Want to help children eat better? Create delicious and nutritious meals and snacks.

Do you want to help children eat better?

Who do you feed? Your own children? Grandchildren? Or, those in your care if you are tasked with preparing meals and snacks for school or childcare?

In this blog series, I am sharing the key principles from materials I created with a Team Nutrition grant titled RECIPE for Growing Healthy Children. Now that these materials are no longer in print, this series makes this valuable content available again.

In the first post, we covered R, which stands for Role Model what we want children to be, say, and do.

In the second post, we covered E, which stands for a mealtime Environment that encourages children to practice healthy behaviors.

In this post, we cover C, which stands for Create delicious and nutritious meals and snacks. As described in the training materials:

You can plan, create, and serve healthful meals and snacks that children love to eat, setting the stage for lifelong healthy eating habits. Nutritious food optimizes a child’s growth and development, setting the stage for lifelong health.

This portion of the workshop was the longest at 90 minutes in duration. It included a video, discussions, activities, and multiple food demonstrations. What follows shares key content from the Create section of the training manual used in the workshops for childcare personnel.

The USDA Team Nutrition grant guidelines tasked us with helping childcare providers meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and specifically, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) guidelines. Additionally, we focused on the following challenges that childcare providers identified during our needs assessment, which was conducted before developing the materials.

What are the biggest challenges in feeding young children?

This section of the workshop began with a discussion of the major challenges childcare providers told us they experienced. Which ones do you share?

“How can we make healthy foods more appealing to children?”

(They told us that what children seem to like and will eat and what is most nutritious for them are often worlds apart.)

“How can we increase the variety of foods on our menus while keeping costs in line?”

(They asked us, “How can we use more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats without exceeding our budget? We need ideas for healthy, economical options and recipe modification ideas.”)

“How can I follow the CACFP guidelines regarding what counts as a meal or snack component?” 

(They wanted help with figuring out how to know whether a recipe matches the components.)

“How can I prepare the right amount to serve the approved portions and have enough for seconds but not too much left over?”

(They told us they don’t want to waste food, but at the same time want to be sure they have plenty for all the children to have enough not only for firsts but also possibly for seconds.)

“How can I make more foods from scratch rather than use convenience items with limited time and staff?”

(When we asked what their favorite menu items were to prepare and serve, they often named those lovingly made from scratch rather than those they simply heat and serve. But most of them are working solo and have many mouths to feed in very little time.)

What key ideas did we emphasize about the job of feeding children?

Providing nutrition for young children is a big responsibility.

We are meeting the needs of their rapidly growing bodies today by providing adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, and energy.   We are also setting the stage for their long-term health, helping them avoid problems such as obesity and chronic diseases in the future.

Providing nutrition for young children is a tremendous privilege.

We are exposing children to a wide variety of foods and helping children establish lifelong healthy eating habits and attitudes when we make meals a feast for the senses, a time to learn about food, and a relaxed, pleasant time to reconnect with others.

Childcare programs can make a significant impact on young children.

According to national survey data, 60% of young children (birth to age 5) in the United States spend an average of 29 hours a week in some form of childcare.  Of these 12 million children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program provides meals and snacks for approximately 3 million children in center and family-based care.  Childcare programs provide between 1/3 and 2/3 of the daily nutritional needs of the young children in their care.

Many childcare programs serve children who live in households experiencing “food insecurity.”  The most recent national statistics indicate that 15% of all households with children are food insecure.  The two levels of food insecurity are:

Low Food Security:  People that fall into this category have had to make changes in the quality or the quantity of their food in order to deal with a limited budget.

Very Low Food Security: People that fall into this category have struggled with having enough food for the household, including cutting back or skipping meals on a frequent basis for both adults and children.

Poor nutrition during childhood can lead to health problems now and in the future.

During childhood, not getting enough calories or nutrients can result in growth retardation, iron-deficiency anemia. and dental caries.  Children who are hungry or poorly fed may also exhibit many learning and behavioral problems.  Poor nutrition has long-term consequences as well, such as obesity, and chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Prevention begins with building positive habits in childhood.

By following the CACFP guidelines that tell you how much to provide from each food group at each meal and snack and selecting a variety of food choices from each group, you will meet the children’s nutritional needs now and build positive habits for the future.

Current concerns for American children include both too much and too little of some nutrients.

According to the 2008 Position Paper of the American Dietetic Association, providing Nutrition Guidance for Healthy Children ages 2 to 11 years, children in the U.S. get too much dietary fat and saturated fat.  Other studies have shown preschooler’s diets are too high in sodium and added sugars as well as fat.  Nutrients the children in the U.S. get too little of are Calcium, fiber, vitamin E, folate, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

What practical suggestions did we encourage childcare providers to make when feeding children?

When we discussed meeting the guidelines, we shared the following practical goals:

• Include at least 1 whole grain serving every day.

• Increase the variety of vegetables served at both meals and snacks.

• Rely less on juice and serve more whole fruit.

• Switch from high-fat to low-fat milk.

• Serve high-fat or fried meat no more than once a week.

Menu planning is challenging. How did we help them succeed?

We shared tips for menu planning and provided a menu review checklist.

Participants played “menu makeover” to practice making positive and practical changes to common breakfast, lunch, and snack menus. Small groups identified challenges in the menus and brainstormed potential solutions, then shared their findings and ideas with the entire group.

This activity was followed by several food demonstrations to show easy ways to create delicious and nutritious breakfast, lunch, and snack items.

During the demonstrations, we included a helpful review of food safety, which included handwashing, sanitizing surfaces and equipment, and avoiding the temperature danger zone and cross-contamination.

Breakfast items demonstrated were:

• Baked French Toast

• Baked Oatmeal

Both of these recipes can be prepared the day ahead and baked in the morning. In addition, we discussed dozens of creative breakfast menu combinations such as breakfast fruit pizzas, cinnamon-apple quesadillas, and yogurt/granola/fruit parfaits.

Lunch items demonstrated were:

• Pizza Pasta Bake

• Baked Sweet Potato Fries

• Fruity Coleslaw

Additional recipes included in the participant workbooks were homemade mac and cheese and fish sticks, cheesy peas, carrots with honey-ginger glaze, pasta and trees, toasted Hawaiian sandwiches, and wraps. Creative lunch menu ideas discussed included serving old favorites in new ways, around-the-world menus, and theme meals.

Snack items demonstrated were:

• Dynamite dips – cucumber, veggie dippers, easy-to-please hummus, tortilla crisps, peanut butter dip, yogurt fruit dip

• Banana Crunch Pops

Creative snack ideas discussed included build-your-own snacks and make-your-own creatures.

Here is an example of a recipe provided with the workshop:

As part of this section of the workshop, participants were provided with ideas for parent education and goal-setting worksheets to implement the suggested menu changes and recipes.

What’s coming next?

Sharing content from RECIPE is half complete. I, P, and E are yet to come. Check back next week!

“Feeding children is an immense responsibility.”

~ Bee Wilson

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