California’s parenting website

Myth: Children hate vegetables.

FACT: Children actually love veggies, fruits, and other healthy foods if they're served regularly. With one in three California children ages 2 to 5 being overweight or obese, it's important to give your child a healthy start to life by making nutritious foods available to them all day long. Plus, healthy food is brain food.

So, what does a healthy plate look like?

Divide your plate into three sections. Fill half of the plate with fruits and vegetables, a quarter of it with lean protein and the last quarter with whole-grain carbohydrates. Keep meat portions small, about the size of the back of your child's fist.

Try these healthy options for hungry kids:

Vegetables

• Cooked spinach

• Baked cubes of sweet potatoes

• Steamed red and green pepper strips

• Roasted carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower

Fruit

• Unsweetened applesauce

• Freshly washed blueberries

• Canned peaches or pears in water (Avoid fruit packed in juice or syrup)

Protein

• Extra-lean and lean ground beef, turkey, chicken

• Mashed chickpeas and hummus

• Black, pinto, and kidney beans

• Scrambled eggs

• Peanut butter, almond butter, mixed nuts (Check with your doctor about possible food allergies before introducing these.)

Grain

• Whole-wheat pasta tortillas

• Multigrain breads, whole-wheat crackers

• Cooked oatmeal

• Barely and brown rice

Dairy

• Reduced-fat (2%) and low-fat (1%) milk (From age 1 to 2, offer your child whole milk. After that, switch to reduced-fat milk)

• Calcium-fortified soy milk Reduced-fat yogurt

Healthy body, healthy brain! Get the facts with this informative guide.