Children need much more nutrients and vitamins than adults. They need them for the development of mental abilities, growth and replenishment of energy reserves. Incorrect nutrition is bad for the health of babies, so their menu should be balanced.
Basic Rules
In order to provide the child with full-fledged food and all the necessary substances, some rules must be followed when drawing up the menu.
1. Food for children should be varied. It is highly discouraged to feed your child the same meal more often than 1-2 times a week. It is necessary to include more different foods in the diet, and to prepare food in different ways.
2. The menu should include many different fruits and vegetables, and some of them should be pure. It is imperative to include in your diet foods rich in vitamin A (carotene): carrots, pumpkin, herbs, currants, peppers, peaches, plums and red-orange vegetables. Sources of Vitamin C: Oranges, tomatoes, rose hips, southern fruits, cherries, strawberries, and cabbage. B vitamins, which are found in legumes, grains, kernels, flour foods and rye bread. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be given to children once a day, for example, for an afternoon snack.
3. The daily diet should contain different types of foods: meat or fish, dairy products, vegetable fats, legumes and cereals. This will provide the child with energy for the whole day and improve their appetite.
4. It is not recommended to cook salads, main courses and soups from the same vegetables.
5. Fatty and fried foods should be avoided, as well as very sweet desserts such as pastries, cakes and candies. As a sweet, it is better to give dried fruits, homemade jams, cookies and cottage cheese desserts.
6. Milk and dairy products should be given to children daily in an amount of 400-500 ml.
7. Every day or every other day it is necessary to give the child 1 egg, for example, in a salad, sandwich, dessert or for a side dish. It is enough to give meat or fish 4-5 times a week for lunch or dinner.
8. On meat-free days, children should be given more vegetables, dairy products and eggs. The child's body must necessarily receive a sufficient amount of protein.
Balanced diet
What a child can eat and in what quantity is clearly demonstrated in the healthy eating pyramid compiled by scientists, where:
• 1 level of the pyramid should include 6 servings of grain products;
• Level 2 consists of 3 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruits;
• on the 3rd level there are 2 portions of fish and meat and 2 portions of dairy products;
• at the top of the pyramid are fatty foods and a minimum of sweets.
Baby food: the amount of food
One of the main questions for parents is the serving size for the child. It is important that the baby does not remain hungry, but also does not overeat. A few simple rules will help with this. Children from three years old, as a rule, are very mobile, they spend much more energy than adults. Accordingly, this should be reflected in the calorie content of the diet. The daily requirement of a three-year-old child is 1550-1600 kcal. In four years, 1750-1800 kcal are needed. These figures need to be increased each subsequent year of life by 100-150 units up to 7 years.
