Kids serving sizes for vegetables

It can be a little confusing when considering how many vegetables your child should be eating each day, therefore we wanted to make it easier for you AND your child to understand. Vegetables are super high in fibre, vitamins and minerals, making them absolutely necessary in your child’s diet.

Below you will find some helpful tips and easy ways to measure your child’s veggie intake and ensure they are getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals to make them feel their best! Here at Heathy Little Eaters, we believe that children are wise and given the right information and tools they will be able to change the way they look at food and their bodies for the better!

We understand it certainly can be tricky these days as children are often growing up without a reference point to understand the appropriate amount they need to eat, because as Dr. Deborah Kennedy founder of Build Healthy Kids states, “most of what is served to children is too large a portion size”.

For a fun visual representation, here are some simple ways to look at serving sizes

How many veggies should my child be eating?

Below, you will find the recommended fruit and veggie serving that is appropriate for your children’s age:

Although it is highly recommended that children eat a variety of vegetables each day, it is perfectly normal if they have their favourites just like us. Therefore, taking into consideration their likes and dislikes is wonderful. Encouraging a variety of foods is important but while they are testing things out, giving the same veggies to your child each day that they enjoy is great!

How much is 1 serve of vegetables?

Most children don’t like large portions, so sticking to serving sizes is great and often less scary. If you want to get down to the nitty gritty one serve of vegetables is approximately 75g.

What does 1 serve of vegetables look like?

You certainly don’t have to get bogged down with measurements, but it can be a fun way to get the kids in the kitchen and help them to practice their maths, it is pretty fun to use the kitchen scales and take things in and out of measuring cups :) 

This information also gives children a sense of power over how much they are eating which helps to take some of the pressure off you. It also makes it a little more fun and brings a sense of achievement. Don’t worry if your child still doesn’t eat all of the serving, any amount of veggies you can get into your child the better! Plus, this information will be wonderfully beneficial for them when they are older, and they will be able to remember it when they need to all thanks to you!

So… let’s get ourselves (and our kids) into the kitchen and take a little time to understand serving sizes so that we don’t expect too much of our children when they are little and overfill their plate.

Childhood is a time of learning and children who grow up in families that enjoy a variety of fresh veggies and encourage healthy eating and make it enjoyable, are more likely to make their own healthy choices when they are older.

The moral of the story is that healthy eating is essential and incorporating plenty of vegetables in their childhood means they will have less chance of developing chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers. It will also mean they feel better, look better and enjoy a happy and fulfilled life.

If you would love to help your child understand the importance of healthy eating be sure to check out the Healthy Little Eaters game. A game that not only teaches children that veggies are important but teaches them why and in a way they understand.

Check it out here.

Please share this article with anyone else that you know that may benefit because together we can create a generation of superhero's, a generation of Healthy Little Eaters.