A Well-Balanced Meal for Our Family

As a mother of two growing  up kids, one of the challenges I face is getting them to eat right.  Aside from the fact that children love junk foods and foods from fast food chains, the temptation of serving my kids these not-so-healthy food is so strong because of the convenience it offer.

Once in a while we indulge in these not-so-healthy foods but for our daily meals, hubby and I see to it that we eat a well balanced meal.  Using the Go, Grow and Glow basic food groups as our guide, we know we can't get wrong in giving our children the nutrients that they need to keep them healthy and strong.

I learned about this Go, Grow and Glow basic food groups from my daughter's lessons in school.  The Go foods are known as energy foods because it makes our body active and on the go.  These comes from carbohydrates rich foods like rice, pasta, bread and root crops such as potatoes.  The Grow foods help in the development of bones and teeth, strengthen muscles and improve mental functions.  These are protein rich foods which comes from meat, fish, eggs and dairy products such as cheese and milk.  The last food group which is the Glow foods help in strengthening our body's immune system which gives us protection against diseases.  Foods that belong to this group are fruits and vegetables.

In every meal, I see to it that the dish we prepare consist of the ingredients coming from these three basic food groups and since these things are taught in school, it is easier to convince the children to eat what we serve them.

Of all the basic food groups, the Glow foods which consist of fruits and vegetables are the most difficult food to serve our children,  I really need the patience just to get them eat their share of these foods.  I tried to serve our children different kinds of fruits and vegetables and I'm glad that they have already loved some of the fruits like apple, banana, pomelo, grapes, lanzones, rambutan and pineapple.  For the vegetables, they love moringa (malunggay), green papaya, jute leaves (saluyot),  squash, okra, eggplant, string beans and chayote.

By constantly serving fresh pineapple, lately my children loved to eat this fruit.

There are still a lot of nutrient rich foods that my children don't want to eat but I'm hoping that with patience and by being a good model to them, they will get the habit of eating a well-balanced meal.