My interview with one of Australia’s leading dieticians, Melanie McGrice, on ‘Nutrition for children under 5’

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to meet and interview the very lovely Melanie McGrice.  Melanie is one of Australia’s leading dietician and runs her own practice, based in Melbourne, called Nutrition Plus.  She has over 10 years experience in the industry since completing her Master in Nutrition and Dietetics, including working in one of Melbournes leading teaching hospitals.  She is also in the midst of writing a book which is due to be released later this year – EXCITING!!

I specifically wanted to ‘pick’ Melanie’s brain with some burning questions that I have on children’s diet and nutrition.  Specifically under 5’s – as I have three of them (well almost, Master J would kill me for saying that he is 5 when he is in fact 6!!!).  I have one kid that is really not that fussed about food AT ALL and will literally eat to survive.  He is FAR too busy with other important 6 year old stuff, that worrying about food is really not at the top of his agenda.  I then have a rather fussy middle child who says “I don’t like that!” to EVERYTHING that isn’t sweet!!!  Finally I have my little bubs who started off brilliantly but now either spits everything out or just throws it on the floor or across the kitchen (or at me!!).  Any of this sound familiar????  Please say yes!!

So I put together a few questions for Melanie that I thought us mums (and dads) would find useful.

Me:
There is a lot of ‘buzz’ around at the moment about the amount of salt or sodium found in kids foods.  What is the maximum amount that we should look out for per serving when reading the back of food packaging?  What is your take on how much salt our kids should be having in their daily food intake?
Melanie:
On food labels there is two columns, a ‘per serve’  column and a ‘per 100g’ column.  Look for foods with less than 500mg per 100g.  Salt is used to add flavour to foods, and like many things in life, the more you have, the more you need.  Unprocessed foods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, rice and milk don’t have any salt – so try to make sure that unprocessed foods make up the bulk of your family’s dietary intake.

Me:
Would you say it’s better for kids to eat little and often or to stick to three main meals a day?
Melanie:
Definitely little and often.  Kids have smaller stomachs than adults so they should be eating every 3-5 hours to provide them with plenty of energy and nutrition for play and brain food.

Me:
What are you top 5 healthy snacks for children under 5?
Melanie:

1. Veggie sticks – these are great to keep in a container and take out with you to the shops, appointments or errands.
2. Milk – calcium is really important for children’s teeth and bones.
3. Fruit salad – kid’s love fresh, cut up fruit.  Get them to tell you all the colours of the differnt pieces of fruit.
4. Toast soldiers – Wholegrain bread is a great source of fibre and energy.  Cut into fingers or ‘soldiers’ for little fingers.
5. Yoghurt – yoghurt contains good bacteria which is important for a healthy digestive system.

xxxxxxx

 

Melanie and her wonderful team do a lot of work with mum’s who have children with allergies, food intolerances, eating disorders or are just plain fussy eaters.  They also work with mum’s to help them improve their nutrition too!  If this is something that might interest you, then please do get in touch with them.

 

You can find them on Facebook at NutritionPlusNews or go directly to their website at Nutrition Plus.

 

Lastly I would really just like to thank Melanie for taking the time to chat to me and for sharing her knowledge and advice.