5 a day: Make it a piece of cake

What does 5-a-day mean for children?

Most people are familiar with the idea of eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day in order to maintain a balanced diet. For adults this is a fairly straightforward concept, with one "portion" being equal to an average size fruit or about 80g of vegetables.

It can be more difficult to judge what the appropriate portion size for a baby or toddler, or a young child. The adult portion size applies from about age 6, but for a child younger than that the portion size is reduced to 40g for a 1-2 year old and 60g for a 3-5 year old.

The list below demostrates what constitutes a "portion" for a 1-2 year old child:

One 40g portion is approximately equal to:

Broccoli and cauliflower
1 small floret

Carrot
1 small carrot

Red pepper
1 quarter

Peas, beans and sweetcorn
2 tablespoons

Tomato
4 cherry tomatoes or 1 medium sized one

Apples and pears
1 quarter
Dried apricots
3 whole dried fruit

Banana
1 third

Grapes
8 seedless grapes

Mango
3 thin slices

Of course, it's all very well knowing what a portion is: the real fun comes in trying to persuade your darling child to eat it. Sometimes no amount of cajoling can induce even a single pea to pass their lips.

As a specialist organic children's food shop, Kiddies Kitchen wholeheartedly supports the five-a-day campaign but we also recognise the practical problems! That's why, as well as stocking fresh organic fruit and vegetables, we also sell a wide variety of 100% no added sugar snack bars and fruit smoothie pouches all of which are excellent ways to "sneak" a portion of fruit into your child's lunchbox.

For a more substantial meal why not team some organic Scooby-Doo pasta shapes (scroll down to the end of the page) with a tasty and nutritious roasted vegetable sauce. This sauce (this recipe, along with many others, can be found on our website www.kiddieskitchen.co.uk), is packed with vegetables and is always popular on a cold winters day

About Kiddies Kitchen

Kiddies Kitchen is a specialist organic baby and children’s food shop located on Paddons Row, Tavistock. We stock a wide variety of organic baby and children's foods plus feeding accessories, lunchboxes, children’s cookery books and cooking equipment. For more information visit the shop or, to buy online, go to www.kiddieskitchen.co.uk.

posted by Richard @ 9:27 AM