For Healthcare Professional use Toddler Factsheet 1.9 HOW TO CHOOSE NUTRITIOUS FRESH OR CONVENIENCE FOODS www.infantandtoddlerforum.org LEARNING POINTS 1 Fresh and convenience foods can contribute to a healthy 6 Toddlers should be given only small amounts of adult ready balanced diet based on the five food groups. meals, served ideally with some extra vegetables to make a more nutritious meal. 2 Some convenience foods are nutritious and suitable for toddlers. Others are low in key nutrients and may contain inappropriately 7 Pre-prepared baby / toddler foods are regulated to ensure high amounts of added salt / sodium, fat and sugar. they contain minimum adequate amounts of key nutrients and do not contain excessive amounts of salt, fat, sugar 3 The criteria for selecting nutritious convenience foods vary and pesticides. from one food type to another. 8 Foods marketed for young children may contain higher 4 Food labels may be misleading when used to select amounts of sugar than equivalent standard products or nutritious foods, because they often display only the those in the baby aisle of a supermarket. amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrate, sugar and omit other key nutrients such as iron, zinc, calcium and vitamins. 9 Fresh fruit and vegetables lose some of their vitamin C and folic acid when they are stored or transported for long 5 Ready meals containing large amounts of vegetables and periods of time. flavoured with herbs and spices are more appropriate for toddlers than those that contain fewer vegetables, more added fat and are flavoured with salt. BALANCING FRESH AND CONVENIENCE FOODS Until about 60 years ago toddlers in the UK were fed A healthy nutritious diet for toddlers is based on a almost exclusively on freshly prepared foods. Since then balanced combination of foods from the five food the availability of convenience foods has increased and groups. see Factsheet 1.2 nowadays most families use a combination of both fresh and convenience foods. However, some families Each food group contributes different key nutrients. eat almost only convenience foods. Both fresh foods and convenience foods can provide this balance but parents and carers need Convenience foods are used because: to understand how to make the best choices when including convenience foods in a toddler’s diet. • of a lack of time in busy households to prepare all meals from fresh ingredients Some convenience foods are nutritious and very suitable, containing essential vitamins and minerals. • some parents lack cooking skills because they Other convenience foods are less nutritious, containing have never been taught to cook and they do not few of the key nutrients toddlers need and they may have the confidence to try have high amounts of added salt, fat and sugar. • some families only have access to shops where Knowing which convenience foods to use and which fresh food is expensive or of poor quality to avoid is never easy. This Factsheet will help you guide parents to make sensible choices. see Factsheet 1.9i for labelling information and see Factsheet 1.1i for a full list of nutrients and their functions. Both will be helpful to read in conjunction with this Factsheet. What is convenience food? Convenience foods have been prepared or Convenience food includes: processed by a food manufacturer or retailer • pre-prepared foods and ready-to-eat dishes, either to make them last longer than fresh foods hot or cold or to make them easier to use. Specific additives are often incorporated to prevent or slow down • room temperature, shelf-stable products the deterioration of the food. Sugar and salt are such as sweets, soft drinks, fruit juices, dried commonly used for this purpose as well as other fruits, cakes, biscuits, puddings, packet snacks preservatives. Some additives are used to add and canned products such as fish, meat, fruit, flavour, colour or sweetness or to maintain a vegetables, soups and pasta dishes consistent texture. • refrigerated or frozen products that require minimal preparation 02 NUTRITIONAL CONTENT OF CONVENIENCE FOODS Frozen foods Packet snack foods (such as crisps, potato rings and puffs) Frozen foods retain a high percentage of all their nutrients. Fruit and vegetables are frozen very soon These snack foods contain high levels of fat and after harvesting and retain high levels of vitamin C. salt and very few essential nutrients. They are not Freezing can make foods more palatable for toddlers. suitable for toddlers and should be eaten in very small For example toddlers usually prefer frozen peas to amounts, such as three to four crisps occasionally. cooked fresh peas. The longer shelf life of frozen foods A whole packet provides an excessive amount of makes them available when fresh varieties are not in calories, fat and salt for a toddler. the shops or are more expensive because they have been transported long distances. Canned foods Canning is a traditional way of preserving food. After canning the tin is heated to a high temperature to destroy any bacteria present. The vitamin content, particularly vitamin C and the B vitamins, declines with high temperatures and so will be lower in canned foods compared to fresh foods. However not all the vitamin content is lost. Canned tomatoes, for example, are still a good source of vitamin C because fresh tomatoes are so rich in this vitamin. Other nutrients such as fibre, antioxidants and iron are retained. So canned fruit and vegetables are certainly better than not having fruit and vegetables at all. Traditionally salt is added to savoury canned foods and sugar is often added to canned fruits, some canned vegetables and baked beans or pasta in sauce. Nowadays there are canned foods available without added salt or sugar and these are better choices for toddlers. Even when the ingredients list does not include added sugar, the nutritional information may indicate sugar is present. This will be either from the natural sugars in the food or it may be sugar formed when some starch breaks down during the canning process. Dried fruit Dried fruit has a lower content of some vitamins than fresh fruit, but the minerals iron and zinc become more concentrated making them nutritious foods for toddlers. However the sugar in dried fruit also becomes more concentrated. Dentists recommend that dried fruit should be offered only with meals, not as snacks. Dried vegetables and soup powders Much of the vitamin content of these foods is lost in the drying process and soup powders are usually high in salt. 03 Chilled and Pre-prepared baby/ frozen ready meals toddler foods Chilled and frozen meals vary considerably in their Pre-prepared toddler foods that are found in the nutrient content. Those containing vegetables are baby aisles of supermarkets must comply with strict better choices than those without. Sauces in ready regulations on their nutrient content. They must meals that are based on vegetables, spices and herbs contain adequate amounts of key nutrients and must are more nutritious than those rich in cream, oil, salt not contain excessive amounts of salt, fat and sugar. and added colourings and flavourings. They must also comply with a very low maximum limit of pesticides. When comparing two ready meals, check the labels and buy: Foods specifically marketed for young children • the one with more vegetables because the meal will be higher in vitamins and it may also Foods decorated with cartoon characters are be lower in salt and fat designed to appeal to young children. However they can be of poorer nutritional quality than standard • the one lower in salt and fat. However if the foods. Extra sugar is often added to breakfast cereals, meal contains cheese, ham and bacon, the yogurts and desserts to satisfy young children’s amount of fat and salt will be higher, although preference for sweet foods. Parents should be advised this is acceptable to check labels for the amount of added sugar and compare it with that in an adult equivalent product or It is advisable to give toddlers small servings of adult choose a product from the baby aisle. ready meals and add extra vegetables to make a more nutritious meal. Pasta sauces Takeaway meals Vegetable sauces flavoured with herbs and spices rather than salt are more nutritious. Those with the Takeaway meals vary considerably in their nutrient lowest amounts of fat and salt should be chosen. content. Meals that contain vegetable-based sauces, The cheese in cheese-based sauces provides a certain herbs and spices are generally nutritious. However, amount of fat and salt but also provides valuable sauces that look the same may contain a lot of oil, nutrients, such as calcium and B vitamins. salt, colourings and artificial flavourings rather than vegetables, herbs and spices. These are less nutritious and are not suitable for toddlers. Fried foods that are not served with a large portion of non-fried vegetables provide an unbalanced meal. Convenience foods with added nutrients By law, some of the nutrients lost during the processing of some processed foods must be replaced. The manufacturers of other products may do this voluntarily. Examples of nutrients replaced include: • iron and B vitamins added to commercial breakfast cereals - additions are listed on the packet • iron added to white and brown flour, because some iron is lost during milling • folic acid added to some breads and breakfast cereals Label from a rice based breakfast cereal showing list of added nutrients. 04 Functional foods Foods that have specific nutrients added to them that are not normally present in significant amounts are Recent examples include the addition of: called functional foods. • omega 3 fats to some margarines, yogurts, eggs, berry fruit juices, breads, milk, some Long-standing examples are: breakfast cereals, children’s pastas and biscuits • calcium added to bread • calcium to some cereal bars • vitamins A and D added to margarine • prebiotics and probiotics to some yogurts and milk desserts More recently, growing consumer interest in health and nutrition has encouraged the food industry to The extra cost of buying these foods is not easy to introduce more foods with added nutrients.