Proteins are important building blocks for a growing child. They are required for growth, maintenance and repair of body tissues. Different kinds of specialized proteins also perform many important functions like carrying oxygen in our cells and fighting infections. In a recent Ask the Expert column, dietitian Emma Stirling wrote about protein power and offered tips on getting enough protein in your child’s diet. Children 1-3 years old need about 0.5 g of protein per pound of body weight, which comes to about 13-16 g of daily protein. In most cases, it is not a problem to get this much from a typical American diet. But if you have a picky eater, or if you are following a strict vegetarian diet, you need to pay a little extra attention to your child’s protein needs.

In this week’s Five for Fridays, I want to highlight 5 vegetarian sources of proteins. We routinely include them in our meals using many of our simple recipes. Even if you are not a strict vegetarian, you can try them occasionally to bring variety to your diet.

Lentils

Source: Wikimedia

Lentils are dry seeds of a pulse crop. They are rich in protein, iron, dietary fiber and B vitamins. More importantly, they are rich in the essential amino acids (there are 9 essential amino acids our body cannot produce). Sprouted lentils provide all of the 9 amino acids. On a 100 g dry weight basis, lentils provide 26 g of protein! Just like whole grains, soaking lentils  in water removes phytates which allows better mineral absorption in the GI tract.

One of our favorite recipes is a lentil soup which we often eat with basmati rice.

Chick Peas

Source: Wikimedia

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, have been around for a long time! You will find them in almost any cuisine around the world, especially in the Middle East, Mediterranean and South East Asia. They are super rich in protein, vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc.

Here is one of our recipes with beef and chickpeas. There are many different ways to cook chickpeas without any meat.

Red Kidney Beans

Wikimedia Commons

There are many different types of beans, but our favorite are red kidney beans. They provide a lot of protein, iron, calcium, B vitamins, magnesium and zinc. Soaking them in water overnight reduces cooking time and removes complex sugars that would otherwise cause indigestion and gas.

Red kidney beans with olive oil is one of our favorite recipes.

Nuts

Source: Wikimedia

Unlike vegetables, nuts are actually dried fruit. If your child does not have any allergies to nuts, they can offer a good balance of calories from fat, carbs and proteins. Our favorites are almonds, walnuts, pecans and hazelnut. We like to soak almonds overnight in water then peel the skin off before eating the soft white core. We use walnuts in salads and pecans in some of our recipes like the steak and vegetables with pecans casserole. Nuts also provide healthy fats such as monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fatty acids.

Quinoa

We discovered quinoa not too long ago, and since then it has taken up a regular place in our kitchen cabinets. Quinoa is really the unrecognized superfood because it is not so common in America. It is beginning to be more available now in some stores, so check it out! It is low in glycemic index, and although it is not a grain, it can be a nice replacement to rice with your entree. It is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals.

One of our favorite recipe is chicken with quinoa. And for the strictly vegetarian, here is our quinoa with vegetables.

Enjoy these recipes and let me know what is on your mind!

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

This week, Family Physician and Registered Dietitian Dr. Shelley Meyer takes a close look at omega 3 fatty acids from natural food sources and processed foods.

Question: I am hearing a lot about omega 3 in food products. Is there a difference between added omega 3 in processed foods and omega 3 from natural food sources? Which one is better?

I am sure by now you have heard that Omega 3 fatty acids are good for you.  In fact, studies have shown that they can help reduce heart disease, lower triglycerides and blood pressure, improve osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and improve memory and brain function, especially in infants.  Some studies have also shown they can help with depression, though this is currently being debated. Animal studies have even proven that these essential fatty acids may even be able to combat breast cancer.

There are many sources of Omega 3 fatty acids, both in natural food form and in supplemental form.   Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines or fresh tuna, provide the most absorbable forms of omega 3 fatty acids, known as Eicosopentasoic Acid (EPA) and Docoshexaenoic Acid (DHA).  Walnuts and flaxseeds are also excellent sources of omega 3 fatty acids but in a different form, Alpha-linolenic acid, known as ALA.  However, usually only 15% and 5% of ALA ingested are broken down to EPA and DHA, respectively.  Therefore, the absorption of vegetable and non-vegetable sources of these fatty acids is not equal.

In recent years Omega 3 supplemented foods have flooded the market, with all encompassing claims of amazing health benefits.   More studies need to be done to determine if these enriched foods are equal to natural sources of fish oil, but some studies have been promising.  In fact, some small studies have shown that the omega 3 fatty acids in supplemented foods may be better absorbed than fish oil concentrates and gel capsule supplements.  This may be due to the fat contained in the food being eaten, which can help the fatty acids to be better absorbed.

In summary, omega 3 enriched foods may be just as good as natural sources of omega 3 fatty acids, but the jury is still out.   When looking for omega 3 fatty acid sources for your kids, keep in mind that the daily recommendation for children is 120 mg of DHA and 180 mg of EPA per 10 pounds of body weight.

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Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Happy 4th of July! If you haven’t yet entered my Independence Day Giveaway, don’t miss out on a chance to win a $50 Target card! It is open until midnight EST tonight (July 3rd).

Here are 5 interesting nutrition stories of the week that caught my eye. Enjoy and drop a comment to let me know what’s on your mind.

30 states have 30% or higher childhood obesity rates

Scary statistics, and nothing to be proud of in my opinion. This data comes from a new report called F as in Fat – How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009 published by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Mississippi got the top honor for its 44% childhood obesity rate – that is nearly 1 in 2 children 10-17 years old is either overweight or obese. 8 of the 10 states with highest rates of childhood obesity are in the South. Another study of children 2-5 years old in low income families shows that nearly 15% of these children are obese compared to about 12% nationwide.  It is not that we don’t know the reason for this trend – children eat junk food, they spend too much time watching TV or in front of a computer, they don’t exercise, and schools are not up to standard when it comes to providing healthy meals. Still, nothing is being done about it, and seems like we have no control over the expanding waistlines of our children. Clearly, childhood obesity is a problem we need to confront with all our creativity and resources since it has terrible implications for the long term health of our nation.

Animal fats linked to pancreatic cancer

In another study linking saturated and trans-fats to cancer, researchers from the National Cancer Institute found positive association between pancreatic cancer and fats from red meat and dairy food sources. Why the cancer of the pancreas and not any other? One theory blames the enzymes produced by the pancreas in the digestion of these fats. Another idea is that diets high in saturated fats lead to insulin resistance and increase in the risk of Type 2 diabetes, which in turn increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. There is no reason to panic and stop eating fats – in fact there are healthy fats that I have written about recently. Unsaturated fats and essential fatty acids are good sources of fats and should be a part of your daily diet in the right amounts. Same goes for children since these healthy fats are needed to support their growth and brain development. Besides red meat and dairy sources, saturated and trans-fats are present in many of the packaged foods, so you should check the label carefully before buying them.

Walnuts can cut cholesterol

Researchers from Harvard’s Nutrition department analyzed data from published trials which compared the effect of walnut-rich diets against control diets to conclude that walnuts can decrease the total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol(“bad”) even over a short period of time. Other benefits were antioxidant and anit-inflammation capacity without any negative effects on body weight. Granted that this is based on a limited number of trials and subjects, and that there may be other factors involved. Still, can’t argue with the fact that walnuts are an excellent source of unsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acids, so overall they are very healthy. We usually add walnuts to our salads at dinner each night, which is one way we have been able to include them in our daily diet without much preparation. Do you have a favorite walnut recipe you would like to share?

Try this nutty 4th of July fruit salad

I really liked this recipe for a coconut fruit salad from Jenna on her Food with Kid Appeal blog. The red (watermelon), white (coconut) and blue (blueberries) colors are quite appropriate for a July 4th celebration! Coconut meat (the white inside part of a mature coconut) is one of my favorites since I grew up on desserts made from it. It is soft, sweet and very chewy with a rich texture. Coconut milk is also very delicious; you may have heard about it being used extensively in Thai recipes. She provides a lot of great details about the nutritious value of coconuts even though they are high in saturated fats and suggests to use in moderation. Coconut oil is very rich in these fats; it is widely used for cooking and even skin care in India. Because of its nutritional value, coconut is part of almost every major religious ceremony in India and considered to be a a valuable fruit.

Good health comes in small bites

Another great article by one of my favorite bloggers and Pediatrician Dr. Ayala. In Small Bites for Health, she writes about a recent study which looked at the effect of bite size and the chewing time on the amount of food eaten in one sitting. Small bites resulted in lower food intake, in fact large bites resulted in volunteers eating nearly 100 g more (or about 100 extra calories in the chocolate custard used in the study) before they felt full. Also they ate more when they ate faster so that the each bite spent only 3 seconds in their mouth compared to the 9 seconds in the slow eating group. We are a fast-food nation where food is eaten on the go and big portions disappear in our mouths within seconds while driving at 60 miles an hour! No wonder an average American consumes 300 more calories today compared to 25 years ago. We seem to “need” to eat a lot more than actually needed before we feel full and satisfied. A simple trick like a small bites and good chewing can help us reduce the amount we eat. Grandma’s advice eat slowly with small bites is still so correct after all!

Enjoy your holiday weekend! And let me know what you think.

Photo source - Spiralz on Flickr
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