High fibre foods your child should eat
We know how important fibre is especially for good pooping and gut health, yet Australian statistics show that less than 50% of children reach the recommended daily intake of fibre. So it follows that most kids need to up their intake. That being said, not every child responds well to increasing fibre in their diet. For some, it can worsen any tummy symptoms they may have. My usual recommendation is to increase only slowly and watch for things like more gas and bloating that can happen.
I've used a pic of a banana for this blog as this is a little controversial... Although the science says that ripe bananas are an excellent source of fibre and help relieve constipation, many mums will tell you they actually cause constipation. To me the message is that "no one size fits all" and it's really important to be aware of your child and their individual responses to foods. You may find that they respond differently to under ripe or ripe bananas.
Did you know that green bananas are also an excellent source of resistant starches that act as a prebiotic? This means that they feed the healthy bacteria in our gut. Cool huh?
But banana controversy aside, it's important that children's diets include a variety of fibre rich foods. Here are a few of my favourites 🙂
Top fibre rich foods:
- Fruits: raspberries, bananas, apples and pears (skin on) and avocado
- Vegetables: artichoke , broccoli, sweet potato and carrots
- Legumes: peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas
- Seeds: chia seeds, flax seeds and psyllium husk
- Whole grains: wholewheat pasta or bread, oats, buckwheat, rye, barley and bran
This list is also a great for adults (helllloooo pregnant mums)!
My girls love plain chia seeds so I simply add them to muffins, cookies and their morning yoghurt. Experiment with what your child is willing to eat. You can mix legumes into their favourite meat sauce, roast some soaked chickpeas for a snack or offer more fruit and vegetables. You can also try some simple food swaps e.g. white pasta --> wholewheat pasta. Or maybe up the game by making my poopy sprinkle recipe.
Poopy sprinkle recipe:
Method:
- Take an empty glass jar
- Mix ¼ cup chia seeds with ¼ cup flax seeds and ¼ cup wheat/oat/barley or rice bran. Bran is the outer layer of grains. If you want gluten free choose rice bran.
- Shake it together
- Keep sealed
-
Great source fibre
How to use:
- Sprinkle ½- 1 teaspoon over cereals, porridge, yoghurt even vegetables.
- Add into smoothies
- Add when baking muffins and pancakes. For this I usually add 2 tablespoons to a regular recipe without any affect on the baking.
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