Serving Potential on a Plate

By Kelly Francis

Childhood nutrition starts with complementary feeding (the introduction to solids) and should be viewed as an opportunity to manipulate life long eating habits and food preferences for optimal adult health. The prevention of childhood obesity is a responsibility that belongs to adults - the parents, caregivers, teachers, food service industry and healthcare professionals.

This nutr-e-book is written by a registered dietitian for education on the appropriate introduction of solid foods in effort to promote healthy eating from the very beginning. This manual explores the pros and cons of baby led weaning and traditional spoon feeding together with evidence based nutrition education

I believe that a child’s plate contributes greatly to their potential in both the growing years and adulthood. A child does not have the knowledge or desire to eat healthily. Teaching your child healthy eating behaviour deserves as much attention as any other behaviour you wish for your child to learn. Optimum nutrition is essential for optimum growth and development. Providing adequate nutrition for your child does not need to be complex. Every meal should simply be considered as a nutritional opportunity.

This nutr-e-book will guide you in the planning and preparation of your child’s meals, assisting you in the provision of meals with nutritional benefits for increased future potential. Recipes for weaning foods and toddler meals are included to demonstrate the use of this manual in the creation of meals packed with nutritional opportunity!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Francis
• Release date: Jul 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9780620575270

Kelly Francis

Hello I am a registered dietitian in South Africa where I am currently running a private practice. I have a great love for childhood health because I believe it is the key to significant change. Optimum childhood health increases learning potential and therefore increases earning potential while at the same time, reduces the burden of disease on the quality of life of individuals and the economy.

Book preview

Serving Potential on a Plate

By Kelly Francis

Registered Dietitian

Copyright 2016 Kelly Francis

Smashwords Edition

ISBN 978-0-620-57527-0

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

Contents

Introduction

A Note on Infant Feeding

Complementary Feeding

The Key(s) to Success

The Complementary Menu

Toddler Feeding

Planning a Toddler Menu

Be Nutrient-Wise

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A child’s plate holds the key to their potential!

Childhood growth and development is directly related to learning potential and health throughout the life cycle. It is important to note that good growth is much more than an increase in weight and height. Everything inside the body, including the brain, is growing and maturing as well and therefore needs to be nourished. Sufficient energy and nutrient provision is vital for growth, brain development, learning and play. In addition to nutrition, stimulation and loving care play a role in early childhood development. Meal time practices and creativity can contribute to the meeting of these additional emotional needs. Therefore the opportunity a child has to reach their full potential lies in the hands of those responsible for their nutritional intake.

Growth monitoring is an important assessment tool for measuring nutritional status. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all children under 2 years must be weighed monthly and all children between the age of 2 and 5 years must be weighed every 3 months. This allows for the early detection of growth faltering or obesity.

For improved growth monitoring, the WHO growth charts include the monitoring of a child’s length/height with reference to the child’s weight and age. Although a child may appear underweight, the low weight may be appropriate for the height. The centile lines assist with the interpretation of a child’s growth, with good growth typically lying between the 3rd and 50th centiles. A child can, however, only be expected to grow relative to the birth weight recorded. It is the shape of the growth curve that is most important. Stagnated growth, weight loss and excessive growth are indicators of suboptimal growth and development with an increased risk for disease later in life.

The first 1000 days of life, including gestation, have been recognized as a critical window