Children, Activity, Diet
Part three of our series, "Children, Activity, and Diet."
We feel that most parents make misguided choices for kids' meals. This opinion is based on several years of observations of what kids eat for lunch, parties, going out to eat, etc.
Most parents are busy because they are parents! It is hard to juggle a job, household, kids' activities, and more. Most parties feature chips, donut holes, brownies, cookies, soda, cake, and fried chicken fingers, and they rarely serve a fruit or vegetable.
Most restaurants offer children's menus that feature foods that are very high in fat and sodium.
Look at our chart to see common children’s menu choices and what they contain, and you will be appalled!
| Food | Calories | Fat (g) | Trans Fat (g) | Sat. Fat (g) | Sodium (mg) |
| Cheeseburger | 300 | 12 | .5 | 6 | 750 |
| Pizza | 331 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 514 |
| Grilled Cheese | 334 | 20 | .5 | 2 | 828 |
| Chicken Nuggets, Fries, Coke | 520 | 23 | 0 | 3.5 | 570 |
| Macaroni & Cheese, prep | 410 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 912 |
| Brownie | 344 | 16 | 1.5 | 4 | 245 |
| Lunchable Cracker Stack | 390 | 22 | 1 | 9 | 890 |
| Dora the Explorer Soup | 70 | 2 | 0 | .5 | 580 |
| SpaghettiOs Pasta with Franks | 230 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 930 |
| Cheeseburger meal with fries | 640 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 920 |
Source: Mcdonalds.com, Dennys.com, Kraftfoods.com
Tips for better kids’ meals:
• Share a healthy menu item with the kids. Ideas include low-fat salad and pasta with marinara sauce, grilled fish or chicken, baked potato and salad, soup and salad, OR order a regular-size item and take the leftovers home.
• Visit salad bar restaurants and places that offer low-fat options for salad, stir-fry, and pasta.
• Skip the fried food. Better choices for fast food are a plain burger, skim milk, and fruit or salad (dressing on the side).
• Involve kids in researching the nutrients for their favorite fast food restaurant menus. Have them visit the new FDA site for Nutrition Facts Label reading for kids so they can know how to read a label and what is in the food they are eating.
• Cook with your kids!!
The 5 top reasons to cook with kids as:
1) It encourages kids to eat healthfully;
2) It is bonding time for you and the kids;
3) It nurtures creativity;
4) It is fun;
5) Cooking can teach math and science principles!!
