My kids are naturally thin, which I know is better than being fat. But their slimness concerns me when they get sick because they tend to lose weight. So my goal is to get healthy calories into them. To keep it simple for me (since I have so many kids), this is my simple plan for them this 2017:
1. For fat – REAL butter not margarine, and use olive oil as much as possible
2. For carbohydrates – Brown rice mixed with white rice at least twice a day. Bread is okay, occasionally.
3. For protein – Cheese, Eggs and Chicken (Bounty Fresh because they don’t have hormones or antibiotics), Fish, and beef. But we lean more towards fish and chicken.
4. For fruits & vegetables – Large servings of fruits at breakfast and fruits for snacks. Serve a variety of vegetables for lunch and dinner (require kids to eat veggies). A person once asked me, “How do you get your kids to eat vegetables?” Well, first, you need to teach them to obey. Then you tell them, “Eat your vegetables,” and they will!
5. Give vitamins.
6. Drink milk twice a day. Our younger kids drink Friso. (It’s easier on the stomach.)
Here are some recipes I also came up with to sneak in the twice a day recommending milk intake into their diets (especially for Tiana and Catalina):
Mixed Berry Shake
1/2 c. Mixed frozen berries (from SM Hypermart, Rustans Fresh, or S&R)
8 oz. Water
5 scoops Friso Milk Powder
Strawberry or Mango Smoothie
1/2 c. Frozen strawberries or mangoes
4 oz. water
5 scoops Friso Milk Powder
1/2 c. plain yoghurt
Cold chocolate (once in a while)
1 pack Chocolate Powder (Swiss Miss or Hersheys)
8 oz. Water
5 scoops Friso Milk Powder
Milk Ice Pops
8 oz. water
5 scoops Friso Milk Powder
Frozen ice pops tray to freeze the milk
Permissible snacks (beyond fruits & vegetables): Lentil chips, veggie or other chips (without MSG because my kids get skin reactions to it), raisins, prunes, nuts, butter and honey on whole wheat bread or peanut butter & jelly, cereal, cereal bars, and popcorn.
Occasionally, they can have Cheetos and chocolate. As much as possible, I don’t put these in our pantry, not just for their sake, but for mine, too!
I also have an app downloaded on my phone to track my kids’ growth which is super easy to use:
