A healthy balanced diet provides your preschooler with all the vitamins and nutrients that he needs to grow. And learning about your child’s nutritional needs can assist you in creating healthy meals and snacks that will boost your child’s nutritional intake and keep him satisfied.
To ensure adequate nutrition, a preschooler’s meals and snacks should include a variety of foods from each of the five food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, protein and dairy as follows –
Fruits
According to USDA’s Choose My Plate, 3-year-old children should eat 1 cup of fruits per day and 4-year-old children should consume 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fruit per day. Examples of 1 cup of fruit include a small apple, 1 cup of 100 percent fruit juice, 32 seedless grapes, a medium grapefruit and eight large strawberries.
Vegetables
Three-year-old children need 1 cup of vegetables each day and 4-year-old children should eat 1 1/2 cups of vegetables daily, according to USDA’s Choose My Plate. Your child should eat a variety of different vegetables throughout the week which may include dark green vegetables, orange and yellow vegetables, beans and peas, starchy vegetables and other vegetables over the course of a week.
Grains
Children who are 3 years old should consume 3 ounce equivalents of grains per day and children who are 4 years old should consume 5 ounce equivalents of grains per day. At least half of the grains your child eats each day should be whole grains.
Protein
Children who are 3 years old should consume 2 ounce equivalents of protein per day and those who are 4 years of age should consume 4 ounce equivalents of protein daily.
Dairy
Three-year-old children should consume 2 cups of dairy per day, and children who are 4 years old should consume 2 1/2 cups of dairy daily. Dairy may include milk or mil products like butter, cheese etc.
Oils/Fats
Most preschoolers get enough oils and fats in the foods they eat. Therefore, instead of having a suggested amount that children of this age group should consume, there is a daily allowance of oils suggested by USDA’s Choose My Plate. For children who are 3 years old the allowance is 3 teaspoons per day, and for children who are 4 years old the allowance is 4 teaspoons daily.
Image – Kidspot