Recently my son had his very first sleep-over party. Nine boys! In the morning, we prepared our usual breakfast and were surprised by one boy who pleaded lactose intolerant and didn’t eat any porridge.
This got me thinking…what dairy myths exist that are preventing people from enjoying dairy and how was I going to get some calcium into this growing child’s brekkie? 32 Brussels sprouts?
Being a mum of four and a dietitian, I encourage my kids to start their day with dairy foods. Milk, cheese and yogurt contain calcium and nine other essential nutrients for growth, bone strength and to support healthy, active kids.
Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Dairy Australia. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.
Alarmingly most Australian kids aren’t meeting the recommended serves of the dairy food group.
Depending on their age and gender, kids need between one-and-a-half and three serves of dairy foods every day. Dairy is important for our, and our kids’ health. It’s perfect with meals or makes a delicious healthy snack. In fact, my son just interrupted my writing to ask for a glass of milk as a snack.
How do we encourage our kids to eat more dairy? Research tells us that the more dairy foods mums eat, the more likely their children are to eat dairy foods as well. We need to lead by example. To help, here are 5 things mums tell me about eating dairy that just aren’t true: