We all want to do what’s best for our children, and taking care of their health is one way of giving them the very best start in life. But when kids can be picky with food, it can sometimes be difficult to know if they’re getting everything they need. As a parent, having a few tricks up your sleeve for getting the good stuff are always handy. Here are some easy food swaps you could consider making.
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Switch To Whole Grains
Instead of using regular pasta or white rice, switch to whole grain instead. Brown pasta and rice, for example, is more nutritious and has higher levels of vitamins and fibre than it’s stripped white counterpart. Once they’re included in recipes, there’s not a great deal of different taste-wise. But it’s a good way to get some added goodness into your family’s diet. Whole grains are good for heart health, lower cholesterol and don’t give a ‘spike’ in blood sugar levels making them a much better choice.
Vegans need B12 supplements if they plan to continue their veganism long term. Right now, there are no noteworthy plant sources of vitamin B12 which have a high enough bioavailability to be considered as sustainable sources of the vitamin.
Use Honey Instead of Sugar at Breakfast
Instead of buying sugary breakfast cereal, buy healthier alternatives and sweeten it yourself. But instead of sugar, choose honey, cinnamon and chopped fruit. While it’s not great to go overboard on honey since it is still sugary, it breaks down differently in the body meaning that you accumulate fewer calories from it. Bananas and berries are an excellent way to add sweetness to breakfast, rather than simply spooning on the granulated white stuff.
Bake Your Own Bread
Making the switch from white to wholemeal bread is, of course, a good one. but to go one better, why not bake it yourself? A good breadmaker takes all of the hassles out of it for you as it mixes, kneads, proves and bakes all in the machine. Even branded versions such as Panasonic bread makers aren’t too expensive but will save you a whole host of cash over time. Bread requires very few ingredients, all which are cheap to buy. This way you know exactly what’s gone into it too. And if you’re feeling creative you could add all kinds of extras such as herbs, caramelized onions, seeds and even dried fruit to improve the taste and nutritional value.
Switch Potatoes To Sweet Potatoes
Regular potatoes aren’t especially bad on their own, especially if cooked in a healthy way and eaten in moderation. However, a much more nutritional option is sweet potatoes. Unlike regular potatoes, these count towards your five a day. They’re just as versatile, and taste delicious too! Use them just as you would a regular potato- for jackets, mash, wedges, and fries.
Swap Full-Fat Dairy For Reduced Fat
Sometimes you have to be careful when buying ‘diet’ or reduced fat varieties of things. This is because the fat can be replaced with chemicals which are equally bad for you. But in the case of milk, yoghurt (providing it’s not a sugary flavoured variety) cheese and other types of dairy it can be beneficial buying the lower fat versions. This will cut your saturated fat levels right down. In recipes, making good substitutes is also a good idea. For example, you can often use yoghurt in place of heavy cream for a lighter alternative.
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