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Wholegrains for lasting energy
Teaching your children to eat healthy at an early age provides a solid foundation that they will continue into adulthood. You can give your child the best start to living a healthy lifestyle by introducing a wide variety of foods at an early age, including wholegrain foods.
The low down on wholegrains
Wholegrains are all three parts of the grain (bran, germ and endosperm) and they are a fantastic addition to your child’s diet providing both carbohydrates – which give energy for growing bodies, as well as other valuable nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals.
Recommended wholegrain intake
There are no official daily targets in Australia for how much wholegrain should be eaten per day, but Go Grains Health and Nutrition – an independent advisory board - has established a daily guide:
- Children aged 2 – 3 years: 24 grams per day.
- Children aged 4 – 8 years: 32 – 40 grams per day.
- Older children, teenagers and adults: 48 grams per day.
Finding wholegrain foods
It’s easier than you think! Here are some typical wholegrain foods and their wholegrain content:
- Wholemeal bread, 2 slices = 30-40g wholegrains
- Multigrain bread, 2 slices = 5-30g wholegrains
- Weet-Bix Kids, 2 biscuits = 28.8g wholegrains
- Wholegrain breakfast cereal, 30-45g serve = 15-30g wholegrains
- Porridge, using 2/3 cup rolled oats = 60g wholegrains
- Brown rice, 1 cup cooked = 65g wholegrains
- Wholegrain pasta, 1 cup cooked = 55-65g wholegrains
- Wholegrain crispbreads, 2-4 slices = 20g-35g wholegrains
Achieving the wholegrain daily intake
Children have small tummies so making sure they eat all their nutrients over the day can be challenging. Fortunately wholegrains can be found in so many different foods, especially breakfast cereals such as Weet-Bix Kids. With two biscuits representing 28.8 grams of wholegrains, not only will you have already met more than half the daily intake, your child will be provided with the energy they need for learning and physical activity.
Another common and very successful trick in meeting recommended daily wholegrain intake is to ensure that wholegrains are present at every meal. Replace white bread for wholemeal at lunchtime or regular pasta with wholegrain pasta at dinnertime. As for snacks, try wholemeal mini muffins, pita bread filled with salad, fruit or bran loaf and pancakes made with wholemeal flour. Popcorn is a wholegrain too!
Last revised: Wednesday, 2 February 2011
This article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional.
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