The past four months have seen people frantically trying every means to boost up their immunity levels. From immunity-boosting food to supplements to vitamin and zinc tablets, the world has not left any stoned unturned to safeguard themselves and their families from COVID-19. Immunity boosting foods have flooded the markets and also have gone out of stock immediately. But can one boost the body’s immunity in a single go? Is there a magic herb or food out there that can boost one’s immunity in one shot? Definitely not. Immunity is something that is built up over the years. And one requires a well thought immune-boosting healthy food chart for kids an expert nutritionist.
A good immunity-boosting healthy food chart for kids from an expert nutritionist if followed from the word go is extremely essential. While growing up if they do not get the right amount of nutrition, it can lead to a life full of diseases and a weakened immune system. Holistic nutrition is required for the body to fully develop. The deficiency of any of the nutrients in the body can affect immunity.
Kids and the immune system:
A weakened immunity, in turn, makes the body prone to infections, which lead to poor intake of food, loss of energy, breakdown of muscle proteins, thus creating a vicious cycle. The energy requirement of children increases as they are growing up. And along with it, the requirement of proteins, vitamins, and minerals increases too. Every age group has a requirement for different amounts of nutrients for the body to fully develop and build a robust immune system. Malnutrition affects the entire immune system. Lack of nutrition can lead to many diseases and growth-related problems.
Archana Agarawal, a dietician and nutritionist with over 3 decades of experience says that eating healthy is not just about surviving but in fact about thriving. So for children to thrive, their meal plan has to be designed in a manner that is nutrient-dense. To obtain optimal health, children should have a well-planned meal based on antioxidant-rich seasonal foods. She recommends eating anti-inflammatory food.
She recommends the following healthy diet plan for Indian kids in the age group of 5-7 years.
Healthy food chart for kids:
| Meal Days | Breakfast | Mid-Morning | Lunch | Evening | Dinner | Bedtime (Optional) |
| MONDAY | Mixed seasonal vegetable patty with green chutney | 8-10 grapes | Rajma rice | Cup of milk with 8-10 dry roasted makhanas (fox nuts) | Chatpati with pea paneer vegetable | One or two date pit seed removed & substituted with almonds |
| TUESDAY | Moong-dal chila with paneer and peas | 200 ml Mausami juice | Mixed vegetable pulao with tomato onion raita | Cup of milk with handful of dry roasted chana and puffed rice | Lauki kofta with chapati | One or two date pit seed removed & substituted with almonds |
| WEDNESDAY | Poha with peanuts, onion, ginger | Three to four slices of mango | Palak paneer with chapati | Cup of milk with dry roasted peanuts and namkeen chiwda | Potato stuffed paratha with plain curd | One or two date pit seed removed and substituted with almonds |
| THURSDAY | Saabodana khichdi | One chikoo or a bowl of papaya slices | Lauki-chana dal with chapati | Cup of milk with 2 small homemade mathris | Dry onion bhindi vegetable with chapati | One or two date pit seed removed and substituted with almonds |
| FRIDAY | Omelette with finely chopped veggies (Non-Veg) Millets Dosa/Pancake (Veg) | Small bowl of pomegranate | Chilka moong dal palak with chapati | One cup milk with one small katori of besan sev | Pea paneer potato rice with kheera raita | One or two date pit seed removed and substituted with almonds |
| SATURDAY | Besan chila with sweet sauce, tomato chutney | Small bowl of mixed fruit chat. | Pea potato vegetable with chapati | One cup milk and handful of makhanas | Chickpea with Poori/Jeera Rice | One or two Date Pit/Seed Removed & Substituted with Almonds Put Inside |
| SUNDAY | Homemade potato and peas samosa | 2-3 Slices of fresh pineapple | Mixed vegetable khichdi | Small glass of banana shake | Onion tomato potato gravy vegetable with chapati | One or two date pit seed removed & substituted with Aamonds |
Right from a balanced diet chart for 10-year-old child to food chart for 5-year-old Indian boy, the above chart can be followed to a tee.
Dr. Archana believes in a strict vegetarian diet for a healthy lifestyle and recommends this as an immunity-boosting meal plan. The vegetarian meal plan takes care of all the macro and micronutrient requirements of growing up children, which ensures the optimal generation of energy and prevents the onset of childhood obesity which is on the rise these days. But for children who will want to have a non-vegetarian diet, she suggests non-vegetarian food be kept at a minimum.
All about vegetarian and non-vegetarian meal plans:
Eggs could be included to make it a robust and healthy food chart for kids. The boiled eggs as an evening snack and chicken as chicken soup can be taken on alternate days. Eggs can be made part of breakfast again as boiled ones with cucumber or other vegetables in a sandwich. She strictly warns against rich gravies in both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian meal plans.
A balanced meal plan for kids with immune-boosting foods is a must, and more so in the current scenario. If you haven’t thought about the seriousness of looking for immune-boosting meal plans for your little one, don’t delay it anymore. Follow our expert nutritionist’s meal plan and see the difference in the overall health of your little one.
Tasneem consulted certified nutrionist – Archana Agarwal
Graphics by HelloVector
Certain foods contain the exact nutrients that can help our children’s immune systems be as strong as possible, so that when they are exposed to germs, they are prepared to fight. I am gonna stick this on our kitchen wall.
The biggest reason for this is low immunity, which can be due to a variety of factors, the most common one being diet.
Don’t we all need such helpful chart at the back of our hands this chat explain the value of Nutrition to be added in our daily diet I would say A must-have for every mother to stick on the kitchen wall or a refrigerator for easy access and daily reach. Thank you for sharing this and making our life easy.
This food chart for kids is so helpful for moms who are always wondering what to give to kids to keep them interested in food and meal time. I will try some of these.
It is necessary to build right immunity among kids. This chart will be helpful for new parents to give right meal to their kids.
This is really a good way to include the immunity boosting healthy food for kids as a balanced meal plan for kids with immune-boosting foods is a must, more so in the current scenario. Thanks for sharing the meal plan
I loved the idea of a chart it is so needed as a much needed reminder as I tend to miss certain essential nutrients completely
My son is a picky eater and most times his energy levels are so high tha he doesnt want to eat food. Thanks for sharing a good diet chart.
Loved the daily chart! It will solve my daily problem of “aaj khaane mein kya banau”. Thank you so much for taking the efforts to bring this one to us. Kudos!
Detailed and very informative post. Much needed post as a strong immunity could be our only saviour from this contagion.
Your post has made my day. Daily thinking of healthy meal yet different each day was a task , shall follow this chart.
thank you for sharing such an informative post is it really important to take care of kids immunity and getting a proper nutrition chart helps a lot in giving proper nutrition
Very informative post. really like the diet plan for kids. Right amount of Nutrients is must for growing kids and should we considered seriously.
Healthy snacks is much needed in growing years for overall development. This nutritionists approved food chart will help to choose the right food for kids
I totally agree with Archana mam, eating healthy is not just about surviving but in fact about thriving. I am always out of healthy options to cook for my son, thanks for sharing this healthy food chart, will be really helpful.
Thanks for sharing this chart. I see my kids appetite has increased now a days sitting at home. I guess boredom equals to food for them. The chart gives me some good options to try.
I am gonna follow this chart for my kids . You have given a very detailed information on immunity development.
Building our immunity is the topmost priority now and this is quite a detailed chart for kids. We also try to have all the above mentioned but not in any particular order.
Thanks a lot for explaining this nicely. I am going to follow this chart for sure for kids to maintain their immunity system and healthy eating habit!!
I make sure my kids east healthy but haven’t made a chart for them. Thanks for this chart for ready reference. It indeed makes for balanced meals and ensures that kids get the required nutrition too.
This is such a useful and informative post. The food chart for kids has such amazing healthy and interesting dishes that will help them to have all the nutrients necessary for a strong immune system. Bookmarking this post. Thanks for sharing!
The diet chart is full of healthy recipes. I grate vegetables before adding to kids meal, that way it gives a good color and they eat it without fuss.
Thank you so much for the food chart. I also do experiments with my son’s breakfast but my daughter is fussy so I have limited options for her. Saboodana khichdi, poha, vermicelli upma and besan cheela is my son’s favourite.
This is such an Informative post and I loved the meal plan shared by doctor archana but as a parent I feel it becomes really hard to follow a meal plan with picky eaters. My little one is picky eater and I know that struggle very well.
This is such a healthy and easy to assemble and follow meal plan for kids. Having a chart really helps, as then Mom’s don;t need to wrack their brains about what to give the child for their next meal.
Thank You for the well-explained food chart. It is very important for parents to provide healthy options to their kids. Specially, today when kids are at home and doing online studies, they get hungry very frequently. Having healthy snack options is very important.