How to Incorporate the Food Groups into Your Child's Diet

Children can be very picky eaters. Most children age 5 and up put their food through a series of tests before they eat it. If the food doesn't look right, taste right or smell right then they will not eat it. These high preferences that children have can certainly make it difficult to feed them a decent meal yet alone make sure that they consume the required amount of fruits, dairy, grains, proteins and veggies. It may seem impossible to get kids to eat from the five food groups but it really isn't. The key to getting children to eat lies in presentation. If you prepare the food a certain way picky eaters will be more likely to eat. Below are some meal ideas that you can use incorporate foods from each food group into your child's diet.

1. The Grains Group- Most of your children's meals should come from this category. The grains category sits at the base of the food pyramid and is the largest category in the food pyramid. Grains can be eaten any time of the day. You can incorporate grains in your breakfast, snack, lunch or dinner.

For breakfast try serving hot oatmeal with some cinnamon or brown sugar.

Try low fat milk with a cereal such as cheerios and whole wheat toast and a glass of juice.

Whole wheat pancakes or French toast (made with whole wheat bread) and a side of fruit is also a great choice.

For snack you can serve popcorn and wheat crackers or snacks like Triscuits and Melba snacks.

For dinner you can serve a nice plate of whole wheat pasta (with a side of whole wheat bread) and sauce. Prego sauce is a great brand to use. The Ragu varieties of pasta are also a kid friendly sauce.

A bowl of brown rice (wheat) and beans (such as kidney or black beans served with vegetable dumplings or even meat dumplings) are also a great source of grains. Try frying the rice in a bit of Canola oil, onions, fresh pepper, garlic and mushrooms (if your kid likes them.)

English muffin pizzas prepared with some brown rice and corn (on the side) and a piece of fruit can also make a great choice for a quick and fun lunch.

2. The vegetable group is the hardest group to get kids to eat. This group sits directly above the grain group and adjacent the fruit group. Below are a few ways to serve your children vegetables;

Try Fresh cut veggies with ranch dip for a snack. Serve these veggies with some crackers and juice.

Try broccoli with cheese and rice on the side for lunch.

Mashed potatoes served with gravy, chicken or a biscuit will make a great meal and is also a great way to incorporate vegetables into your child's diet.

Tofu, rice and vegetables is a great meal for lunch or snack however. Some kids might pass on tofu because of its curd like nature.

Serve veggie burgers or soy burgers on whole wheat buns and a side of sun chips.

Vegetable stir-fry (with wheat rice) saut©ed with garlic and onion is a great meal as well. You can use a lot of fresh vegetables to prepare the stir fry. Use some of your favorite seasonings as well. If your child enjoys meat you can place a few pieces of meat into the stir fry.

Homemade soup with soup crackers and a small piece of bread is a great way to incorporate veggies into your child's diet.

Sweet potato fries served with a sandwich are a great way to incorporate vegetables into your child's diet.

3. The fruit group lies next to the vegetable group in the food pyramid. Fruits are great to enjoy for breakfast and snack. Below are some ways to incorporate fruit into your child's diet;

Yogurt topped with diced fresh fruit served with cubed cheese and crackers on the side is a great choice for a small snack.

Bake banana bread, apple bread or even cinnamon raisin bread using fresh fruits. Bakes apples are another delicious choice.

A small fruit salad is also a great choice for a mid day snack served with peanut butter and crackers.

Chop up a bunch of fruit and dip inside melted chocolate.

Take a handful of chopped pieces of your favorite fruit, place them in a blender and create a delicious fruit smoothie!

Enjoy fresh chopped fruit on top of cereal.

Eat apple slices with some peanut butter.


4. The dairy group lies above the vegetable and fruit group. It is closer to the top of the pyramid which means that the body will need a smaller portion from that food group. Below are some meal and snack ideas on how to serve dairy.

Scrambled eggs and cheese with wheat toast and a glass of orange juice is great for breakfast.

A glass of milk and graham crackers and a small piece of fruit will make a great snack.

Cubed cheese, block cheese, or string cheese served with a side of grapes and a few crackers make a great snack.

Yogurt is also a great way to incorporate dairy. If your kids like granola you can sprinkle some granola on the top of the yogurt.

For a fun treat serve ice cream or frozen yogurt with diced strawberries.

Serve macaroni and cheese with a side of saut©ed veggies or rice.

Serve grilled cheese (on wheat bread) with fish sticks for lunch. You can try frying a bit of onion and placing in-between the bread along with a slice of tomato before frying the sandwich.

Hash browns served with cheese and a small scrambled egg or omelet is a good choice for breakfast.


5. The protein group sits directly across from the dairy group. Children need a small serving amount from this group. Dinner and lunch is a great way to incorporate protein into your child's diet. Below are some meal ideas;

Fish cakes served with whole wheat rice or on a whole wheat bun and tuna fish sandwiches are a great source of protein.

Beans with cheese on a tortilla and a side of brown rice will make a nice meal.

Lean meats are also a great source of protein. Chicken, turkey, porterhouse steak and even eggs are a great source of protein.

For snack you can serve children a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit or you can prepare peanut butter sandwiches or toast or crackers spread with peanut butter.

Trail mix with nuts, cereal, and raisins served with a piece of fruit like banana will make a good snack choice.

Serve tuna fish sandwiches (on whole wheat bread) and a side of chips like Baked Lays or Sun Chips.

Tofu stir-fried with veggies or meat is a great source of protein.

A nice bowl of chili served with a piece of wheat bread or a burrito with beans and cheese served with rice on the side are great sources of protein.