Children ages 3-7 should have the following each day:
- 2 to 3 cups of milk (or 1/2 oz cheese or 1 /2 cup yogurt for each 1/ 2 cup milk)
- 2 servings of meat, 1 to 2 ounces each (or an egg, peanut butter, tofu, legumes)
- 4 to 5 1/4-cup servings of vegetables and fruits (one small apple, half a banana, three carrot sticks, mashed potatoes, four or five strawberries, a half cup of juice). Serve vitamin C-rich foods daily and a good source of vitamin A at least three to four times a week.
- 4 servings of grain foods (1 slice bread, 1/2 cup pasta, 5 saltines, 1/2 cup cooked cereal)
- Some good-habit-forming ideas:
- Have set mealtimes.
- Have reasonable expectations without being critical.
- Have control over what your kids eat away from home. Here are a dozen healthy school lunch suggestions:
- Pita with tuna salad, small applesauce, cheese cubes
- Peanut butter, bagel, cantaloupe pieces
- Cheese and apple slices on raisin bread, baby carrots
- Corn bread with honey, thermos of soup, small apple
- Cottage cheese and banana on whole wheat, green pepper strips
- Bran muffin, small fruited yogurt, strawberries
- Tortilla wrapped around cheese sticks, sliced kiwi
- Hard-boiled egg, cream cheese on pumpkin bread, orange segments
- Peanut-butter-and-jam squares, carrot sticks, fruit
- Peanut butter on banana bread, cucumber coins, small yogurt
- Thermos of soup, cheese and crackers, box of raisins
- Cream cheese on bagel, orange juice, veggie sticks
