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"Five
Peas" for Raising a
Veggie-Loving Child
This
article originally appeared in the July/August 2004 Feeding Kids newsletter
and continues to be a very popular download. I recently made this
article into a free reproducible handout.
Click
here to download the "Five Peas" handout.
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Ask Connie: Nutrient Needs for active teen boys
Q.
Just wondering what particular nutrients in specific are necessary
for active 15 year old males. How can fast food purchases be cut
to a minimum?
A.
Adolescent males have the highest TOTAL nutrient need of any age/gender
group. Their rapidly growing bodies coupled with a high activity
level increases their requirements for virtually all nutrients,
including vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, protein, fat and water.
A "normally active" 15-18 year-old male needs about 20.5
Calories per pound of body weight. For a 150 pound teen, that comes
to 3075 calories! If they are involved in sports or regular exercise,
their needs will be even higher. For instance, during pre-season
conditioning camp, the average high school football player requires
roughly 26 calories per pound.
With such a
high calorie need, it is much easier to get all the necessary nutrients
in a day's time, simply because boys this age can eat a lot of food.
It is still possible to be missing out on important nutrients though,
if the diet consists of just a few types of foods. I would really
encourage limiting fast food dining to 1-2 times/week and encourage
boys this age to choose salads along with their burgers.
One activity
I do with teens is to have them plan balanced meals from fast food
restaurants. Most restaurants now publish the nutrient content of
foods served and usually post it on their corporate websites. I
normally suggest the guideline of 800-1000 calories per meal (for
teen males) with at least four of the five food groups represented
and a goal of 27-33 grams of fat per meal. They are often surprised
to learn how hard it can be to plan a meal within these guidelines!
They also learn which restaurants offer the choices that they need
to plan a more balanced meal.
MyPyramid can
serve as a guideline for healthful eating, although it's important
to note that the calorie levels suggested on the MyPyramid.gov
site are estimates and each individual may need more
or less calories. For an active, 15 year-old male, the site suggests
3000 daily calories and the following recommended food group servings:
10 ounces grains (at least 5 should be whole grains), 4 cups of
vegetables, 2.5 cups of fruit, 3 cups of milk and 7ounces of protein.
An additional 10 teaspoons of oil and 510 "extra" calories
are included in this meal plan.
Three meals
and 2-3 snacks daily are usually necessary in order to meet the
high energy needs of this group.
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Just
for Kids: Set a S.N.A.C.K. Goal
(including a free download)
A new school
year is a great time to work on improving your health habits. Maybe
you want to get more active, eat more fresh fruit, watch less TV or
drink fewer sweetened drinks. Whenever you want to make a change,
the first thing to do is to set a goal. The best kind of goals are
ones that you can meet! If you set goals that are too hard, you may
end up giving up on making changes. One way to set goals that you
can meet is to use the S.N.A.C.K system:
S = Small
Is this goal small enough so that I can accomplish it in a short period
of time?
N = Needed
Is
this a change that I need to make for better health?
A = Achievable
Can I achieve this goal? Will I need the help of others to meet this
goal? Is it a goal that I can really accomplish?
C = Can I Count
it?
Is this goal written in a way that I can count and measure my progress?
K = Knowledge
Do I know enough to set this health goal? Where would I find more
information on this topic?
Below are some
examples of S.N.A.C.K. goals:
- Try at least
two new vegetables this week.
- Ride my bike
for at least 20 minutes today.
- Limit my television
time to one hour each day this week.
- Substitute water
for soda pop at least three times this week.
A great way to
check your progress in meeting goals is to use a calendar
to make notes about your goals each day. You may also want to design
your own system (e.g. a graph or journal) to track your goals.
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RECIPE:
Salubre Layered Mexican
Dip
1/2 c. lowfat
sour cream
1/2 cup salsa or picante sauce
2 c. vegetarian refried beans (black refried beans work well too)
2 c. shredded Romaine lettuce
1/2 c. chopped tomato
1/4 c. grated SHARP cheddar cheese
8 oz. baked tortilla chips
DIRECTIONS:
Mix together sour cream and picante sauce. In a clear shallow bowl,
layer the ingredients, beginning with beans, then sour cream-picante
mixture. Top with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Serve with baked tortilla
chips. Makes 8 servings.
NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS
PER SERVING (1/8 recipe): 200 calories, 8 grams protein, 3.5 grams fat
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Recommended
Sites
Sesame Workshop
- Healthy Habits For Life
Cookie Monster, Grover, Elmo and their monster pals are all involved
in helping young children learn healthy habits. Cookie monster is eating
fruits and vegetables these days and young kids can "Grovercise"
with their furry pal Grover. Games, activities and tips for parents
are featured on this website, located at http://www.sesameworkshop.org/healthyhabits
We Can!
(Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition)
We Can! is a national program designed as
a one-stop resource for parents and caregivers interested in practical
tools to help children 8-13 years old stay at a healthy weight. Tips
and fun activities focus on three critical behaviors: improved food
choices, increased physical activity and reduced screen time. The site
is located at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan
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The
information contained in this newsletter is not intended as a substitute
for medical and/or nutrition advice. See your physician and/or registered
dietitian for individual health and/or dietary concerns.
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©2005,
by Connie Evers, All Rights Reserved. There is a modest reprint fee
for reproducing the material in this newsletter in either print or electronic
publications. Please send an email to reprint@nutritionforkids.com
for details and rates.
The
FEEDING KIDS NEWSLETTER is published bimonthly by 24
CARROT PRESS . To subscribe, click
here.
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