When it comes to the nutrition of infants, there is no replacement for breastmilk—it’s the best food for babies. No medical expert or nutritionist will question this statement.
However, once weaning starts and your toddler moves to taking solid foods too, it is a great time to introduce natural and wholesome food to your kids. Fresh milk (after one year), eggs, meat, legumes, fish, wholegrains, fruits and vegetables are all natural foods that have the nutrients that your growing child needs.
Natural food is full of nutrition
Nature has packed nutrients in abundance in almost all natural foods, be it vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, meat, fish, legumes or wholegrains.
So, what are the foods that you should opt for to get the best nutrition for your toddlers?
You need to choose food that takes care of your child’s mental and physical developmental needs.
For example, almost 60% of brain tissues are fat,1 so a child’s brain needs good fats like DHA. It can be obtained from natural sources such as eggs, oily fish like salmon and nuts. These food items will help develop intelligence in your kid.
At the same time, they also need vitamins, minerals and proteins to build neural networks that are associated with intelligence. These will come from fresh milk, eggs, legumes like lentils and chickpeas, wholegrains like brown rice and oats, fruits and vegetables such as green leafy vegetables, apple, avocado, orange, tomatoes and carrots.
Besides the above-mentioned nutrients, the child’s body also needs minerals like Calcium and Magnesium, among others, for physical growth. Magnolia fresh milk is one of those natural foods that is rich in providing a large number of nutrients for your toddler.
Pair fresh food with benefits of fresh milk
Like water and honey, Magnolia fresh milk is one of nature’s best gifts. Benefits of fresh milk are real, it has many vital elements that your little one needs. For example, a glass of milk contains Vitamins A and B, Carbohydrates, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorous, and Proteins.
The benefits of fresh milk doesn’t stop there. It’s also a great source of Calcium—that leads to the development of healthy bones, healthy teeth and healthy heart, among other benefits.2
Mum, don’t you now think that fresh milk should get a place of pride on your dining table? Shouldn’t you make it a part of the natural food that your children, who are older than a year, consume?
Tips to make your little ones love to eat fresh food
- Add colour to the food: Kids just love colour! Anything that is colorful attracts them—colourful toys and colourful fruits, etc. are some examples. Just add a good dash of colour to your child’s plate like yellows, greens, blues and reds. You can do this by using a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, melon, carrots, red capsicum, snow peas and cucumber.
- Keep fruits handy for them: Whether small or big, your child will reach out to fruits if it is handy for them. Keep fruits in your toddler’s line of sight (for example, if he sees a banana or an apple, he would want to eat one). If they go to a school, then pack a piece of fresh fruit such as grapes, berries, an apple or a banana into their lunchbox.
- Keep them hydrated: About 75% of a child’s body is water. Therefore, they need regular sips of water to keep themselves hydrated. Add a dash of lemon, lime, mint or sliced oranges to a jug of water. It will infuse a touch of natural sweetness in the water and they may even love the fruit-flavoured water.
- Add a glass of fresh milk: It’s natural and packed with nutrition. Magnolia Fresh Milk comes even in small packs with various flavours to appeal to your child’s palate. Isn’t that awesome?
Tips by Dietitian Derrick Ong, Principal Dietitian, Eat Right Nutrition Consultancy
“Stick to whole, minimally processed foods for your child to get the maximum nutrients for his growth and development,” said Derrick Ong, Principal Dietitian, Eat Right Nutrition Consultancy.
5 Benefits of Fresh Milk:
- Calcium and Vitamin D found in fortified fresh milk are essential to build strong bones and teeth, and to prevent osteoporosis later in life.
- Milk is a good source of protein to build muscle.
- It is also an excellent source of Vitamin B12 which is needed to form red blood cells that carry oxygen to the muscle, brain and other vital organs.
- Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) and Phosphorous play a role for energy metabolism and many essential biological functions that keep one alert and active all day
- Milk is a low glycemic index (GI) food which provides a steady stream of carbohydrates to fuel the child’s mental and physical activities.
- Vitamin A is good not just for eyesight, but also to support the growth of healthy skin, tissues, bone and teeth, as well as to build a strong immune system to fight off infections.
So, mum, give your child the best gift of nature—the goodness of wholesome food! Why wait? Start today!
Find out more from https://www.magnolia.com.sg/
References:
1https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20329590
2Calcium: What’s Best for Your Bones and Health? Retrieved on 2 Nov https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-full-story/