Post by Gale Coleman on Jun 3, 2017 10:39:59 GMT -8
2.1. What are some of the challenges of providing nutritious snacks and meals for children?
I think some of the challenges of providing nutritious snacks and meals for children is making food appealing. I know when I was in grade school, School started at 9am there was no breakfast, there was only lunch, and food was great everyone ate at school, but there was one meal everyone hated ‘Chicken Chow mein’ we would all bring lunch on that day, other than that we loved school lunch. But I think back then there was not a lot of additives or food substitutes, you got real beef on burgers (which I’m sure those probably had some meat substitute) but basically real food, but by high school I can’t tell you what was going on because by than no one was eating at school.
So, some of the challenges I think there are in providing nutritious snacks and meals for children is making foods more appealing, because children have definite food preferences, so including some well-liked foods in every meal, and healthy foods that are familiar to children is good. Food temperature should be considered, most children do not like very hot or very cold foods. Food should have different texture crunchy, crisp, smooth, creamy, not lumpy or stringy foods. Food color, and food flavors are big ones, foods of different colors, and foods with sweet, salty, sour, tart, spicy and mild flavors makes a meal more interesting and appealing. Foods with of different shapes, young children like foods with different shapes, round crackers or cherry tomatoes, triangle shaped sandwiches, square chunks of cheese and apple wedges. Introduce new foods with familiar foods, the more chances children have to try a new food, the more likely they are to accept it.