Healthy and tasty foods for kids

According to some recent findings, Canadian children are falling short when it comes to eating and choosing optimal nutritional sources. The most recent and largest survey in years, conducted by the Canadian Community Health Survey, asked more than 35,000 people to recall what they had eaten during the 24 hours prior to being interviewed.

Nutritional challenges for kids
The findings revealed that Canadian children face a number of nutritional challenges, including the following:

• Seven out of 10 children aged four to eight do not eat the recommended daily minimum of five servings of vegetables and fruit.

• More than one-third of children aged four to nine do not get the recommended two servings of milk products a day.

• Canadians of all ages get more than one-fifth of their calories from "other foods," which are foods and beverages that are not part of the four major groups. "Other foods" include fats and oils such as butter and cooking oils; foods that are mostly sugar such as jam and candy; high-fat and/or high-salt foods such as chips (potato, corn, etc.); beverages such as soft drinks, tea, coffee and alcohol; and herbs and condiments such as pickles, mustard and ketchup.

A healthy eating myth
With the rise in childhood obesity, Type II diabetes and the psychological effects of being overweight (studies show that obese children rate their quality of life similar to children undergoing chemotherapy), what can parents do to make proactive and positive nutritional changes?

For starters, they can become informed about how to make healthy -- yet equally delicious -- changes to their family's diet. The notions that if food is healthy it must be tasteless and a chore to eat are false! Nutritious food can be just as delicious and tasty for palates of all age groups.

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