink low-fat dairy foods like milk, cheese, yogurt etc., but not ice cream because it's high fat.

Children also need to drink plenty of water each day as well - at least six glasses! No sugary drinks including soda, iced tea or energy drinks; limit candy if possible.

A snack that is healthy might be pretzels with peanut butter or carrot sticks. We discussed in a separate post the difference in the type of sugar we eat. For this post, we are discussing the diet around those sugars to better help our kids stay healthy, learn healthy habits young and keep kids energized longer with proper sugar intake.

This diet should contain five servings of vegetables and fruit every day, for both lunch and dinner. Lunch would be a sandwich with plenty of veggies on it like lettuce tomatoes, cucumbers etc., or peanut butter in celery sticks instead if the child doesn't want to eat bread.

For dinner, children could have spaghetti squash noodles with lean ground beef sauce without sugar then serve asparagus spears roasted cauliflower broccoli and green beans cooked together for an added vegetable bonus! Dinner can also consist of chicken breast served alongside corn and potatoes so the kids get their veggies too.

A meat portion does not need to be large, especially for young kids. according to one resource, a 7-8 year old should be eating 2-3 oz. of meat per day. That is not a lot, and it doesn't need to be. Don't let kids go hungry, fill those tummies with vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, grains and dairy.

Kids' Physical Diet

Food isn't the only thing that we need to consider when thinking of our children's health. They also need physical exercise. Daily exercise outside of school time hours (i.e. walking, running, biking, jumping).

Kids' Mental Diet

We talked about food and exercise of the body but they also need to exercise their mind. Playing games, puzzles, and reading are just a few of the many ways to do this.

Kids should be given plenty of time for creative pursuits as well as physical ones so they can grow up to have more balance in their lives.

Your kids deserve healthy food choices that will help them stay active and think creatively!