Can Kids do Banting

Can Kids Bant?

We see this question often - can kids bant?

Well, this is a picture of my eldest son James.
He is the reason we joined the group years ago.



We have a different approach to children.
Childhood obesity is on the rise, and teaching children from a young age what good nutrition is opposed to bad nutrition should be our jobs as parents.

It's not about going high fat for them, but rather about cutting out the refined sugary processed junk foods.  This includes the "healthy" juices which are packed full of fructose.
Most processed foods all contain hidden sugars - even some frozen chips contain dextrose! So it's not only the sweet things - its the actual "foods" too. By cutting out the high sugar/carb foods, we eliminate the sugar slumps and improve brain function, and reduce inflammation so our children can live optimally.

Omega 3 is an important fat for kids especially - it helps with eye and brain function. Fish - most oily fish has quite decent amounts of omega 6. If they're not into Fish - a good idea is to get a good Fish oil supplement, My boys love The Real Thing's Omegas.





Fats are great for brain development, and makes the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in the foods they do eat, possible. We have a list of healthy and not healthy fats you can look at - to make the best choices for your family.

Encourage healthy choices for your children by making the switch as a family.

Tips to get your kids to go low carb:

Don't go in guns blazing

This may make them rebel - and they may not be as cooperative. Remember it's a lifestyle change, so do it gradually.

Stop the take-aways

Yes, life is insanely busy. Showing them, and even involving them in prepping their own food helps encourage them to eat it. Spend time over the weekend making Banting friendly snacks for the week, or various things to include in their lunchboxes. I will include some recipes below.

Start watering down the juice

If your child is still small and they're unfortunately already used to juice - start watering it down. Start with 90% juice, 10% water - by the end of the week - you should at least be down to 20% juice and 80% water. Does it taste nice? Probably not - but it is better for them than pure juice that often has more sugar in than fizzy drinks. You will also save on dentist bills this way!

Aim for whole foods

Your whole aim for this would be to remove the pure sugar, processed foods for the more whole foods approach. Oats is fine occasionally for children, for instance - but you should aim to swap out any and all high carb foods for their lower carb alternatives.

Don't forget the protein

Children need a good amount of protein - it is an essential macro-nutrient for the development of their growing muscles

Why the fat?

As mentioned above, many vitamins are fat-soluble, so we need to eat the fat in order to take in the essential vitamins - it will help with their concentration at school too!

Should you force it?

Well, I believe that is the wrong approach, but that's because my son is autistic - so certain foods textures are a real issue for him - it actually "hurts" him. Encourage, but if they have tried that specific vegetable - forcing it down their throats is maybe not the right way to go.

Flavour the food

Don't boil up the broccoli and expect them to be ecstatic about it. Make a dish out of it - allow them to use the low carb tomato sauce on it - if they are eating it - that is a step in the right direction.

Kid Friendly Recipes:

Mediterranean Meatballs
Espetada Meatballs
Fathead Pizza
Blueberry Milkshake
Chicken Meatballs
Chicken Nuggets
Raspberry Milkshake
Breakfast Pizza
Simple Scrambled Eggs
Simple Omelette
Chocolate Porridge
Cheesy Wrap-ups
Banting Lasagne
Fish Fingers/Pieces
3 Cheese Vegetable bake
Nachos Chips!
Banting Cheesy Veggie Bites
Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Cupcakes

Do you have kids? What's their favourite meals?
Let us know!


For the Love of Banting

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