The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recently released disturbing statistics that question the quality of the average American child’s diet. In particular, they found that most children are getting too much saturated fat and excess calories, and not enough vegetables, fruits and whole grains. As a result, your child’s diet may be lacking several key nutrients that are essential to their health, including calcium, fiber, vitamin E, magnesium and potassium.
The USDA has found that most children do not get enough fiber in their diets. We all know that fiber can help keep our digestion regular, but according to the Mayo Clinic, fiber can also reduce your child’s risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. At a time when the incidence of adult-onset diabetes is increasing among children, fiber has become even more important.
You might think you’ll never get your child to eat more fiber, but you would be surprised how easy it is to tempt children with high-fiber snacks and meals. For an after-school snack, give your child popcorn, apple slices with peanut butter or a cup of fresh raspberries or strawberries drizzled with chocolate syrup. According to the Mayo Clinic, two cups of air-popped popcorn has 2.3 grams of fiber, while one apple has 4.4 grams and a cup of raspberries has a whopping 8 grams of fiber.
You can also sneak fiber-rich foods into your family dinners. When making tacos, add kidney or black beans to the ground beef -- one cup of kidney beans offers 13.1 grams of fiber. Using whole-wheat pasta instead of the white variety will also up the fiber in your child’s diet.
If your child doesn’t currently eat much fiber, be sure to introduce it into his diet slowly and encourage him to drink lots of water.
Potassium is another nutrient the USDA finds is lacking in the average child’s diet, mainly because our kids aren’t eating enough fruits, vegetables and dairy products. According to the National Institutes of Health, potassium is crucial to a number of bodily functions and plays a large role in regulating blood pressure. They recommend that children get between 3 to 4.7 grams of potassium per day, depending on their age.
So how do you get your child to eat more fruits and vegetables? Chop a sweet potato into small pieces, lightly coat with cooking spray and bake until crispy. Your kids will love these orange French fries, but they’ll also be consuming nearly 700 mg of potassium. Mix plain, nonfat yogurt with fresh raspberries and drizzle with honey for a potassium-rich and high-fiber treat. Plain yogurt is a great source of potassium, with 579 mg of potassium per 8 ounces. Bananas, cantaloupe and honeydew are also rich in potassium, and are easy to chop into kid-friendly finger food.