For this the week, lets take a dive into what our kids’ nutrition should look like.
On one hand, this can be a very tough time for kids to eat healthy. There are junk food options everywhere we go. Schools, ball games, hardware stores. Then throw in the clever marketing that we see with the “hydration” drinks that our kids “MUST” have after a 1 hour game of baseball (insert eye roll here).
On the other hand, it’s one of the best times for us. There is so much good information out there that we have readily available to us from our phones. Podcast, Youtube videos, books, websites, and StrongArm CrossFit blogs (had to throw that in there 🙂 ). If you are willing to learn, the info is out there.
So, how do I recommend our kids eat?
REAL FOOD!!!!
Majority of our kids food should be real foods. Foods that have a short shelf life. Fruit, vegetables. meat (can be beef, pork, chicken), eggs, fish. These foods are going to be packed with nutrients and they will also fill the kids up so they are not constantly grazing for snacks. 89-90% of our kids diet should be real foods.
They can also enjoy some things like greek yogurt, cheese, oatmeal, whole grain bread, and lunch meat (steer away from bologna).
If they are eating the foods above most of the time, let them be kids and enjoy some (not a lot) ice cream, pizza, and other things now and then.
In our kids classes, we talk about 3 categories for food when it comes to kids:
- 1. All the time food– Produce, meat, eggs, fish, greek yogurt.
- 2. Sometimes food- Whole grain bread, oatmeal, protein bars, protein pancakes, maybe a little pasta.
- 3. Special occasion food- Ice cream, cake, donuts, cookies.
If the kids are eating 3 meals a day for 7 days a week, that’s 21 meals. Maybe 17 or `18 of those meals are from the “All the time food” and the “Sometimes food”. Then, maybe you go out for ice cream one night. Then a few nights later you have pizza night. Maybe for a breakfast over the weekend you do something like an egg, a strip of bacon, a cup of berries, and a small donut.
Here is a sample day:
- – Breakfast- 2 eggs, 1 bacon, strawberries and half a banana. Small cup of Fairlife milk.
- – Snack- Beef stick
- – Lunch- hot lunch… pick the healthiest option. Cold lunch… turkey sandwhich on 1 piece of whole grain bread, greek yogurt, apple.
- – Snack- Cheese and grapes
- – Dinner- Grilled chicken, potatoes, and corn
- – Drink water throughout the day.
Our kids don’t need to be “deprived” of junk food. But they also don’t need to be fed sugar bombs all day and then expect them to sit calm and focus for 7 hours in a class room. They also don’t have to eat “perfect”.
The food our kids eat will have the biggest impact on how they act, focus, perform, and most importantly, it will have the biggest impact on their health!
