YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Handy guidelines for healthy kids

    By | Shine Food – Tue, Aug 12, 2008 5:10 PM EDT

    The United States Department of Agriculture created a food pyramid of daily guidelines for kids. (It's available online at mypyramid.gov, although the guidelines are only applicable for children age two and up.) Some nutritionists feel the government should have been more strict; for instance, requiring all, not just some, of the grains to be whole grains, insisting on reduced fat when recommending milk and dairy products, and completely restricting sodas and sports drinks, rather than labeling them as drinks to be used occasionally. Essentially, a child's daily diet should be composed mostly of calories from complex carbohydrates and lean proteins and no more than 20 percent of calories from fat. Here are particulars about each category of food and the specific daily nutritional breakdown for preschoolers, elementary school children, and teenagers all derived from the U.S.D.A. and Institute of Medicine.


    Daily Foods
    Vegetables:     Opt for bright and dark veggies. Spinach, sweet potatoes, and carrots are great choices. Starchy, whiter foods, such as baking potatoes and corn have lesser nutrients.
    Fruits: Choose vitamin-rich fresh fruits, such as strawberries, peaches, mangoes and apples. Fruit juices should be consumed as little as possible. When offering juice, make sure it is 100 percent real fruit juice with no sugar added.
    Grains: Use whole or multigrain flours, whole-grain breads, oatmeal, whole-grain low-sugar cereals, brown rice, and whole-wheat pasta. Ban white bread and white rice from your house as much as possible.
    Meats and Beans: Serve lean proteins every day, such as beef, pork, chicken, fish, beans, tofu, or eggs. When preparing any protein-rich food, opt to serve it steamed, baked or grilled, not fried.
    Dairy: Serve lean sources of dairy, such as low-fat milk (check with your doctor to determine whether your child should have whole or reduced-fat milk), low-fat yogurt, ricotta, or cheese.
    Oils: Use healthy oils, such as olive-preferably extra-virgin-safflower and vegetable oils. They provide vitamin E for healthy skin.
    Fats and sweets: Limit intake of butter, cream, sugary cereals, soda, candy, and the like as much as possible.


    Daily Requirements: Preschoolers
    Generally, preschoolers need about 1,000 to 1,400 calories per day. For this age group, roughly five or six mini-meals throughout the day are preferable to keep their energy up.

    Vegetables = 1 cup

    Fruits = 1 cup

    Grains = 3 ounces

    Meats & Beans = 2 to 3 ounces

    Dairy = 2 cups

    Oils = 3 teaspoons

    Fats & Sweets = Limit as much as possible


    Daily Requirements: Elementary School Students
    Complex carbohydrates and protein are particularly important for five- to eleven-year-olds, who need roughly from 1,400 to 2,000 calories a day. If they are very active, their calorie intake can be in the upper range and if they are fairly inactive, they should have a little less.

    Vegetables = 2 cups

    Fruits = 1 1/2 cups

    Grains = 5 to 6 ounces

    Meats & Beans = 5 ounces

    Dairy = 3 cups

    Oils = 4 teaspoons

    Fats & Sweets = Limit as much as possible


    Daily Requirements: Middle & High-School Students
    Generally, teenagers need anywhere from 1,600 calories per day to 3,000 calories for very active boys. Often, teenagers need more calcium and protein than they take in.

    Vegetables = 3 cups

    Fruits = 2 cups

    Grains = 6 ounces

    Meats & Beans = 5 to 6 ounces

    Dairy = 3 cups

    Oils = 5 to 6 teaspoons

    Fats & Sweets = Limit as much as possible


    Size Matters
    The American Dietetic Association (their website, eatright.org is very handy) provides a handy visual guide to appropriate serving sizes:

    Meat = 3 ounces/Deck of cards/kitchen sponge

    Pasta/Rice = ½ cup/Tennis ball/Ice cream scoop

    Bread = 1 slice/CD case

    Peanut Butter = 2 tablespoons/Ping-pong ball

    Vegetables = 1/2 cup/Light bulb or rounded handful

    Cheese = 1 ounce/Four dice

    Dried Fruit = 1 ounce/One egg

    Nuts = 1 ounce/Ping-pong ball


    Editor's note: The preceding is from Real Food for Healthy Kids by Tracey Seaman and Tanya Wenman Steel, © 2008, reprinted by permission of William Morrow/An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

    To learn more about cartoonist Tom Fishburne, go to tomfishburne.com.




    MORE FROM EPICURIOUS.COM:

    • Recipes & Menus
      Epicurious.com's portfolio of dishes for all seasons, cuisines and occasions
    • Recipe Slideshows
      Assorted galleries featuring pictures and recipes from Epicurious.com

    SUPPER CLUB PICK

    • Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club
      View Photos
      Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club
      Childhood Favorites from the Shine Supper Club

      My after-school snack was a sacred ritual. I sat on the carpet in my parents' bedroom at a low table, the television turned to "I Dream of Jeannie," and ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich cut into neat squares. I wasn't fussy about crusts. I just loved the sticky pairing of creamy peanut butter with syrupy golden sweetness drizzled from a honey bear in diagonals across the soft white bread. Nothing else--save for maybe apples and peanut butter in a pinch--could have made for as sweet an