Watch For Nutrient Gaps In Your Child's Diet

Li Hua (7 years) and Li Wei (4 years) are fun loving and active kids. Li Hua loves her weekly ballet lessons, and Li Wei enjoys taekwando classes. Mom and Dad derive great joy just watching them grow. Proud of their children's achievements, Mr and Mrs Tan take great pains to be supportive. Serving up healthy meals and snacks at home is important to the family, as they believe that a nourishing diet will ensure the optimal growth and performance of the young ones.

Li Hua and Li Wei are easy to feed. Game to try new cuisines, they enjoy a wide variety of foods. Healthy family meals lay a great foundation. Due to their busy schedule on weekdays, both of them eat mid morning snack and lunch away from home. Here's a sample of their regular menu for the day.

Li Hua's Menu for the Day

Li Wei's Menu for the Day

At Home: Breakfast Cornflakes, 3/4 cup Raisins, 1 tbsp Whole milk, 3/4 cup

At School: Mid-morning snack Fishballs, 3 Lightly sweetened barley water, 1 glass

At School: Lunch Chicken noodle soup, 1 medium bowl Water

At Home: Snack Plain cake, 1 piece

At Home: Dinner Potato and carrot soup, 1 small bowl Rice, white, steamed 1/2 cup Steamed fish, 1 slice Stir fried spinach, 1/3 cup

At Home: Breakfast Cornflakes, 1/2 cup Whole milk, 1/2 cup Sugar, 1 tsp

At School: Mid-morning snack Lemon biscuits, 2 Apple juice, 1/2 cup

At School: Lunch Fried rice, 1 small plate Watermelon, 2 cubes Water

At Home: Snack Plain cake, 1 piece

At Home: Dinner Potato and carrot soup, 3/4 small bowl Rice, white, steamed cup Steamed fish, slice Stir fried spinach, 1/4 cup

The Nutrition Verdict

With regular meals and snacks, Li Hua and Li Wei are well fueled to take on and complete their many activities. However, careful scrutiny of their menu highlights a few critical nutrient gaps.

Li Hua At School At recess, Li Hua could get a more nourishing beverage to accompany her snack. At lunch, she could ask for extra vegetables to go with her noodle and finish her meal with a flesh fruit.

Li Wei At School During break time, it would be best if Li Wei had less sugar. A wholesome sandwich and fresh fruit would make mid-morning snack count for more. At lunch, as fried rice is low on vegetables, Li Wei would need to eat more vegetables at dinner.

In a nutshell, an additional serving of fruit, vegetable and milk would help to enhance the vitamin, mineral and fibre content of their diets.

If this does not happen regularly, giving the kids one or two glasses of well-supplemented milk would fill in the nutrient gaps and provide a wide range of valuable nutrients that are vital for optimal growth, development and performance of young children.

Meeting Your Child's Daily Nutrient Needs

Every child needs 40 or more nutrients, each in sufficient quantities, to meet the daily nutrient needs. Use the Healthy Diet Pyramid as a guide to include a wide variety of foods in the right portions to help your child achieve his daily nutrient goals.

Nutrients to support Physical Functioning

Calcium and Vitamin D: Working together, they help build strong bones and teeth. Milk, yogurt and cheese, soybean curd, and green leafy vegetables are the good sources of calcium. Iron: Vital for blood formation, iron ensures that vital oxygen is carried through the body, supporting active lifestyle of kids. Lean meat, fish, poultry, legumes and green leafy vegetables are great sources of iron.

Nutrients to support Mental Functioning

Choline and Taurine: Scientific reports support the role of these nutrients in brain functioning to support learning.

"As GROW^® provides so many more nutrients in every sip, it will be an easy solution for my kids. In addition to home cooked meals, I would encourage them to drink it before and after school to help them meet their nutritional goals." – Mrs Tan

Get the advantage with nutrient

More than just milk, GROW^® and GROW SCHOOL^® contain the special nutrients to give your child the extra boost:

Choline for overall mental functioning
Taurine to help support mental and physical growth
Calcium and Vitamin D to build strong bones and teeth
Vitamins and minerals to support overall growth and development

Fill in nutrient gaps in your child's diet with 2 serves of GROW^® or GROW SCHOOL^® today.

Creatively enhance the nutrient content of desserts and drinks by adding GROW^® or GROW SCHOOL^® instead of regular milk.

Chocolate Souffl

Serves 8 Ingredients 12 scoops GROW SCHOOL^® Chocolate Flavour 360ml water, boiled and cooled 2 eggs, separate yolks and egg white 3 tbsp sugar 11/2 tbsp gelatin 1 tbsp cornflour Method - Soak gelatin in 60ml warm water. - In another bowl, mix GROW SCHOOL^® with 360ml water. Add egg yolks, 1 tbsp sugar, and cornflour. Blend well. Stir over a low fire until thickened. Add soaked gelatin and mix well. Remove from fire. Cool custard in the refrigerator until slightly firm. - Whip egg white until stiff and add remaining sugar. Continue to whip until sugar is dissolved. Fold egg white into the cooled custard. - Chill to set and serve.

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