Simple breakfast swaps for children

This week the NZ Heart Foundation released a statement about encouraging children to eat a healthier breakfast. The media release contains the usual sobering stats on the state of children's diets. What I really liked about the second part of the media release was the idea of simple breakfast swaps. I.e. swapping a less healthy option for a healthier one. To make it easy for parents, the Heart Foundation have launched their "TICK" programme which provides an easy system to identify healthy choices in the supermarket (just look out for the "tick" from the Heart Foundation). Swapping standard breakfast options with the ones that fit the "Tick" Programme can remove more than a teaspoon of saturated fat and about as much salt as found in a packet of potato chips from your child’s breakfast every day, according to the Heart Foundation. Click here to view the "Tick" shopping list.

Here's a list of the swaps:

Popular children's cereal (per serve): Fibre – 0.2g, Sodium – 300mg
Swap with: Mixed grain and wheatmeal cereal (per serve): Fibre – 3.2g, Sodium – 55mg

Standard (full fat) milk (per 200ml serve): Saturated fat – 4.2g, Calcium – 232mg

Swap with trim milk (per 200ml serve): Saturated fat – 0.6g, Calcium – 300mg

2 Slices of white bread ( 37g per slice): Fibre – 2g, Sodium – 382mg
Swap with 2 Slices of whole grain bread (37g per slice): Fibre – 4g, Sodium – 284mg

2 teaspoons butter: Saturated fat – 5.6g
Swap with 2 teaspoons of margarine or spread: Saturated fat – 1.8g

Total saturated fat "saving" per day: 7.4g
Total sodium (salt) "saving" per day: 343mg
Total increase in fibre per day: 5.5g
Total increase in calcium per day: 68mg

Worth keeping in mind I think.

-Stefan