The latest edition of the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (MDG) was recently released with a significant change: vegetables and fruits now form the base of the Malaysian Food Pyramid 2020. How can parents ensure that their kids consume enough vegetables and fruits?
MDG recommendations on veggies and fruits consumption for children
8 ways to increase veggies/fruits intake & variety in your child’s daily diet
- Include veggies/fruits as part of every meal or snack
- Have 1 veggie serving during every main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 1 fruit serving as snacks (morning, afternoon)
- Veggies can be added to rice porridge, fried rice, noodle soup, curries, pancakes, and enjoyed as dishes during meals
- Keep vegetables and fruits ready as quick snacks
- Baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, bananas, apples are all great healthy snack options
- Cut them into appropriate sizes for young children to avoid choking hazards
- Try out vegetarian recipes
- Replace meat with mushrooms, beans, nuts and legumes
- Choose fresh fruits over fruit juices
- Fresh fruits are richer in healthy dietary fibre and more fulfilling
- Add vegetables and fruits to their favourite foods
- If they like breakfast cereals, add slices of banana
- Make healthy foods fun
- Cut and arrange veggies and fruits in cute shapes for snacking
- Include your kids when choosing, preparing and cooking meals
- Be a role model, eat more vegetables and fruits yourself
- Kids are more likely to eat what their parents love to eat
- Include all types of produces/products to increase variety and keep it interesting (examples in graphic)
- Various coloured veggies/fruits
- Dark green leafy veggies
- Fruit veggies
- Bean veggies
- Ulam
- Frozen veggies
- Dried fruits
With these tips, getting your kids to eat more veggies and fruits is no longer a hassle!
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