Comprehensive Guide to Different Food Groups and Pyramid for Kids

Healthy food is essential to staying healthy and preventing illnesses, weaknesses, and deficiencies. Therefore, it’s important to eat nutritious foods to maintain overall well-being. This healthy food is a result of consistently following a balanced diet. A balanced diet includes various food groups that ensure to incorporate all nutrients that are essential for the body to grow strong and healthy.

In this blog, we will delve into different food groups for kids that are essential to be a part of a balanced diet for kids.

What is a Food Group?

Food groups are categorised into 7 to 10 basic food groups that can help people make nutrient rich choices. With food groups, people can ensure an adequate intake of nutrients including essential vitamins and minerals that support kids in overall growth and development.

On a daily basis it’s essential to tick mark all these basic food groups for children. The food groups are:

Understanding the Food Pyramid for Kids

The food pyramid for kids is a visual tool that helps kids understand the appropriate portions of each food group that should be consumed daily as per their age and gender. The base being the widest indicates the food group that should be consumed the most and the top indicates what should be consumed less like sweets and fats.

Food pyramid for balanced diet for 2000 kcal.

Changes in the Food Pyramid Over Time

With modern nutritional guidelines, the food pyramid for kids changed and is now called my plate of the day. This tool divides food groups into sections to signify what should be consumed and how much.

How to Use My Plate

Parents can take guidance from the “my plate for the day” to plan meals for their kids.

• The proportions of food groups mentioned serve an important function.
• It recommends providing macronutrients and micronutrients to children using all the mentions food groups.
• For instance, vegetables, fruits, Green leafy vegetables, tubers and roots should make up to half the plate of the recommended foods daily.
• Include half of the whole grains in form of cereals like millets.

How to Build a Balanced Diet for Kids

The best way to build a balanced diet for kids is to take guidance from ‘my plate for the day’. By simply including all 5-7 basic food groups from the food groups list daily, you can provide all essential nutrition to kids.

Planning Balanced Meals

Here’s an example of a sample meal that includes all food groups:

• Breakfast: Soaked and boiled whole grains, boiled red / black beans, lobia/chickpea, green leafy vegetables, vegetables and nuts.
• Lunch: Cereals, pulses, vegetables, green leafy vegetables, oil, nuts, curd, paneer, fruits.
• Mid-day snack: A bowl of fruit or nuts and a glass of milk.
• Dinner: Cereals, pulses, vegetables, oil, curd, fruits.

Portion Control and Serving Sizes

The portion of food that kids should eat daily depends on their age, weight and lifestyle. However, the typical food serving sizes for a balanced diet of 2000kcal are:

• Nuts and seeds: 35 grams (peanut, almonds, cashews)
• Fats: 27 grams (vegetable, oil ghee)
• Milk/curd: 300ml
• Pulses and legumes or flesh foods: 85grams
• Cereals and Nutri cereals: 250grams (rice, wheat, bajra, corn)
• Vegetables and fruits: 100grams (seasonal fruits and vegetables)

Snack Ideas for Kids

• Fruit or vegetable salad topped with seeds, nuts and curd.
• Roasted or boiled beans with vegetables.

Tips to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits in Kids

• Make It Fun: Kids are attracted to things that are creative, colourful and appealing. So, incorporate foods from all food groups and make their plate for the day colourful.
• Involving Kids in Meal Prep: Make meal prep fun. Include kids in the meal preparation as it can give them a sense of accomplishment and get them excited to eat the food they made.
• Positive Reinforcement: Encouragement helps kids to feel motivated. Offer them small rewards or praise them if they finish their meals.

Conclusion

It’s important to understand the various food groups and why they are essential to create a balanced diet. This can help parents to create a balanced diet for kids including 5-7 food groups that can help them in receiving wholesome nutrition. You can introduce Complan milk as a part of the balanced diet for your little one as it contains 34 vital nutrients needed for a kid’s growth and development.