Everyday Eating

It is important for all active people, adults and
children, to eat well every day and not just concentrate
on healthy eating prior to major sporting
events or competition. Maintaining energy levels
through healthy eating habits and ensuring adequate
hydration by taking fluids regularly, will assist you
to produce your best performance each day – be it
in the work place, the class room or on the sporting
field.
The nutrient analysis which follows each recipe in
this cookbook can be used as a guide to the nutritional
contribution these meals make to the daily
food intake of family members.
The exact energy
and nutrient requirements of individual active kids
is very variable and is dependent on age, gender
and their sport. It is not my intention that people
use this cookbook to assess or calculate their
energy needs or intake. However in the interests of
being able to use this information to assess how
these meals fit into daily life, having an idea of how
much an active kid may require could help.
The current recommendations for energy intake of
active kids are based on the data available for the
general population. The approximate recommended
daily energy intake for girls aged from 5-11 years
ranges from 6700 - 7900 kJ. For the same aged
boys, this ranges from 6700 - 8900 kJ per day.
Energy intake needs to be balanced with energy
output to produce a healthy, “glowing and
growing”, active kid.
The daily requirement for protein is generally
easily met if a child consumes a wide variety of
foods and eats sufficient total energy to grow and
develop at a healthy rate.

Nutrition Goals
1. Eat plenty of carbohydrate rich foods throughout each day for get up and go.
2. Eat little and often to maintain blood sugar levels, energy and concentration.
3. Avoid high fat food traps. Learn which foods have hidden fats.
4. Include foods containing protein to provide the nutrients required for growth.
5. Drink suitable fluids during each day to maintain adequate hydration.
6. Always include a wide variety of foods to ensure all nutrient needs are met.

Survival Hints
1. Be organised ahead of time – plan for busy meal times.
2. Use a mix of fresh, canned, frozen and packaged foods to produce nourishing meals and snacks quickly.
3. Shop from a list to ensure you have the necessary foods available to prepare the meals planned.
4. Use your freezer – prepare extra quantities to be kept for another time.
5. Experiment with new ideas and recipes and encourage your children to assist with the preparation of meals and snacks.

Most of the recipes included in this cookbook are
suitable for every day eating. And you might like to
try modifying some of your own family’s favourite
meals using fat reduced, salt reduced or no added
sugar products to produce healthy meals quickly.