The Top 10 Healthiest Foods and Importance of Kids Nutrition

Do you know that it’s better to feed your kids vegetables instead of ice cream? We’re all aware that making sure your kids get the right nutrition is imperative to their overall development.

But, what are the healthiest foods for kids and how do you get them to actually eat them? Are all nutrients equally important?

Or are some proteins, fibers and multivitamins for kids more beneficial at this age? Here are some things we should keep in mind to ensure a balanced diet for kids.

What Are the Key Nutrients for Kids?

The right balance of essential nutrients helps children with their physical as well as mental development. Getting the right dose of proteins helps build, maintain and repair muscle tissues, while a fiber-rich diet can help with digestion and healthy bowel function.

It is important to keep in mind that while words like fats and carbohydrates are often considered taboo in healthier diet plans for adults, for kids, they have numerous benefits. Especially omega-3, omega-6 and fatty acids.

Carbohydrates derived from natural sources provide kids with all the energy they need to get through their day. With school, homework, sports, extracurricular activities and hobby classes, they need the right amount of energy to keep them going.

Here are some examples of:

Foods high in protein	Foods high in fiber	Foods high in healthy carbohydrates	Foods high in healthy fats
Almonds, Oats, Chicken breast, Milk, Yogurt	Vegetables, Nuts and seeds, Grains and cereals, Fruits	Quinoa, Sweet potato, Beans and lentils, Whole wheat bread, Pumpkin	Cheese, Whole eggs, Fatty fish, Avocado, Dark chocolate

What Are The Most Important Vitamins For Kids?

Getting a grasp on the ABC of essential vitamins is simpler than you think. But let’s just say it’s more of an ABCDEK:

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is the eye doctor. It improves eye health. Some other benefits include inflammation reduction, improved immunity and better-looking skin.

It’s found in colorful vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, squash, kale, cantaloupe, apricots, red bell peppers, broccoli and mangos, helps with improving vision, bone strength, hair growth, nails and skin health, and boosts immunity against common infections.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B is more of a group of essential vitamins rather than being a single one. Like different members of a rock band, each of them plays a key role.

This group includes Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B7 and Vitamin B12. Together they improve your child’s metabolism and help produce red blood cells.

Grains like wheat and oats, meat and fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, leafy green vegetables, beans or green peas come packed with these. If your child isn’t too fond of these, please ask your doctor which multivitamins for kids can supplement their Vitamin B intake.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is the Band-Aid of the vitamin family. It helps repair red blood cells, bone and tissue, speeds up the healing of cuts and wounds, and improves the health of blood vessels and gums. Guavas, oranges, strawberries, pink grapefruit, cantaloupe and mangoes are a great source for Vitamin C for kids.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. Because soaking in some sun is the best way to absorb this vitamin. It helps the body absorb calcium and is important to build strong bones and teeth.

After all, stronger bones make stronger kids. On days when it’s too hot to go outside, salmon, mackerel, egg yolk, yoghurt, orange juice, milk or cheese can be good alternatives to get the daily required dose of Vitamin D for kids.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the force field vitamin. It’s commonly found in nuts and seeds like almonds, sunflower seeds or peanuts, and helps prevent infections and boosts the body’s immune system in the fight against germs. So, you don’t have to prevent your kids from playing and occasionally getting their hands dirty.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is the Wolverine vitamin. It keeps the platelet count up in your children – in simple terms: it helps the blood clot quickly when they fall and cut themselves.

Eggs, meat, fish, liver, leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower are excellent sources of this vitamin. Together, they keep kids active, energetic, more immune to common infections and diseases, sharper, more alert, and less likely to be cranky.

Why is Iron Important For Kids?

Iron is one of the most important nutrients for a growing child. Low levels of iron in the body can often lead kids to feel lethargic, low on energy, and in some cases anemic.

One of the key benefits of iron is that it helps produce hemoglobin, which carries the much-required oxygen throughout the body.

Another one of the important iron benefits is that the right iron-level in the body aids with the development of the brain. Foods such as fish and red meat are most easily absorbed by a child’s growing body, so a healthy, balanced diet for kids should include at least one serving of meat or fish per day.

Between the ages of 1 to 3, children can be rather fussy about what they eat. So, ensuring that they get their daily dose of iron can be difficult. This is where iron supplements come to the rescue.

Anyone who’s ever tried to feed a child (something other than cereal or ice cream) knows that they don’t always eat what you want them to. It’s stressful trying to figure out what to make to nourish their tiny bodies.

Plus, just because it gets served doesn’t mean your kids will eat it, despite that, kids need nutritious food-healthy fats for their brains, calcium for their bones, and all the vitamins and minerals vegetables offer-and more.

Read Also: The Role of Livestock Farming in a Sustainable Food System

These 10 foods are not only super-healthy for your kids (and for you!), but are also versatile and easy to prepare:

1. Berries

One cup of berries has 4 grams of fiber and is high in vitamin C and other antioxidants like anthocyanins. Blueberries, blackberries and strawberries are also lower in sugar than many fruits.

Fresh berries make an excellent snack for kids or a great topping for yogurt. If berries aren’t in season, buy unsweetened frozen berries and mix them into a jar of overnight oats or a smoothie.

2. Yogurt

“Yogurt is a wonderful option for breakfast, a snack, or even a dessert but you have to watch the added sugar content,” says Katie Andrews, M.S., R.D., a childhood nutrition coach and owner of Wellness by Katie.

It’s a healthy, filling snack that checks the boxes on protein and vitamin D, a nutrient many kids lack in their diet.” Yogurt also delivers probiotics, good bacteria that are important for maintaining a healthy gut.

An easy way to pick out a healthy yogurt? Buy plain Greek yogurt, which has zero added sugars plus twice the protein of regular yogurt.

Most yogurt that’s flavored has added sugar; some new products are flavored with just fruit, but plain is always a safe bet. It’s easy to add flavor yourself by adding berries and sprinkling a whole-grain cereal on top or creating a fun parfait with fruit.

3. Sweet Potato

Short on time and need something nutritious? Wash a sweet potato, poke some holes in it and microwave it for 3-5 minutes (depending on its size). Slice it lengthwise, let it cool, then scoop onto your child’s plate.

Whether your kid is 6 months, 6 years old or 16 years old, sweet potatoes are appealing across the board (because they’re sweet!). They’re packed with vitamin A (over 300 percent daily value for an adult), fiber and potassium.

Limiting salt and increasing potassium keeps blood pressure and hearts healthy.

4. Eggs

One large egg has 6 grams of protein and delivers vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iron. Some eggs are also fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in kids’ brain development. Don’t worry about the cholesterol-saturated and trans fats have a bigger impact on raising bad cholesterol than eggs.

At breakfast, skip the pastries, fried foods and processed meats and scramble some eggs for your kids instead. If your kids aren’t fans of scrambled, try different presentations like egg salad or egg casseroles.

Eggs also make a great starter food for babies. Doctors used to recommend not giving eggs until babies were 12 months old, but research now shows that introducing allergenic foods between 6 and 12 months might help prevent food allergies.

5. Beans

Beans are a humble superfood. They’re loaded with protein and fiber, plus they’re cheap and take little time to prepare. Buy low-sodium canned beans such as black beans, chickpeas or kidney beans.

Simply open the can, rinse them to remove extra sodium and add to any dish. “Replacing ground beef with beans in a quesadilla or tossing beans with pasta helps maintain high-quality, lean protein while adding a key nutrient: fiber,” says Andrews.

There are pastas made from beans too, look for brands like Banza, Pow and Tolerant Foods. “Kids ages 4 to 8 need around 25 grams of fiber a day, and most products marketed directly to kids, like fruit snacks and cheese crackers, contain little if any.

Fiber helps promote healthy digestion and helps your kids feel fuller, longer, so they aren’t asking you for a snack 5 minutes after dinner ends,” says Andrews.

6. Milk

Milk helps build strong bones because it’s full of calcium and vitamin D. One 8-ounce glass is also high in phosphorus, vitamin B12 and potassium, and has 8 grams of protein. Babies shouldn’t have cow’s milk until age 1.

Offer whole milk until age 2 but keep it under 32 ounces for the day or they might be too full to eat their food. After age 2, kids can drink low-fat milk with a goal of three servings of dairy per day-yogurt and cheese count too. If your kid doesn’t like cow’s milk, there are a variety of alternatives on shelves today.

But check the nutrition labels and choose unsweetened or plain varieties for your kids. Plain may have some added sugar to match the sweetness of dairy milk, which may be more palatable to tiny taste buds.

Every alternative milk has a slightly different nutrition profile; soymilk has the most protein. And you’ll get the same calcium and vitamin D benefit as long as the milk is fortified.

7. Avocado

Avocados are an easy way to get healthy fats into your child’s diet. They are high in monounsaturated fats, which decrease inflammation and keep cholesterol levels healthy. Fat moves through the digestive tract slowly, so it keeps kids full longer. But the best part of avocados?

Their versatility. You can eat them with a spoon, mash on toast, throw into a smoothie, mix into chicken or tuna salad, or make a pasta sauce like avocado pesto. Avocados also make a great first food for babies.

8. Nuts & Seeds

Swap the low-fiber, crunchy kid snacks (you know the ones that are practically air) for nuts and seeds to deliver a healthful trio of fiber, protein and healthy fats.

Mix it up by offering cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and more. If your child has a tree nut allergy, seeds may be a safe choice and a good way to get important nutrition.

Nuts are high in magnesium, a mineral that’s crucial in bone development and energy production. Walnuts, pecans, chia seeds and flaxseeds are high in alpha-linolenic (ALA) acid, a type of omega-3 fat that the body can’t make (so you have to eat it).

Offer nuts alone or with dried fruit, throw flaxseed into smoothies, sprinkle chia seeds on peanut butter toast, use sliced almonds to “bread” chicken instead of breadcrumbs, or make your own granola bars.

9. Vegetables-Any Kind!

Kids and adults alike don’t eat enough veggies. If you can get your kid to eat any vegetable-kudos! However, the more color and the greater the variety of vegetables, the better.

Each color delivers different nutrients: leafy greens like spinach and kale are high in vitamin K, orange and red vegetables have vitamin A, peppers are packed with vitamin C, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower contain cancer-fighting compounds and feed good gut bacteria.

“Really it is about taking the ‘fear’ away from veggies-while a slice of pizza is very approachable, a stalk of broccoli can seem intimidating,” says Andrews. “So make veggies easy and accessible. Wash and cut celery, carrot and cucumber sticks and keep them in the fridge for snacking.

If you have some green space available, plant a small garden with cherry tomatoes and sweet baby peppers; when kids grow their own food they are proud of the results, and therefore more willing to indulge in the bounty.”

Don’t give up after offering a vegetable a few times. It takes repeated exposure. Switching up how you serve the vegetables can help too. Some kids won’t eat raw tomatoes but will eat cooked diced tomatoes in a pasta sauce.

10. Whole Grains

Whole grains deliver a nutrient seriously lacking in most kids’ diets: fiber. Fiber keeps them full and regular. Kids need about 25 grams per day, but many snacks only contain 1-3 grams per serving. Look for 100-percent whole wheat or whole grain in the ingredients list (don’t be fooled by front-of-pack marketing) and at least 3-5 grams of fiber per serving.

Easy whole-grain foods for kids include oatmeal, whole-wheat pasta (try half whole-wheat, half white if they won’t tolerate all whole-wheat), brown rice, and whole-wheat tortillas and bread. You can also use whole-wheat flour or white whole-wheat flour when making pancakes, cookies or pizza dough.

Tips for Getting Your Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

How can you actually get your kids to eat more of these super-healthy foods? Try these ideas.

• Aim to make half of their plate fruits and vegetables, one-quarter whole grains like bread or whole-wheat pasta, and one-quarter protein like eggs, meat, cheese, beans or nuts.
• Get your children involved in the cooking and they’ll be more likely to try the food.
• “Be a healthy-eating role model,” Fogt also recommends. “Kids are watching your every move! For example: Sit down with your kids, eat every 3-4 hours yourself, enjoy healthy snacks and meals, make mealtimes fun and relaxing, play games at mealtime, get chatting, get rid of phones at mealtimes, take the pressure off the food and make it a time to connect. Because in our busy lives this downtime is sacred and it’s not about the food.”
• Take off the pressure. Research shows that kids who were forced to eat certain foods as kids often grow up to dislike or avoid those foods as adults. Coercing kids to eat foods makes mealtime stressful for them and you. “Keep calm and carry on,” says Fogt. “It’s a long process-I hate to say it, but often can be years-as parents. You have to be so ‘chill.’ No pressure on the child to eat and no pressure on you to force-feed.”
• Remove negative language from the dinner table, says Andrews. “Saying ‘you’re probably not going to like it but give it a try’ tells a child that the food isn’t worth trying!” she says. Introduce new foods along with those with which they are familiar.
• Remember you’re not alone. Seek help if needed! Registered dietitians, pediatric psychologists, pediatricians and feeding specialists can help.