To help your kids stay energetic, lean and healthy, create a basic framework of family meals that are nutritious, and reserve the rich and more elaborate foods for weekends or special occasions. Two-thirds of the plate should be made up of fruit and vegetables and starchy foods. The remaining third of a basic diet should be made up of dairy products and protein-containing foods, plus a small amount of richer, fatty foods or treat-like foods. If their basic diet is healthy, then an odd ‘junk food day’ won’t matter. You could
- grill food rather than fry them
- avoid deep-frying anything
- use alternatives to sugar when preparing sweet things, like dried or fresh fruit or fruit juice
- replace white flour in recipes for wholemeal flour or oats
- steam vegetables and fish to improve flavour and texture and to retain vitamins and minerals
- reduce portion sizes of richer ingredients.