Eating fruits and vegetables five times a day is an effective health principle for preventing disease and illness. This basic practice, currently in effect in the United States, has borne fruit in reducing illnesses in children, improving their overall health, and saving significant amounts of money for health insurance and school health departments.
At a time when it is not recommended for children to completely switch their diet to fruits and vegetables and abandon other nutrients—proteins, carbohydrates, and fats—it is not recommended. This is due to the rapid and diverse growth and physical protection needs that children experience from birth to adulthood at the age of twenty. It is also important to avoid nutritional deficiencies due to family negligence and the many daily chores that occur during this time. This is also due to the limited nutritional knowledge and nutritional hygiene of families, as is commonly observed in developing countries. That is, we call on families and children in general to reduce their consumption of meat and animal proteins, without completely abandoning them, and instead increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in their daily diets.
This means turning them into partial vegetarians, not strict vegetarians who deprive their bodies of important nutritional sources for cell and tissue growth, maintenance, and repair whenever health needs require it. Animal proteins, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium, zinc, and iron, among others, which are not generally available in vegetables, are essential for the physical health of families and children at any time or stage of their personal development, from infancy to old age.
Adopting infants/children to eat vegetables and fruits daily
Here, mothers can offer their children various types of vegetables and fruits, boiled and mashed. Although many of these mashed vegetables and fruits are commercially available, it is preferable for mothers to give their infants these foods fresh every day rather than preserved, due to their nutritional value for their physical health. If this is difficult for the mother or she forgets about it one day, she can “mash” some of the vegetables and fruits that the family eats daily in meals using an electric blender and give them to the child without much effort.
Getting Children/Children Accustomed to Eating Vegetables and Fruits Daily
After the age of two, children/children transition to eating regular daily meals, as does the family. Mothers incorporate a variety of vegetables and fruits into family meals for two important purposes: to familiarize children/children with these beneficial foods and to maintain a nutritional balance in their daily meals. Concrete examples are shown in the following list:
1. Pasta or spaghetti with tomato juice.
2. Peanut butter or chocolate jam sandwiches.
3. Fried pieces of soybean batter (they taste like fried chicken).
4. Grilled potato wedges with tomato paste (ketchup).
5. Burger patties, hot dogs, or sausages made with plant-based protein mixes and pastes.
6. Whole wheat bread (unbleached): 3-4 slices or one loaf per day.
7. Grilled soy cheese sandwiches.
8- Mashed potatoes, roasted or baked.
9- Pizza with tomato sauce and soy cheese.
10- Oatmeal mixed with apple slices and cinnamon.
11- Pancakes with maple syrup.
12- Sweet pancakes with fruit.
13- Corn fritters with vegetable soup.
14- Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, or other salad.
15- Leafy greens and yellow vegetables.
16- Baked potatoes with vegetables or broccoli and vegetable sour cream.
17- Rice with beans.
18- Boiled vegetables.
19- Pasta with vegetables (or spinach lasagna).
20- Calcium-enriched orange juice (with added calcium).
21- Calcium-enriched soy milk (with added calcium).
22- Dry corn flakes with soy milk, rich in iron and calcium.
23- Multivitamin complex.
Snacks containing:
1. Small-cut mixed fruits offered to children two or more times daily.
2. Grapes and raisins.
3. Whole fruits.
4. Corn: popcorn, canned, or boiled.
5. Vegan chocolate.
6. Eggless vegan cake.
7. Donuts.
8. Biscuits.
9. Whole wheat flakes with soy milk.
10. Whole wheat pancakes with pure pine nut syrup/juice.
11. Small-cut fruits.
12. Oatmeal with sliced fruits and cinnamon powder.
13. Various vegetable salads.
14. Wheat sandwiches with vegetables and avocado slices.
15. Boiled or baked potatoes with vegan sour cream.
16. Falafel sandwiches.
17- Hummus or fava bean sandwiches with sesame seeds.
18- A variety of vegetable soups.
19- Sweet potatoes.
20- Vegetable pizza.
21- Vegetables with plain or brown rice.
22- Lentils and boiled potatoes.
23- Boiled vegetables.
24- Spinach pies.
25- Dried fruits.
26- Grapes.
27- Nuts and seeds such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and peanuts.
28- A variety of fruit and vegetable juices.
The general conclusion that families and mothers can take into account when accustoming children/children to eating fruits and vegetables daily is to pay attention to the following nutritional requirements:
1- The types and amounts of fruits and vegetables that children/children consume daily must be sufficient for their bodies’ needs for growth, protection, and general vitality.
2. Adequate daily vitamin B intake, especially vitamin B12. Children/children should take pre-prepared vitamins to replace this vitamin in their fruit and vegetable diet.
3. Adequate vitamin D intake, especially if children/children are exposed to limited or no morning sunlight at all. Pre-prepared vitamin D supplements are recommended.
4. Adequate calcium intake, which is abundant in milk and eggs. Vegetarian children/children should be given pre-prepared calcium supplements.
5. Adequate daily protein and amino acid intake.
6. Adequate daily zinc intake, which is abundant in meat and milk, should be taken to help children/children with growth and sexual maturation, both men and women.