Healthy holidays for the kids

Suzelle Viljoen, a clinical dietitian with Inge Retief and Associates in Sunninghill, said that the school holidays are often synonymous with sleeping late and unhealthy eating which can lead to weight gain, but she gave these tips to keep children healthy during the holidays.

– A cup of vegetable soup, ideally homemade, is an excellent nutritious winter snack. Use fat-free milk to make cream of vegetable soups and add fat-free yoghurt to garnish the soup instead of cream. Freeze the soup and let the children heat it in the microwave for lunch.

– Keep healthier options close at hand for children to snack on such as home-made popcorn, fresh fruit, dried fruit, stewed fruit or unsalted nuts.

– Top up on protein by serving lean biltong such as ostrich or game.

– Let children make their own fruit skewers by using grapes, papaya, pineapple and apple.

– Fat-free and sucrose-free versions of drinking yoghurts of no more than 300ml is a great alternative to sugary soft drinks.

– Remember to have water in the fridge for your children to drink. You can add strawberries, sliced lemon, mint leaves or cucumbers to alternate the taste of the water.

– Baking with children can be a fun activity over weekends and will ensure that they have something to eat during the week. Homemade low GI muffins (for example bran, carrot or banana) are a good option.

– Peanut butter can be used on a slice of low GI toast or you can use one tablespoon of peanut butter with fresh apple wedges, pear or any other piece of fruit for a delicious snack.

– Mini-wraps using chicken, avocado and cucumber make a delicious and healthy meal and it’s especially fun for children to make the wraps themselves.

– Baby quiches made with pureed butter beans, bacon, eggs and parsley or spinach can be made in big batches and kept in the freezer.

– To increase your children’s vegetable intake serve cream cheese or cottage cheese with vegetable sticks as a snack.

Details: www.ingeretief.co.za