Help children eat the right colors

Published March 2, 2011
By Health and Wellness Center

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. - -- The American Dietetic Association celebrates National Nutrition Month every year in March. This year's theme is "Eat Right With Color," which builds on the 2010 theme of "Nutrition From the Ground Up".

Parents should ensure their children are getting all of the nutrients needed for optimal growth and development. The good news is that ways to shop, cook and eat healthy have gotten easier. Parents can use tools like www.kidseatright.org, a new Web site launched by ADA and its foundation.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recently reported children, teens and adults have diets that are deficient in dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium and potassium. The ADA's Kids Eat Right campaign calls for increased attention to these alarming nutrient deficiencies in the diets of many children. This year's theme is a wonderful reminder to parents to increase their focus on including a variety of foods and colors in every meal their children consume every day, plus partnering with their children's schools to make eating right with color happen at school as well.

Here are some tips to get kids to "Eat Right with Color" and boost their intake of needed nutrients from other food groups:

· Eat more fruits and vegetables at every meal.

For breakfast, enjoy fresh or frozen berries on whole grain cereal, slices of melon or a fruity yogurt parfait;

For lunch, serve baby carrots, sliced apples or a bowl of hearty vegetable soup made from last night's dinner's left over veggies with whole grain crackers;

For dinner, put brightly colored vegetables at the center of every plate.

· Take your children shopping with you to the grocery store.

Let the children pick a new fruit or vegetable to try for dinner.

· Let your children help with meal preparation.

Studies show that when children help to prepare the meal with the fruit or vegetable that they selected, they will be more likely to eat that new fruit or vegetable.

· Most young people in America are not getting enough calcium or potassium. Fortunately, it's easy to consume the three daily dairy servings needed by children and teens.

Try an 8-ounce glass of low-fat milk with breakfast, lunch and dinner;
Enjoy a bowl of vanilla yogurt with blueberries for an after-school snack;
String cheese is great for an on-the-go energy snack and easy for the children to get for themselves.

· Getting enough protein at every meal and at snack-time will help children feel satisfied after eating.

Start their day with a veggie scrambled egg sandwich on a whole grain English muffin,
Enjoy peanut butter and bananas with raisins in a whole wheat wrap for lunch,
For snacks, provide nuts, seeds and dried fruit with a glass of water.

For more information about transforming eating behaviors, go to www.kidseatright.org or call the Health and Wellness center at (919) 722-0407.