Each day your child should consume:

• Vegetables and legumes/ beans: 2 ½ to 5 ½ serves a day

• Fruit: 1-2 serves a day

• Grain foods: 4-7 serves a day

• Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans: 1- 2 ½ serves a day

• Milk, yoghurt cheese and/or alternatives: 1 ½ - 3 ½ serves a day

The number of serves goes up as the child’s age increases. The lower end of the recommendation is for kids 2-3 years of age and the upper end for teenagers 14-18 years old. For example, 2.5 serves of veggies or beans for a 2 year old but 5.5 serves for a 15 year old.

More age-specific information can be found here.

A Serve of Vegetables

• 1/2 cup of cooked veggies

• 1/2 cup of cooked beans or lentils

• 1 cup of salad or raw veggies

• 1 tomato

• 1/2 potato

A Serve of Fruit

• 1 medium piece of fruit such as apple or banana

• 2 small pieces of fruit such as apricots, kiwi or plum

• 1 cup of canned fruit

A Serve of Grains

• 1 slice of bread

• 1/2 medium roll

• 1/2 cup cooked rice, pasta, noodles, porridge, etc

A Serve of Protein

• 2 large eggs

• 65g of cooked red meat which is about 90-100g before cooking

• 80g cooked chicken or turkey

• 1 cup lentils, chickpeas and split peas

• 30g nuts

A Serve of Diary

• 1 cup milk

• 2 slices of hard cheese

• 3/4 cup of yoghurt

• Rainbow fruit skewers and vegetable kebabs. This could comprise of 1 cup of chopped fruit, 1-1 ½ cups of chopped vegetables.

• Zebra sandwiches – a sandwich made up of one slice white bread, one slice wholemeal bread. An example of a filling could be: add in ½ -1 cup salad ingredients,1 slice of cheese and 1 egg

• Crackers with dip and chopped vegetables

• Cheese and crackers

• Oat and apple cookies

• Homemade banana bread with no added sugar

• Sushi/ rice paper rolls

• Egg and vegetable muffins. Each muffin could include: 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of vegetables, sprinkle of cheese.