What's on their menu?

Taste preferences and dietary habits formed in the first few years can last a lifetime, so it’s important to sow the seeds of a healthy diet at a young age

The habits we form in childhood are the habits we will carry with us throughout our lifetimes and, as parents, it’s often difficult to negotiate the minefield of dietary choices for our children.

Are crisps food of the devil? Will an occasional McDonald’s result in early-onset diabetes and sure and certain misery? Is it okay to offer your child the odd chocolate bar or fizzy drink, and what if you just can’t get them to eat their greens?

We asked three parents to keep a week-long food diary for their young children.

Then we asked Ruth Charles, consultant dietitian, paediatrics, from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, and nutritionist Paula Mee ( paulamee.com) to take a look at the results.

We asked them what these parents were doing right and what they were doing wrong and, ultimately, how many snack-sized Crunchies are too many?

Maedhbh McCarthy (3)

MONDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with milk and honey, glass of milk

Playschool snack: Cheese, grapes, bread, water with juice

Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, tomatoes, water, Actimel yoghurt

Snack: Apple, Milka chocolate stick

Dinner: Pasta with bolognese sauce, yoghurt, water

Bedtime: Milk

TUESDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with milk and honey, glass of milk

Playschool snack: Salami and cheese sandwich, pineapple, banana, kiwi, glass of water

Lunch: Bread, tomatoes, salmon, blue cheese, peppers, glass of water

Snack: Biscuit, grapes, glass of water

Dinner: Vegetarian risotto, ice-cream, water

Bedtime: Glass of milk

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: Weetabix with milk and honey, glass of milk

Playschool snack: Cheese sandwich, mandarin, grapes, glass of water

Lunch: Tomato soup, bread and butter, cheese, tomatoes, grapes

Snack: Grapes, chocolate biscuit

Dinner: Fish with carrots, potatoes and peppers, yoghurt, glass of water

Bedtime: Glass of milk

THURSDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with milk and honey, toast, glass of milk

Playschool snack: Cheese and salami sandwich, mandarin and pineapple, glass of water

Lunch: Ham, bread and butter, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber

Snack: Grapes, mandarin

Dinner: Macaroni cheese and tomatoes, yoghurt, glass of water

Bedtime: Glass of milk

FRIDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with milk and honey, glass of milk

Snack: Bagel and cream cheese, grapes

Lunch: Crackers, vegetable soup, tomatoes, cheese, salami

Snack: Apple, banana, chocolate

Dinner: Chicken curry with rice, ice-cream, glass of water

Bedtime: Milk

SATURDAY

Breakfast: Pancakes with maple syrup, sausages, glass of milk

Snack: Dried apricots, banana

Lunch: Crackers with cheese and ham, yoghurt

Snack: Grapes, mandarin

Dinner: Noodles with pork and vegetables, cake, glass of water

Bedtime: Milk

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Weetabix with milk and honey, bagel, milk

Snack: Oat and blueberry smoothie, raisins

Lunch: Bread and butter with ham, cheese, tomatoes and cucumber

Snack: Cadbury’s Twirl chocolate

Dinner: Melon, roast beef with carrots, potato and cauliflower, meringue with cream and strawberries, glass of water

Bedtime: Milk

Ruth’s notes:

The routine of Maedhbh’s meals and snacks is consistently good. She has a wholegrain breakfast cereal daily and her fruit and veg sources are varied. The mixture of food variety (sweet/savoury) and texture are good and ensure that her skills of eating, drinking and swallowing are regularly challenged.

Vitamin D needs would be covered by regular inclusion of oily fish, eggs and fortified milk. Try to include wholegrain varieties of pasta and crackers. Try to include a range of different coloured vegetables – red (tomato, peppers), green (broccoli, spinach). The colour gives an indication of vitamins and antioxidants present.

It seems there’s a daily “treat”. Try to keep it to twice a week of “fun” or snack size, and try not to use food as a reward.

Paula’s notes:

Overall, Maedhbh’s diet seems fairly balanced, with regular meals and snacks and a good intake of protein and fibre from her porridge, vegetables and fruit. The fibre in wholemeal bread, if she eats it, will help keep her gut healthy and prevent constipation. However, too many high-fibre foods can, in some cases, fill slight children up very quickly and displace other foods that provide important nutrients.

Many young Irish children are not getting enough calcium in their diet, but Maedhbh is exceeding her calcium requirements. For a child of this age, it is recommended that they should consume three servings of calcium-rich foods a day. One serving is equal to 200ml milk, 25g cheese or a 125g pot of yoghurt and Maedhbh would often have more than three servings. This may mean she is not getting enough of other foods.

I would suggest Maedhbh includes more variety in her lunch and occasional alternatives to cheese in her sandwich, because she is getting sufficient calcium and bone minerals from milk and yoghurt already. Processed meats such as ham, salami and sausages are high in fat and salt so these are not good alternatives. Better sources of protein would be leaner, unprocessed meats such as chicken, turkey, lean beef, eggs, tinned tuna and salmon or baked beans.

Substituting these foods for the cheese and ham sandwich would improve the overall quality of Maedhbh’s diet.

Leni Smith (3)

MONDAY

Breakfast: Corn Flakes and All Bran, toast and a glass of milk

Snack: Fruit and sandwich

Lunch: Two lamb chops, one small potato, baby corn, carrots and sugar snap peas

Snack: Two biscuits, a bag of Tayto crisps and a Capri Sun

Supper: Home-made vegetable soup made with carrots, courgette, spinach, tomatoes and mixed beans, two slices of wholegrain bread.

Drinks: Milk, water

Emma’s notes: Leni gets her morning snack in playschool, usually a piece of fruit or sandwich or biscuit, with a glass of milk or water. The children have their dinner at lunchtime, mainly because they tend to fill up on sweets (courtesy of granny and gramps) in the afternoon.

TUESDAY

Breakfast: Corn Flakes and All Bran

Playschool snack

Lunch: Two servings of spaghetti bolognese

Snack: Granola bar

Supper: Fish fingers, wholegrain pasta, raw carrots and broccoli

Drinks: Milk, water.

Emma’s notes: Leni’s not great for eating breakfast. If she could, she’d just have some toast. The habitual “I’m hungry” as an excuse to stay up late leads to a bowl of Rice Krispies at bedtime.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: Porridge, raisins and honey with a glass of milk.

Playschool snack

Lunch: Sweet and sour pork with brown rice

Supper: Cracker and cheese with a yoghurt and an apple

Drinks: Milk, water

Emma’s notes: Sweet and sour pork is Leni’s favourite so she had two big bowls. When she likes something she eats a lot of it.

THURSDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with raisins and honey. A glass of milk

Playschool snack

Lunch: Salmon, green beans and pesto with brown rice

After-dinner treat courtesy of Granny: Maltesers

Snack: Rice cakes and hummus, treat-sized packet of jellies and a Capri Sun

Supper: Thursday is pizza night

Emma’s notes: I’d love to say Thursday’s pizza was home-made, but it was Goodfellas’ ham and pineapple.

Things start to get junky around Thursdays.

FRIDAY

Breakfast: Yoghurt with strawberries and kiwi, slice of toast and jam, orange juice

Playschool snack

Lunch: McDonald’s happy meal with chicken nuggets, fries and blackcurrant juice

Snack: Lots of sweets

Supper: Nothing due to aforementioned junk fest

Emma’s notes: We go to Carlow some weekends, and if the kids aren’t asleep by the time we’re passing McDonald’s, I usually give in and get a drive-thru. The excitement on their faces beats my guilt, hands down. When we arrive at my mum’s, Dad takes the kids to the local shop where they pick what they want and pig out for the afternoon. Friday night is also movie night, so even though Leni wasn’t hungry for dinner, she didn’t refuse popcorn and jellies.

SATURDAY

Breakfast: Coco Pops, brown bread and jam and a glass of milk

Snack: Oat cakes and banana

Lunch: Chicken fajitas, fruit and jelly, water

Snack: Calippo ice pop

Supper: Omelette with cheese, spinach, garlic and tomatoes Late-night treat: blue MMs

Emma’s notes: We’re suckers for tradition. On Saturday and Sunday mornings the kids pick whatever cereal they like. Usually it’s Coco Pops or Cheerios.

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Brown bread and marmalade, yoghurt, a glass of water

Snack: Bowl of blueberries, strawberries and apple

Lunch: Roast beef, potato, carrots and parsnip, broccoli and lots of gravy

Snack: More sweets (trip to the shop with grandad)

Supper: Egg and toast, cheese and a glass of milk

Emma’s notes: We possibly don’t vary her diet as much as we should. Leni’s brother Fursey is very fussy so we stick with what he likes, to save cooking two dinners. She has asthma so I try to limit her milk intake.

Ruth’s verdict:

The routine of Leni’s meals and snacks is good. Her calcium needs are covered and iron needs are covered by her intake of lamb, pork, bolognese, chicken, fish and dried fruit. Mixing a wholegrain breakfast cereal with another is a good way of getting fibre in. Wholegrain pasta, brown rice and wholemeal breads are other good choices. Try to include oily fish twice a week.

It seems there’s a regular “treat”. Everyone deserves and needs a treat, but because these are usually foods that contain a lot of added saturated fat, sugar and salt it’s best to try to keep these to twice a week of “fun” or snack size.

There is a belief among some people that consuming dairy products increases the production of mucus in the respiratory system. This suspicion has recently been reviewed, by Brunello Wuthrich in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, and the conclusion is that milk consumption does not lead to mucus production or occurrence of asthma.

Paula’s notes:

Taste preferences and dietary habits formed in the first few years can last a lifetime, so it’s important to sow the seeds of a healthy diet at a young age. The challenge is, what snacks do you give them?

Ideally, you want to make the snacks count nutritionally. Leni’s diet contains frequent snacks, but many are high-calorie treats. These can be high in fat, sugar and/or salt, but lacking in essential vitamins and minerals. Eating too many of these foods may contribute to the problem of childhood overweight and may cause health problems later on.

Snacks should be nutritious and just filling enough to help your child hold out for a few hours before dinner or lunch. Instead Leni’s appetite for dinner is occasionally spoiled by less nutritious snacks. Alternative choices could be chopped fruit or a wholemeal scone, a yoghurt, a cracker with sliced cheese and grapes, or a fruit smoothie.

Leni, like other children, loves fast food, but it can be a fast way to weight gain. If their favourite food or snack isn’t very nutritious, keep it for a treat or special occasion. Instead of rewarding children with food, why not treat them to a swim or a trip to the zoo or park?

Yasmin Murphy (2)

MONDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with ground chia seeds, plain natural yoghurt, strawberries and fresh orange juice

Snack: A green smoothie made with berries, spinach, Udo’s oils, rice milk and a drop of maple syrup

Lunch: A mini pizza made with vegetables, pesto and buffalo mozzarella on spelt bread

Snack: Fruit salad with chopped apple, peach, kiwi and raspberries with plain goat’s yoghurt; rice cakes

Dinner: Salmon, sweet potato, steamed veg

Snack: A few strawberries

Drinks throughout the day: Water, goat’s milk

TUESDAY

Breakfast: Oats with chia seeds, fruit salad and plain natural yoghurt

Snack: Rice cake, strawberries, banana

Lunch: Frittata made with leek, carrot, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, spinach and pesto

Snack: Rice cake with raw chocolate mousse made with avocado, raw cacao and agave

Dinner: Leftovers from lunch

Evening munchies: A few Gourmet Raw beetroot crisps, goat’s yoghurt

Drinks: Water, goat’s milk, coconut water

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with peach raisins

Snack: Blueberries, green smoothie

Lunch: Salmon, broccoli and soda bread (at Mamo’s)

Snack: Rice cakes with almond butter

Dinner: Channa masala with brown rice

Snack: Goat’s yoghurt

Drinks: Goat’s milk, water

THURSDAY

Breakfast: Berries, natural yoghurt, a slice of spelt toast, fresh orange juice

Lunch: Leftovers from yesterday’s channa masala

Snack: Raisins in the car

Dinner: Sushi at Yo! Sushi

Snack: Figs

Drinks: Goat’s milk, coconut water

Tina’s notes: I took her to Yo! Sushi today.

FRIDAY

Breakfast: Berries, yoghurt, spelt toast

Snacks: Figs

Lunch: Cheese on toast (spelt bread with buffalo mozzarella)

Snack: Rice cakes, berries

Dinner: Quorn stir-fried in satay sauce, noodles

Drinks: Water, goat’s milk

SATURDAY

Breakfast: Porridge

Snacks: Apple slices dipped in almond butter

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with spelt bread

Snack: Green smoothie

Dinner: Spelt pasta and meatballs (made with organic beef mince), steamed peas

Snack: Almond biscuit (sugar- and wheat-free, made with almond butter, ground almonds and agave syrup)

Drinks: Water, goat’s milk

Tina’s notes: The only meat Yasmin will eat is these meatballs, so I try to make them regularly to give her extra iron.

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Porridge with natural yoghurt

Lunch: Pancakes and blueberries – we went for brunch in Herbstreet

Snack: Goat’s yoghurt, raspberries

Dinner: Leftover meatballs and spelt pasta

Drinks: Water, goat’s milk, coconut water

Ruth’s notes:

The routine of meals and snacks is consistently good. Calcium needs are covered by her intake of mozzarella, goat’s yoghurt and milk and Vitamin D needs are covered by her intake of salmon and eggs.

Iron needs are covered by her intake of beef, salmon, seeds and dried fruit. Wholegrain sources are included regularly (oats and seeds) and fruit and veg sources are varied and multicoloured. She gets good omega fats from salmon.

It is vital, if any food is removed from a child’s diet for whatever reason, that it is replaced with another of equal nutritional value. Serious nutritional issues can result otherwise. (Yasmin is eating cows’ milk protein via mozzarella, gluten via oats and spelt, tree nuts via almond butter and peanuts via satay sauce.)

However, rice milk as a main drink is not recommended for children under four and a half years due to the risk of arsenic contamination.

Paula’s notes:

When I first read this, I thought I was reading the food diary of an adult. Not many children get exposed to these foods. There’s fantastic variety. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from non-meat foods, so it would be a good idea for Yasmin to take a glass of unsweetened orange juice once a day.

If young children don’t like meat the first time they taste it, that’s okay. Children learn to like new foods and exposure is important. You can try serving it with other food that they like and praise them for trying. It’s fantastic to see that Yasmin loves fish. By including salmon in her diet, she is getting some omega 3 fatty acids which are important for the development of a child’s brain and nervous system and in the prevention of chronic diseases.

Unless Yasmin suffers from allergy, intolerance or gastrointestinal symptoms, there’s no nutritional benefit in avoiding cow’s milk. If she prefers non-dairy alternatives, I would make sure they have been fortified with calcium – 120mg per 100ml.