Promoting Positive Eating Habits

Good nutrition is important for younger children because it gives them the essentials they need to grow and to be healthy citizens. Unhealthy eating habits are one of the leading causes of death in children. Children that eat foods that are unhealthy for them end up with health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart disease, and cancer. These are the leading factors that are killing our people today.  A recent poll was done and heart disease and stated it was the leading cause for death in people. The poll stated that 709,894 people died from heart died in 2010. Heart disease comes from obese children. Obese children come from eating when they are stressed, eating just because, and eating to satisfy emotions or feelings. Some obese children are obese because of family traits, so they are passed down from generation to generation. People who practice good nutrition, hygiene and exercise patterns develop a lifetime of habits that will keep them healthy for many years. Especially when they are older! (Dr. P. Body. 2000)
    Infants need to develop good eating habits because it helps them to use their motor skills. When using motor skills in infants they are able to learn to crawl, walk, hold on to things and clap. Poor eating habits cause them to not be able to not perform these developmental growth skills. Toddlers need good eating habits because it helps them to retain information. In the process of retaining information this leads to the fact that they have good attention span, their memory banks are in full control. They also can recall information that is being given to them. Preschoolers need to have good eating habits because this is when friendships develop. During friendships children tend to be mean to others and they have behavior concerns. Many children that are obese tend to not have so many friends because they are picked at and the other children tend to leave them when they are having outdoor play. It causes self-esteem concerns as well in children.
    Adults should always help children with eating habits because, children just don't know. If they are taught to eat a certain way then they will continue to eat that way or eat that type of food because they think that is what's right. One way an adult can help a child is by modeling. When a teacher is in the classroom and she notices that a child is a picky eater,she can play games with the food or sing songs and have the whole class participate in the activity to get the child to try the foods as well as she has to try them. Another way is by not making food an punishment. Lots of teachers tell children if they don;t eat all the food they can't got o a certain activity. So children began to feel like eating is a punishment for them.
    Three healthy recipes for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
infants
Chicken/turkey Rice Stew
1 cup cooked cubed chicken or turkey
1/4 cup of brown rice
1/4 cup vegetables
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup breast milk or formula.
Puree all ingredients together and then pour the mixture into ice cube trays to make food cubes.  If you don't want make food cubes or don't have enough ice cube trays you can make food plops by taking a spoonful of the pureed stew and placing it on a baking sheet and then placing that into the freezer immediately.  Once your portions are frozen take them out and place in a large resealable bag to use at a later date.  Don't forget to label and date the bag as well.

Toddlers
Fun Tuna Fish & Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
1 slice white bread
1 slice whole-wheat bread
1/3 cup flaked tuna, drained
2 thinly sliced pieces of Gouda cheese
1-1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
Lettuce
Small & Medium Fish shaped cookie cutters
Directions:

Take the cookie cutters and cut the same shapes out of both slices of bread.  Take the cut-out bread and switch them to the opposite slice. Mix up the mayonnaise and tuna. Create the sandwich by layering the bread, then adding the gouda, lettuce, then tuna and finally top with the second slice of cheese and the other piece of bread. Allow the children to spread the tuna over the sandwich and cut the sandwich with the cookie cutter.
Preschoolers
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (adapted from AllRecipes.com)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Step 1:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Mix the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture. Add in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Place dough onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When the dough is doubled, place dough onto a lightly floured surface. I divided the dough into one larger piece (about 2/3 of total dough) and two small pieces for the small kids pizza. Form each piece into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust - this is very fun for the kids to watch or even try! When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan.  Bake crust only for 5-10 minutes at 500 degrees. Remove hot crust from oven and add tomato sauce (recipe below) and toppings. Reduce oven heat to 425 degrees. Bake pizza for 15 to 20 minutes. until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top. Keep an eye on the cheese to prevent scorching.

Easy Pizza Sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
28 oz can tomatoes - diced or crushed


In a heavy saucepan, heat olive oil at medium low. Add garlic and stir for about two minutes. Add can of tomatoes, with their juice. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Add salt to taste.

These recipes provides the children with many vitamins and herbs that are good for the body. It also takes in mind that the child is still on formula but allowing the parent to slowly wing the child away from the formula. They also help with the developmental process of the children.

RESOURCES
Nutrition Policy. (2010). Why good nutrition is important. retrieved September 28, 2011. from http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/nutrition_policy.html#eat
Dr. P. Body.  (2000). Good Nutrition: The Basics. Doctor P.Boddy's Learning/Fun Center where health and safety are made easy.
http://nutrition.preschoolrock.com/index.php/news/54/104
http://www.babyandtoddlerrecipes.com/chicken-rice-stew-for-baby.html
http://www.babyandtoddlerrecipes.com/tuna-sandwich-recipe.html