Healthy Food Choices
• Fresh vegetables, especially broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, watercress, parsley, collards, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, daikon radishes, beets, and beet tops
• Fresh fruits, especially apples, avocados, cherries, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, figs, and berries
Some of your child’s favorite fruits may not be available year round, so substitute with the organic frozen version. (Note: modern freezing techniques do not significantly diminish the nutritional value of foods.)
Frozen berries are great served in a little dish with a spoon (blueberries, in particular, are a big hit with kids and are nutrient powerhouses). Cold, crisp apple slices with raw, organic, unsalted almond butter are often appealing and provide protein, fiber, and vitamins.
• Home-made stewed fruits, especially apples, pears, prunes and apricots
• Freshly squeezed or fresh-pressed vegetable and fruit juices
• Smoothies made from any combination of:
- fresh or frozen fruit (especially berries, peaches and bananas)
- freshly squeezed fruit juice or water
- almond, coconut, oat milk, plain whole milk Greek yogurt or kefir
- raw almonds
- raw, unsalted almond butter
- a handful of leafy greens
- avocado
- pea, hemp or whey protein powders
• Clear broths, vegetable and miso soups
• Legumes, including lentils, peas and beans
• Cooked whole grains, including oatmeal, rice*, barley, millet, and bulgur
• Sourdough breads or those made from sprouted flour, sprouted whole grains, spelt, and einkorn flour
• Pastas made from whole grains and seeds, including quinoa, corn, and buckwheat
• Nuts and seeds, especially almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and cooked quinoa
• Tempeh
• Seaweeds from Maine coast sources, certified free of contaminants
• Wild fish that has been certified free of contaminants. (Note: smaller fish, like sardines and anchovies are less contaminated in general than larger fish and very nutritious, so it’s worth seeing if your child likes them.)
• Organic grass-fed poultry & meats
• Organic eggs from free-range chickens
• Unrefined, unfiltered organic virgin olive oil and small amounts of unrefined coconut, sesame, almond, avocado, and macadamia oils.
• Raw unfiltered honey, pure maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, barley malt syrup and date sugar can be used sparingly. (Note: to prevent the possibility of infant botulism, honey should never be given to children under one year of age.)
* Residues of arsenic are commonly found in rice and rice products due to contamination of soils and rice growing practices. Until there are substantive changes in these practices, consider using rice sparingly, especially for children. (See recommendations for reducing arsenic content in rice through cooking practices). Traditionally harvested lake grown wild rice is a nutritious and healthy alternative.
Helpful Hints
• Encourage your child to help with the preparation of meals and snacks if they feel well enough. Studies show that children are more likely to try new foods if they play a role in their selection, preparation and cooking.
• Learn to make soups with lots of vegetables, miso or vegetable broth, seaweed, and legumes. When soup is pureed in a blender or food processor, “objectionable” ingredients often become undetectable. Soup packs a huge nutritional punch in a bowl! It’s also easy to eat and digest, even when stomachs are not feeling very well.
• Juicers are widely available and can be used for most fruits and vegetables. Experiment with combinations until you find a few your child really enjoys. Carrot, apple, beet and celery is a good combination to start with. You can even add a handful of leafy greens, like parsley, collards, kale, or Swiss chard, without changing the taste. Lemon and ginger are also good additions.
• Learn to make healthy substitutes for favorite snack foods. Kale chips and baked sweet potato “fries” are delicious, and kids generally like them. Carrot, celery, and pepper sticks with homemade hummus, bean spread, or guacamole for dipping are filling and satisfying and can even be a light meal. You can also experiment with other tasty and crunchy vegetables, such as cabbage, fennel, turnips, broccoli, and cauliflower.
• Prepare snacks ahead of time so they are always available. Wash bunches of organic grapes and freeze them for a refreshing cold treat, or mix favorite nuts, seeds, raisins or dried cranberries and package in small wax paper bags for eating at home or on the go.
• Introduce plant-based meals consisting of a cooked whole grain and legume, a dark green leafy vegetable and two other vegetables, such as beets and winter squash. Tempeh and tofu can be combined with vegetables for added protein.
• Offer smaller and more frequent meals as they are often tolerated better than the typical three meals a day.
Foods to Avoid
• Refined and concentrated sweeteners include white or brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, invert sugar, and maltodextrin.
• Artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, dyes, and chemical preservatives
• Refined white flour (wheat) products include pasta, bread, pastries, bagels, cookies, cakes, crackers, and pretzels.
• Conventional dairy products include milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter. Since these foods are very common in children’s diets, you can offer smaller amounts and experiment to find appealing and healthier substitutes. Goat and sheep milk products are often better tolerated and easier to digest, and there are many coconut and almond alternatives available today, from milk and cream to cheeses and ice cream treats.
• Fried foods include chips, French fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and chicken nuggets.
• Peanut Butter and raw nuts are susceptible to contamination with a toxic mold called aflatoxin, which can reduce a child’s immune response as well as cause other serious health problems. Some peanut butter and nut butter brands test their products for this mold, which is stated on their websites.
• Highly processed foods or fast foods are more likely to contain genetically modified (GM) soy and corn products as well as partially hydrogenated GM oils and high fructose corn syrup. They are also commonly packaged in plastic which can contaminate the food.
• Processed meats and deli meats include sausages, hot dogs, salami, meat jerky, ham, and cured bacon. These meats typically have been smoked, salted, cured, fermented, dried or canned through the use of different processes requiring the addition of chemicals that are linked to health problems. They have also been found to contain higher levels of micro- and nanoplastic particles.
• Processed fruit juices are almost universally perceived as a healthy drink, but they actually have a very high sugar content, almost equal to a sugary soft drink of the same size. In 12 oz portions, Coca Cola has 10 teaspoons of sugar and apple juice has 9.8 teaspoons. Importantly, fruit juice does not contain any of the beneficial fiber found in whole fresh fruits. But even more concerning is the recent discovery that heavy metals like lead, inorganic arsenic and cadmium are commonly found in juices at unsafe levels, especially apple, grape and fruit juice blends. The American Academy of Pediatrics says parents should avoid giving children younger than 1 year any fruit juice. After that, the daily maximum amounts are: ages 1-3, 4 ounces; ages 4-6, 6 ounces; 7 years and older, 8 ounces.
• Farm-raised fish - Many modern fish farming practices often result in worrisome levels of chemical contaminants, particularly in farm-raised Atlantic salmon. However, if you know of a reliable source of farm-raised fish, enjoy this healthy food!
• Genetically modified (GM) foods *
• Partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) are recognized by the Food and Drug Administration and health professionals as unhealthy to consume. These oils are solid or semi-solid at room temperature, and are one of the primary sources of harmful trans fats, so it’s good to check labels. Many ultra-processed foods and commercial baked goods contain PHOs.
• Processed seed oils, like soybean, corn, canola, sunflower, safflower and cottonseed are extracted from the seeds of the plant with the use of solvents, then refined, bleached and deodorized. Many of these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids which can increase inflammation in the body if they are eaten frequently.
* Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide RoundUp, is the most widely used pesticide for genetically modified (GM) crops. Recognized as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization and the State of California, glyphosate is now found in most, if not all, food products, including baby foods, where the hazard to health is much greater due to the special vulnerability of children. Even though low residues of the chemical have been found in organic foods, eating organic remains the best way to reduce exposure to glyphosate and pesticides in general.