New Food Trends for Kids

The food industry is always changing. It is an industry that is subject to tendencies, one that has to adjust to the wants and needs of its consumers, who on their part often dictate the direction in which the industry will go. Among the major consumers that are quite influential are children. New food trends for kids are things that can make or break companies. In the last decade, two major new food trends have emerged. These were direct effects of scientific studies and the economy.

Recent scientific studies and medical findings have encouraged a wave of healthy eating all over the world. This is the first major change of the past decade. Parents have started to buy healthy food for their homes as well as educate their children about the choices they make while at school or whenever they find themselves outside of the home.

To meet the need, companies and restaurants have began revamping their products and changing their menus. Formerly unhealthy products are turning over a healthy leaf, adding vitamins, minerals and other good things for kids in the mix. Cheerios are a good example. Similarly, many restaurants have started to feature healthy kids meals along with gluten-free and allergy conscious meals, geared towards showing their customers that they too care about their health.

Another popular movement restaurants have adopted is that of creating their meals from locally sourced ingredients or even hyper-local ingredients, which means ingredients that are produced by the restaurant. This allows the establishments to guarantee freshness, which is something customers love. However, it is also directly related to the other of the major new food trends, that which was an effect of the economy.

By sourcing local ingredients, restaurants can support local businesses. This really helps the economy during these trying times. Local ingredients also often means cheaper prices, which encourages families that have chosen to eat in to eat out more often. This also helps address the other trend of feeding children instant foods, like pancake mix, frozen pizzas, and mac and cheese, all of which aren't entirely healthy options. Due to hard economic times, some parents have taken to feeding their kids these quick easy meals that the kids themselves can prepare while parents focus on other things. Locally sourced ingredients, however, can change all that.

Healthy Kids Meals

If adults have a hard time staying healthy, so do kids. Coming up with healthy kids meals so that they stay in tiptop shape is a common challenge for parents. Here are some tips which can help you come up with delicious and healthy recipes.

The first on the list is to always have a plan for the week. If your kid is just starting with his diet, make exceptions for certain days of the week. You can give your kid the regular favorites once a week, in moderate portions. For example, start the week with a healthy soup and salad for the first three days and then reward him with pizza at the end of the week. This way, he doesn't feel deprived and can still eat the foods that he constantly craves for.

Ask your kids to prepare the meal with you. Make cooking an enjoyable activity and so they differentiate the healthy and not-so-healthy foods. By letting them help prepare the meals, they appreciate food better because they cooked the food themselves.

Among the healthy kids meals, the safest is usually pasta. Kids love to eat spaghetti. The alternative you can do is to cook pasta the healthy way. Use olive oil instead of the regular oil, and use whole-grain so it's more nutritious. Replace meat with chicken or shrimp so that the pasta still tastes good. If your kid can eat pasta with purely veggies and tomato sauce, this is so much better.

For dessert, the easiest recipe you is the fruit bowl. You can never go wrong with this because it's easier to feed kids fruits rather than veggies. This is because fruits are sweeter so kids like them better. Fruit cocktail can be used minus the syrup, or use fresh fruits. Healthy combination's of apples, bananas and pineapple for example make a nutritious fruit bowl.

Kids love to eat cookies too. Replace fatty chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal is fiber and this aids in your child's digestion and metabolism. Instead of munching on chips and junk food that contain no vitamins and minerals, they could use a piece of cookie or two.

Breakfast is considered as the most important meal so it's always best to make sure that your kid eats a healthy breakfast before sending him off to school. Instead of the usual bacon and eggs, why not replace it with wheat bread and peanut butter and jelly? Kids love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and they compliment wheat bread too. For the cereals, choose non-fat milk instead of full cream milk. Use freshly-squeezed orange juice instead of packed juices in groceries. These juices contain sugar and other preservatives so they are slightly unhealthy.

Preparing healthy kids meals need not be a tedious task for parents. In fact, this can even motivate adults to eat better and set examples for the kids. Studies have even shown that kids who are aware of their health at such a young age can help prevent smoking, drinking and using drugs.

Healthy Kids and Sweet Treats

We've all heard the warnings: sugar is bad for kids, limit the sweets, buy healthy snacks......

But let's face it - kids love sweets.

And although I generally buy healthy snacks, I also tend to indulge their sweet tooth from time to time.

So now I ask - are all sweets created equal? The answer is NO.

Gummy Candies vs Ice Cream

Given a choice between gummy candies (or fruit snacks) and ice cream -the ice cream is the clear winner. Granted, it has bad stuff like fat and sugar but it also has protein from milk and possibly nuts.

The gummy candy usually translates to all sugar and sticks to teeth (read: empty calories and cavities).

Cakes, Cookies, and Donuts

Cakes, cookies, and donuts vary depending on the recipe. These can contain trans fats and tons of calories. But certain brands are fine - you just need to read the ingredient label or make them yourself. You know, in your spare time. ;) Sometimes, you can even sneak some oatmeal or bran into the recipe.

The bottom line: once you decide to offer up a sweet treat, choose the lesser evil (the more nutritious option).

Why not just let them enjoy, without worrying about nutrition?

Sometimes I do that, but usually if they are having a treat after a meal. This way, they have some good food in their bellies already.

If they come home from school starving, and in a moment of weakness, I give in to their pleas - then I prefer that they eat something with a little nutritional value like ice cream, or a (previously approved by me) muffin or cookie.

I know all of you healthy moms out there are screaming right now but my kids are very persistent. I find that this middle of the road approach works for me so I wanted to share it with you, since my children are probably not the only kids that love sugar!

Kids' Healthy Habits

Every parent wants healthy kids, what parent doesn't right? From the moment of conception, most mothers just pray for a healthy and normal baby. It's easy enough to keep babies healthy. We choose what they eat, and we can keep them active. The challenge begins when they become old enough to walk on their own, talk, and make some decisions. Developing kids healthy habits is a challenge many parents face everyday, here are some great tips to keeping your kids healthy in all aspects!

Start Young

Habits are formed when you're young. Look at what you do everyday, chances are you'll be able to pinpoint something that you've been doing for years! These habits probably started when you were a child. This will be the same for you children. Whatever becomes comfortable to them while young becomes habit. The important thing as a parent is to mold healthy habits. Start as soon as they begin showing signs of independence, and try to mold habits in them till they're around thirteen or fourteen. If you can have habits that have stuck from the time they're toddlers to the time they're pre-teens, chances are they will carry these habits on to adulthood.

Stay Clean!

One way to make sure your kids stay healthy and illness free is to make sure they stay clean. Make sure they have the habit of taking a bath at least once a day, brushing their teeth twice a day, washing their hands before and after every meal, and after handling money. Keeping your kids clean is a good way to fight of germs. Don't put your kids in a bubble, though. It is okay to play in the mud from time to time, so long as they take good baths afterwards.

Keep Active!

Encourage your children to join sports and take time to play with them. Children have a lot of energy, and they need to exercise those muscles so that they grow strong. As an adult, you need about half an hour of exercise everyday. If you can spend this half hour playing and running around with your kids, then it's hitting two birds with one stone. It's also a great way to bond with your kids. Most children whose parents played with them and spent time with them regularly are less likely to become problem teens. So take up a sport with your kids to ensure that their bodies stay fit, and ensuring a great relationship between the two of you.

Develop Their Brain Power

Get your children to read books, do puzzles, play chess, and other brain boosting activities. These can be after dinner activities for your kids. Exercising their brains is just as important as exercising their bodies and the development of the brain promotes health. So make these activities frequent.

Eat Within Limits

Last but not least, monitor what you're kids are eating. The quality and quantity of food that your child takes in is very important. Follow the recommended serving sizes for foods, and make sure that the five food groups are well represented in your child's diet. Making sure they eat healthy is one of the best ways to make sure your child is healthy. Plus, if you can encourage a healthy eating habit, and get them to carry this on till they're teens and young adults, then you have significantly decreased your child's risk of getting a multitude of diseases!

Kid healthy habits can be tricky to develop, but any dedicated parent can find it easy once they set the steps in motion. Get your kids on healthy habits today, you'll never regret it!

Healthy Eating Equals Healthy Kids

Healthy eating for your child
Children between 2 and 3 years old want to get to know everything and progress rapidly. Their eating habits also change drastically during this age: they learn to eat by themselves, they develop animosities towards and fondness for certain kinds of food. Often children inherit their parents' good or bad habits and keep them throughout their lives.

Physical activity is another rather substantial part of a child's development. Children want to rampage, run, jump, climb up trees, hop, overcome obstacles, swing and crawl through pipes, among other things. Lack of physical activity can impinge on children's development, even during the early years. It may adversely affect quality of living in adult life.

Tips for healthy eating

A balanced diet covers your child's energy needs sufficiently. You can easily do without special children's' foods. These often contain too much sugar, fat and additives.

Do not force your child to eat! If they do not like anything, they just might spit it back out. Often children have to taste new foods several times before getting used to it.

Provide your child with several meals distributed throughout the day.

Shared meal time fosters healthy eating behavior.

Try to make healthy foods more attractive. If you know your child does not like broccoli or has never tried it before, try to give it a child friendly name, like green trees or bubblegum sticks.

Tips for healthy motor activity
Offer your child sufficient room and incentives to move. For example a matrace to roll around on, tumble or jump or provide opportunities to climb and hike.

Provide your child with opportunities for positive body experiences.

Children need at least one to two hours daily of physical activity, best outside and disregarding weather conditions.

Healthy Breakfast Tips For Kids

Breakfast is the biggest and most important meal of the day. You need to make sure that your kids take in a proper breakfast to be able to give them the right amount of energy that they need for the entire day. When your kids sleep during the night, the body uses up the energy that is stored in the cells and a correct breakfast will allow the body to recharge and get a jump start for the rest of the day. Aside from this, studies prove that children who eat a good breakfast perform better in school and grow faster as well. Don't think that giving your kids just anything will do, there are certain things that are needed to ensure that your child's body is fueled properly.

There are four things that you will need to make sure to include in your child's breakfast: grains, protein, fruits and vegetables and dairy. Grains can be found in the form of cereals, bread and the like. These are the most needed by the body as you will see if you check out the kid's food pyramid. Next are proteins which you will find in meat, different kinds of beans and eggs. Fruits and vegetables should of several different varieties as much as possible. Finally, dairy can be gotten from different sources like milk, cheese and yogurt.

Getting all these in the breakfast of your kids does not have to be so difficult. A bowl of oatmeal topped with fruits served with a glass of milk can easily meet all of these. Good combination's for fruits on oatmeal will include strawberries or an assortment of berries like blueberries and raspberries. Pancakes which are a well loved breakfast by many kids can be made better by making use of whole wheat flour, include bananas and walnuts in your batter for a serving of fruit and protein. Even a good old grilled cheese sandwich can be a nutritious breakfast.

Add some ham to this for some protein and make use of whole wheat bread for some grains. Serve this with any type of fruit. Smoothies can bring bursts of energy and give your child a good head start for sure. Try an assortment of fruits and yogurt. This can easily be paired with any other breakfast food and can be drunk on the go too.

Teeth Health Tips for Kids

Teeth health begins with proper eating habits and not necessarily with the avoidance of sweets, including chocolate candy, candy cane, candy bar or hard candy, but the clue is getting the balance right. When it comes to choosing the food for your kids, consider sweet candy as part of their diet, teaching them to keep healthy teeth.

Caring for teeth requires your children brush their teeth twice a day, no matter if they eat chocolate candy or just other types of foods during the day. A Candy cane is not a tool to clean their teeth, as many kids believe playing with it in their mouth. Anyone who eats foods high in sugar is required to brush daily.

Sweet candy plays a part in tooth decay. The best way to keep smiling is using fluoride toothpastes. Help children develop a teeth brushing routine, limiting candy bars and hard candy intake during the day, and never after brushing their teeth at bedtime to avoid microorganisms working on their mouth by night.

The American Dental Association has animations and games online aimed to teach children how to brush and other fundamentals of oral health care. They teach kids to be aware of the damage that chocolate candy, candy cane, candy bar, hard candy and other sweet candy may cause in the long run if cleaning regularly is practiced.

The best way to encourage kids' dental hygiene is by providing them with flavored fluoride toothpaste to make brushing a more enjoyable experience. In fact, many dentists recommend changing the taste and appearance of toothpaste on a regular basis for better results.

Research has found children who like to brush twice each day, do it for longer periods of time when the toothpaste is flavored because they associate the taste with sweet candy. Appropriate brushing prevents gum disease, cavities and other dental health issues caused by the consumption of a candy bar or chewable hard candy.

Kid's age 6 or less should brush using no more than a pea-sized dab of toothpaste to remove plaque. This simple action is enough to provide the necessary fluoride protection against chocolate candy, candy cane and regular food that is stuck to teeth during the day.

Healthy eating habits contribute to healthy teeth, because the snacks that kids eat are basically made of sweet candy, the more they eat the more risk of leading to formation of cavities. Limit your children's snacks is not a good idea because they need food for energy, but substituting candies for nutritious foods such as vegetables sticks are best.

How to Keep Your Kids Healthy

This article deals with the effects of diet and nutrition on the health, development, and behavior of children. More research has been done recently looking into the effects of poor diet on youth. For years research had focused on adults, but recently a concerted effort has been made on researching the diseases that affect the young. The data coming back is startling. It reveals a greater level of impact than was previously imagined. More and more information is now painting a picture of the consequences of a poor diet. The effects stretch beyond simple lethargy and obesity to greater mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems as well as impacts on proper growth and physiological development (Child Diet 'linked to IQ). In fact, it turns some old assumptions on their head.

But children are young with a fast metabolism, they shouldn't be as affected, right? Wrong, and one couldn't be much further from the truth. Children are actually far more susceptible to the consequences of a poor diet than adults, for the simple reason that they're still growing. The development of bones, muscles, and brain matter all require a higher level of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Instead of giving this to our children, we have been feeding them foods that actually rob the body of the essentials it needs and have put a burden on developing organs to process the refined foods consumed. Most people wouldn't put sugar in a gas tank because their car wouldn't run and most people wouldn't feed candy and other junk to a growing dog. They know it isn't good, yet when it comes to our children and often to ourselves, we cast a blind eye and use excuses like "They deserve it," "They're young it's OK," "You only live once." These excuses need to stop if we are to turn around an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, rising cancer rates among our youth, and a host of behavioral health problems.

Bringing Up Healthy Kids

Obesity rates in children are on the rise and have been rising dramatically over the last decade (up to double). Below are some tips that can help parents in the battle against obesity.

· Set a good example-children's eating habits are linked closely to what their parents eat. So if you eat poor food chooses in front of them, why should they eat something healthy you make for them? Eat right yourself and not only will your health benefit from it, but the health of you children will benefit as well. And you are setting up a good habit for life.

· Drink more water- fruits juices, carbonated drinks and other drinks aimed at children are high in sugar. Water should be the main drink of your family, and you should always carry a bottle with you when you go out.

· Rewards- food can be used for a reward, but healthy food and not sweets, crisps or cakes. If you can't reward your children with a healthy snack, then look at other ways to reward them for being good. I.e. A trip to the park or beach. You don't need to reward them with something that costs money.

· Limit the amount of junk food- this one should go without saying, but all too often parents take their children to fast food restaurants as an easy alternative to cooking at home. Nothing beats a good home cooked meal and it's a great way to get children involved in food as well. Junk food really is just that 'junk'. Limit this to only a few times a year.

· Smart snacking- many snacks aimed at children are loaded with sugar, fat and salt, and are not suitable snacks (clever marketing). This is a big reason as to why some children are gaining weight.

· Meal sizes- young kids need to eat small meals with healthy snacks in between. Keep meals at regular times and snack smart.

· Avoid over feeding- children's appetites do change, so allow them to determine how much they need to eat, and don't over feed them or try to force feed them. Otherwise they can lose their ability to know just how much food in actually enough.

· Turn the television off- too much TV makes kids fat. Research has shown this time and again. Limit the time in front of the TV.

· Breakfast- studies have shown that those who miss breakfast are more likely ahead, but it must be something healthy. So check out the ingredients and calorie content of some of the cereals aimed at children (high sugar content).

· Encourage activity- switch off the TV and get moving. Kids love to be active and should be encouraged every day. Play ball, walk the dog with them, go cycling together, play in the park, anything that will help get your kids moving.

· School food- if your child eats meals at school, find out what they have and what healthy meals they provide. If the options at school are not healthy, then limit the amount of meals they eat there, and provide them with healthy options instead.

· Weight gain- weight gain does not happen overnight, it takes time. So, if your child is overweight it will take time to lose the weight. Encourage activity and healthy eating, after all they are still growing and a growth spurt can happen at any time.

· Don't ban foods- avoid banning any foods altogether. Just use them very sparingly.

· Avoid fatty comments- do not label your kids as 'fat' or 'overweight'. This will not do them any good and they might start labelling themselves as 'fat' or 'no good'. Use positive encouragement for everything they do.

· Food for thought- children, like adults will use foods when they are unhappy, stressed or teased. You may need to dig a little deeper, but you need to understand why and when you kids eat.

Eating Healthy For Kids

With a little effort you can actually trick you kids into eating more healthy snacks and meals. The trick is to disguise them and make them believe that healthy foods are actually delicious treats.

1. Something nutritious covered in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is known for it's antioxidant benefits and it does not have all the sugar that milk chocolate has. For example you can give them dark chocolate covered bananas or strawberries. You can even let them help you make them.

2. Substitute turkey for beef. In any meal that calls for ground beef, use turkey. As long as it's seasoned well they will have no clue. If you are really bold use veggie protein or tofu.

3. For snacks make sure you alternate between healthy and fatty foods. For example: During the week give your kids nutritious snacks such as apples and peanut butter, frozen bananas, and yogurt; then when the weekend comes you can let them splurge. This will help to teach them moderation.

4.If your children love juice more then water then give them both. When you open a new bottle of juice pour half into a pitcher and fill the pitcher with water. This will water down the juice so your kids won't be getting as much sugar as well as helping you to stretch your budget.

5. If your children balk at the site of a healthy well balanced meal, just give them smaller portions of the foods they don't like. If they hate peas but love corn, give them more corn and less or no peas; don't try to force them to eat what they don't like (would you like that?). Just give them some choices so they feel they have a bit of say so about what they eat.

6. If you generally like to bake sweets then give you child a set amount that they can eat per day or week. that way they can learn to ration.

7. Always, Always, Always lead by example. How can your children be motivated to have healthy eating habits when they see no example of it. Monkey see, monkey do.

With a little bit a trickery you can get your children to eat more healthy snacks and meals. Eating healthy diets for kids can help them to remain fit as children AND all the way to adult hood. Its very easy if you use your imagination.

Choosing Healthy Foods For Your Kids

Are you concerned about your child's eating habits? It can be challenging to feed toddlers a healthy diet every day, but I have a secret weapon. A homemade smoothie is an easy way to serve your child at least one serving of fruits, vegetables, and calcium every day. Follow these five simple guidelines to help your child eat a nutritious diet:

Five Effortless Nutrition Suggestions for More Nutritious Kids:

3+ portions of veggies, 2 portions of fruit, 3 portions of whole grain products, 3 food servings of calcium, 1/2 their entire body weight in grams of lean health proteins

One serving size of veggies is just one cup raw or 1/2 cup prepared. Even though it can often be difficult to get small children to eat raw vegetables, it's simple to include at least one portion of veggies in a delicious homemade smoothie. Spinach, mixed greens, and steamed baby carrots are specially effortless to conceal in mouth watering shakes. One of the best smoothie recipe with blended veggies is called Frog Juice, and my favorite recipe made with baby carrots is Bunny Juice. Your kids will happily eat their vegetables if you serve them inside a healthy smoothie!

It's substantially simpler and easier to persuade children to eat their fruits instead of vegetables. One helping of fresh fruit is one actual fruit (such as 1 apple or mango), or 3/4 cup of berries. Although fruits aren't necessary to make great drinks, smoothies taste better with a bit of sweet fruit added! Frozen bananas are very popular in smoothies, because they add cold and creamy texture to the drink. The preparation to add bananas into a juice smoothie is basically non-existent: just peel and throw in. Apples are another popular fresh fruits to add to smoothies. Apples are very nutritious and taste great.

Whole Grain Products have a greater nutritional value than processed, highly refined, white grains. Because children consume a relatively small amount of food day-to-day, it is imperative to ensure that they receive the maximum nutritional value for the amount of food that they eat. One serving of whole grains is equal to 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta, 1 slice of whole grain bread, 1/2 cup dry oatmeal or 1 cup whole grain breakfast cereal (with less than 6 grams of sugar, and 3 or more grams of fiber per serving). You can easily add a serving of breakfast cereal to your child's drinks, or add dry oats if your vita mixer is effective enough. The whole grain cereal found in the baby section is one other option, though it will be challenging to find a baby cereal with at least 3 grams per serving of fibers.

Chances are your son or daughter will get nearly all of their daily calcium supplement by drinking milk, but calcium is also found in yogurt, cottage cheese, traditional cheeses, green veggies, legumes, and tofu, along with calcium-fortified food items including waffles and orange fruit juice. One serving of calcium is equal to 1 cup dairy, yogurt, or calcium-fortified juice, 1/2 to One cup beans or broccoli, or four ounces of tofu. You should seek out low-fat versions of dairy, yogurt, and cheese, which are healthier since they have less artery-clogging fat. Children over the age of 2 should always consume 1% milk, never the full fat variety. Smoothies made with low-fat milk, soymilk, citrus veggie juice, or even low-fat natural yogurt are specially scrumptious solutions to consume your calcium.

Lean proteins is another sticky point in children's diets. My own child weighs in at 36 pounds. It's ideal for her to consume one half of that in grams, 18 grams, of lean protein each and every day. Children can get protein from a assortment of sources: cooked chicken, poultry hamburgers, yogurt, lowfat milk, peanut butter, tofu, eggs, almonds, vegan burgers, lasagna, and string cheese are common proteins sources amongst this particular age bracket. You'll really need to look at nutrition facts for one's particular grams of proteins for each amount for each item. Try to consider that barbequed chicken along with turkey burgers are definitely the hefty hitters, averaging twenty-one gr of protein per helping that is the dimensions of ones palm. Natural yogurt, low-fat dairy, peanut butter, as well as tofu are usually fantastic sources of trim necessary protein that taste delightful in kid's shakes!