ALL ABOUT KIDS
3+
YEARS
1. Food Pyramid For Kids
Any parent can testify to how much food a growing child can eat; sometimes, it seems impossible to keep up with their insatiable hunger. This is all the more reason why we must prioritize keeping satisfying, calorie-dense foods on hand that we can be proud to feed to our children.
One key difference in our children's diet is that they burn through far more carbohydrates than we do. Their growing bodies are like a roaring furnace on a runaway train, whereas ours are slower and steadier as we age. Food companies know our children's needs and are happy to offer every type of factory-made carbohydrate under the sun. Still, these are rarely up to par regarding being traditionally prepared and genuinely healthy.
Like it or not, the responsibility for providing healthy carbs and other foods for our children falls squarely on the backs of the parents. There is no grey area here - we MUST prepare our everyday carbs for kids, for example, sourdough crackers, sourdough sandwich bread, baked oatmeal, pancakes, etc. These are called SLOW foods for a reason, and they take careful planning to be executed properly. It is time to step up and be the parent your children need!
CHECK OUT THE KID'S FOOD PYRAMID BELOW:
40 - 70% Healthy Fats
20 - 30%
Protein
15 - 40%
Carbs
*The demand for carbs fluctuates highly with children. Between raging hormones, growth spurts, and varying levels of activity, it is important to be attentive to your child's needs as they change.
2. Time For School
Breakfast of Champions
Get your little one off to a great start with a healthy breakfast of traditionally prepared foods. The examples below are what we usually eat for breakfast while mixing in the traditional omelets, meats, and sauces like Hollandaise on the weekends.
Breakfast
Recipes
Strawberry smoothies are a mainstay in our morning routine - they are delicious, simple to make, and healthy for the kids. I almost always add a couple farm fresh egg yolks to this, and use frozen cherries in place of honey or other sweetener. The egg yolks fortify this smoothie to make it the perfect breakfast food, so don't skip them if your kids are drinking this before school.
We always use freshly ground kamut or einkorn flour and soak it overnight with homemade kefir, or cultured buttermilk. I also add extra butter to the batter - about 1/2 cup all together, then top them with a mixture of 1/2 butter, 1/2 maple syrup. These are so, so good and are waaay better than your typical flapjacks.
Baked oatmeal is so good, and once it's cooled it can be served broken up in a bowl and topped with milk and maple syrup. This eats like cereal, but is waaay better for the kiddos. We always roll our own oats to maximize the freshness and nutrient availability. I highly recommend investing in an oat roller because pre-rolled oats are nothing like freshly rolled; there is a night and day difference.
This is a classic Swedish oatmeal dish that soaks the oats overnight, and it's super healthy, especially when you use freshly rolled oats. Very, very tasty and the flavors can be adapted any way you like. The key is to soak the oats and dairy together at least overnight and up to 5 days in the fridge.
Lunch Crunch
One of the more challenging routines to keep up with is scratch making lunch for the kids each day.
The quality of school lunches in this country is deplorable, and completely misses the mark for feeding our most important resource.
But with some careful planning and a loving touch, making lunch for the kiddos can become another daily routine just like brushing your teeth.
Tips for Keeping Up:
This PlanetBox Lunch Box has always kept me on task when planning lunches. The main compartment is the perfect size for a sandwich or small dish, and the smaller compartments hold all the sides. This is the clear winner for the best lunch box around - and it comes with so many extras like sealable containers, an insulated carry bag, and optional matching utensils.
1. GET ORGANIZED!
2. STAPLE SIDES
Figure out what snack foods your little one loves to eat and keep those items on hand for quick and easy lunch sides. Some examples of what we use are fresh-cut fruit (obviously), Sourdough Einkorn Goldfish Crackers, Healthy Dad Approved Plantain Chips, popcorn cooked in olive oil or coconut oil, or raw cheese cubes.
3. THE MAIN DISH
Sandwiches, sandwiches!! The most frequent flyer on our lunch list is some type of sandwich—always toasted with a generous spread of raw butter. Other items I like to pack are chicken fingers (cooked in lard or cold-pressed olive oil, of course), vegetable sushi rolls, or sometimes leftovers from dinner if they will travel well.
About once per week I crank out this amazing Einkorn Sourdough Sandwich Bread. This is something I feel great about giving to the kids - and it's a great all-purpose bread to keep on hand.
3. Staying Active
Feeding your kids healthy, traditional foods is hugely important, but as they get older it's also important to make sure they are active. Signing up for a family gym membership is a great way to keep the kids active, as many of them offer free childcare and group classes as part of the membership. Other options, depending on the child's level of interest are sports programs, or any other physically engaging activity like ice skating, ballet, or gymnastics.
It is important for us to care for the the whole child as best we can. Talk to your children and come up with a mutually satisfying option to keep them active.