nutrition

School Lunches – Fruits & Vegetables – How Many Do Your Kids Need?

August 27th, 2009 | Author: Merlene

Photo by karimian - flickr.com

We’ve all heard it before – kids and adults need anywhere from 4 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily will:

Meet your needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
Reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis.
Contribute to your overall health and vitality.

But the question that I always get hung up on is how many serving of fruits and vegetables does each age group need? Clearly the nutritional needs of a 4 year old are different than that of a 14 year old. And how large should a serving be?

The following chart helps answer some of the questions:

	Children			Teens		Adults
Age in Years	2-3	4-8	9-13	14-18 years		19-50 years		51 + years
Sex	Girls and Boys			Females	Males	Females	Males	Females	Males
Vegetables and Fruit	4	5	6	7	8	7-8	8-10	7	7
Grain Products	3	4	6	6	7	6-7	8	6	7
Milk and Alternatives	2	2	3-4	3-4	3-4	2	2	3	3
Meat and Alternatives	1	1	1-2	2	3	2	3	2	3

And what exactly makes up one serving of fruits and vegetables?

Fresh, frozen or canned vegetables one serving = 125 mL (½ cup)
Leafy vegetables one serving = 250 mL (1 cup)
Fresh, frozen or canned fruits one serving = 1 fruit or 125 mL (½ cup)
100% Juice one serving = 125 mL (½ cup)

Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day.

Go for dark green vegetables such as broccoli, romaine lettuce and spinach.
Go for orange vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes and winter squash.

Choose vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt.

Enjoy vegetables steamed, baked or stir-fried instead of deep-fried.

Have vegetables and fruit more often than juice.
All of that information is well and good but how do you get your family to eat enough fruits and vegetables each day? Especially when it comes to their lunches?

Juice boxes will count for 1 to 2 servings each (depending on size)

Try cutting up a sweet bell pepper (green, yellow, orange or red) as a snack. (This was a staple in my household as my kids always preferred peppers to fruit.)

A small container of ranch dip with some carrot, cucumber, celery sticks and even some broccoli florets for dipping.

An apple or pear sliced up into bite sized wedges. (Dipped in lemon juice before putting in a container apples and pears won’t turn brown and “yucky”).

Add shredded carrot or finely diced celery to tuna salad or egg salad sandwiches.

What are some of your favourite ways to slide a little extra fruit & vegetables into your kids’ lunches?