HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILDREN’S OPTIMUM HEALTH
December 01, 2022
Only 8.5% of children in Australia eat the recommended servings of daily fruit and vegetables. Likewise for Australian adults. That is only 9 out of every 100 people are eating for optimum health.
Optimum health means foods that give our body the best nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fibre and amazing natural plant phytochemicals for optimum energy, immunity, mental health, growth and development. Simply speaking, optimum health reduces future illness and disease.
If you grew up with a western culture of meat and three vegetables for dinner, the psychology of eating vegetables at dinner is likely embedded, and generally achieved by some people.
Here’s The Thing…
The biggest gains for our body is to eat significantly more vegetables at lunch and snacks. This is the biggest struggle for most people. And, this is also the biggest turn around factor for improvements in energy, mood and reduction in cravings.
In clinic, 95% of my clients typically eat three types of lunches, a ham and cheese sandwich, pasta or rice based leftover dinner, or a packaged snack food followed by a subsequent afternoon craving. No blame here, but can you see the pattern? Lunch typically contains very low vegetable content.
How Can We Turn This Around, For Optimum Health?
My top 3 tips for increasing fruits and vegetables are:
1. Plan
Ask your children what fruits and vegetables they would like in their lunchbox this week, cut them up into smaller sizes for easy grab and go options. Negotiate one extra vegetable into their sandwich or one vegetable with an afternoon dip or snack.
2. Prepare
Extra vegetables at dinner time; roasted, steamed, stir fried, salad-ised (aka to make a salad in Alana speak). Leftover vegetables form the basis for tomorrow’s lunch, add a few chopped raw varieties like cucumber, carrot, avocado. This is the fastest tip to doubling vegetable intake with only 5 minutes prep time!
3. Pack
An extra piece of fruit or raw vegetable and leave one packet food at home.
As a nutritionist and mum of three, I’m passionate to change the fruit and vegetable trend. I’m working with families and schools to change the nutrition psychology, and improve our children’s future health.
By Alana Maxwell - Practicing Nutritionist and School Nutrition Educator
First seen in the Seasonal Magazine: Summer 2023
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