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MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – As the school year begins, students need to eat more fruits, vegetables and healthy proteins to fuel their growing minds.
Camilla Martin, pediatric clinical nutritionist at UW Health, says 90% of children don’t eat enough vegetables. Adding fruits and vegetables to children’s diets can be easy because they don’t always have to be fresh – frozen fruits and vegetables are sufficient, Martin said.
Frozen broccoli, peas, corn, and mangoes can be healthy because the ingredients are frozen at high quality. Plus, frozen foods are cheaper and last longer.
“They’re more stable, more available and less expensive,” Martin said. It basically stops that food at that ideal state. So when something is in the fridge it prevents those cell breakdowns from happening.
Kathryn McMahon, a Madison mother of two, says preparing healthy meals can be challenging, especially when trying to keep fruit fresh.
“My beautiful children love fresh fruits and vegetables,” says McMahon. “So when it gets a little ripe or mushy and it can be hard to get them to eat things.”
McMahon said it’s hard to get her kids to swing by a more structured meal plan during school, after a more indulgent summer schedule.
“They’ll just be snacks,” she said. “So it’s very difficult to return three meals a day.”
Martin recommends starting each morning with a healthy breakfast including whole grains, low-fat milk, eggs and a serving of fruit. She said five servings of fruit and vegetables is the best way to provide students with nutritious meals to help them do well in school.
McMahon plans to transition her children into school mode with a big breakfast so they have enough energy to get through the day.
Martin says it’s important to involve your kids in the cooking process. Parents should give children vegetable options and let them decide which one to eat for each different meal. Martin says this helps children develop a healthy relationship with food from an early age.
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