The price of milk and the viability of the Australian dairy industry is a hot topic at the moment so we thought we’d look at why dairy food is important for kids.
Why Dairy Food Is Important For Kids
Dairy is so important it is considered one of the five food groups all children must eat every day. Dairy food provides:
- calcium for strong bones
- protein for the growth of new cells
- zinc for brain function
- vitamin A for healthy eyes
An Australian study of nearly 4,500 children aged 2-16 years old showed that as children get older, they tend to consume less dairy, particularly girls. Australian children over the age of four years old are not consuming the recommended servings of dairy food.
Daily Recommended Servings
The following table shows the recommended daily servings of dairy products for children by gender and age.
Source: Dairy and Your Life Stage
Everything in proportion
Giving too much dairy food to children is also a problem as it can mean they aren’t eating enough of the other four food groups. Too much dairy can also impact on the body’s ability to absorb iron.
Children who don’t drink milk
If your child refuses to drink milk, calcium can be obtained from the following foods:
- Cheese, yoghurt or milk-based custards.
- Sardines and other fish that contain fine bones that can be eaten.
- Nuts (such as almonds) have moderate amount of calcium and protein; however nuts are not suitable for very young children.
- Leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and bok choy.
- Some breakfast cereals are fortified with calcium – read the label carefully.
- Some soy drinks are fortified with calcium –read the label carefully.
Lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance is usually a temporary, acquired condition in young children; it often follows acute gastroenteritis. It is common in Asian communities (80 to 90 per cent), but is less common in adult Caucasians (10 to 20 per cent). There are a variety of low lactose milks, fortified soy drinks and formulas available for children with lactose intolerance.
Rory’s School Lunches Dairy Food Options
Rory’s School Lunches provide a range of dairy foods to help your children eat their two to three servings of dairy each day. Some dairy food options from our menus are:
- Fresh or toasted sandwiches with cheese
- Beef lasagne
- Chicken parmigiana
- Cheesy tomato pasta bake
- Yoghurt with berry coulis
- Shepherd’s pie topped with cheese
- Nachos topped with cheese
- Nippy’s flavoured milk
Rory’s Easy Pasta Carbonara Recipe
Would you like to add more dairy food to your diet? Try Rory’s Easy Carbonara Pasta recipe.
You can prepare this recipe in less than 20 minutes and you need fewer than 10 ingredients. It’s simple and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 large brown onions
- 2 x tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 150g bacon
- 100ml white wine
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 500ml pouring cream (suitable for cooking)
- 50g parmesan cheese
Method
- Finely dice 2 large brown onions and fry off in 2 x tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add 150g of diced bacon and let the bacon and onion caramelise together.
- Splash in 100ml of white wine and utilise this liquid to deglaze the pan and clean all the caramelised flavour off the bottom of the fry pan.
- Add two teaspoons of crushed garlic, a teaspoon of cracked pepper, a teaspoon of dried parsley and a teaspoon of dried oregano and mix well together.
- Once the wine has reduced, turn down the heat and pour in 500ml of cream and 50g of parmesan cheese.
- Allow the sauce to simmer on low for five to ten minutes and then add salt if required (salt will depend on the strength of your parmesan cheese.)
- Cook your favourite pasta and drizzle your sauce over.
