Q: What size portions do three to five year old children need?

A: As a parent you want to ensure your child has all the nutrients they need to grow up healthy and strong but you also don’t want to overwhelm them with large servings. So use small plates and start children off with less and encourage them to ask for more if they are still hungry.

 

For each year of age, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends one tablespoon of every food offered at a meal. That means three-year-olds would start with three tablespoons of every food offered, and if they eat it all, they can ask for more. Don’t make the mistake of scolding children for not finishing all you have served or forcing them to overeat. You need to encourage them to eat until they are satisfied not stuffed. If you think that this is a waste of food serve less in the first place and respect your child’s ability to recognise when they have had enough.

 

It’s not a good idea to hand out sweets and snacks straight after lunch or dinner if they did eat too little. Eventually, they will learn to gauge their own appetites and get most of what they need at regular meals.

Q: Is there much difference in the nutritional value of frozen and fresh vegetables?

A: Much depends on how fresh the vegetables were to start with and how you cook them. ‘Fresh’ no longer means ‘just picked.’

 

If your fresh vegetables have sat at the markets, then at the greengrocer and then in your fridge before you prepare them, their vitamin levels will have already declined. And if you overcook them or hold them warm for more than 5 minutes, that further destroys some (not all) of the nutrients. It’s mostly the heat-sensitive vitamins – C and B group – that are affected. The content of minerals and fibre remains the same.

 

So frozen can be as good as fresh, sometimes even better as frozen vegetables are often frozen immediately after being picked whereas it may be days or even weeks before ‘fresh’ vegetables end up on your kitchen table ready to be eaten. Having said that, uncooked fresh vegetables – like a salad – are a potent source of vitamins and antioxidants and I often recommend a salad a day for just this reason.   I would also recommend choosing organic where possible for either fresh or frozen vegetables. 

Q: Is there a link between milk and weight loss

A: It’s unclear if increasing the amount of dairy products you eat and drink will help you lose weight. Some studies indicate that people who add dairy products into a reduced-calorie diet lose more weight than those who cut back on their calories but consume little or no dairy. Other studies have concluded there’s no effect on weight loss.

 

Some research suggests that drinking more milk may help some people lose weight because dairy products contain certain substances — including calcium — that may help regulate weight loss. But much more research is needed to determine what role, if any, milk and other dairy products may play in weight loss.