> Date:    Tue, 17 Feb 2004 07:29:33 -0500
> From:    James Smith <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Children, calories & paleo food
>
> My whole family eats paleo. I have one concern about how many calories
> children should have daily. Do they eat as much as non-paleo? Do they
absorb
> more nutrients from less food? I have an 18 month old & a 4 3/4 yr old.
> Typically the 4 yr old eats 2-3 eggs for breakfast with a piece of fruit &
> sometimes bread made from nut flour with almond butter. Then a handful
size
> of meat for lunch with another piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, &
> sometimes a handful of romaine lettuce, at the last meal he eat a handful
> size piece of meat or fish, TWO handful sizes of mixed fruit minimum & a
> palm sized piece of the nut flour bread with almond butter & sometimes
> honey. about 3-4 times a week he eats some stretch island fruit leather.
> The baby eats pretty close to the same plus baby food.
> Are there sites where I can find info on this?
> Thanks,
> Jim

Jim,
It sounds like you are doing great with what you are feeding your kids. I
wouldn't worry about the calories as long as their weight is aproaching the
ideal - as opposed to the avarage which would reflect too many portly kids.
The only things I would do different is ease off the amount of fruit and
increase the amount of veggies and use less bread so they don't get in the
habit of eating a lot of bread. We have substituted the bread and potatoes
(or rice or pasta) that accompany most American meals with additional
veggies. For instance maybe asparagus plus beefsteak tomatoes sliced in half
and grilled on the BBQ and some sliced onions grilled on the BBQ. We like to
entertain and we rarely serve starches and given an abundance and variety of
nicely prepared veggies nobody even notices. Then some nice sliced fruit for
dessert.
One last comment would be to encourage GMA - Gross Motor Activity. Get the
kids into the habit of being active. An active lifestyle is as important as
diet to a growing child.
Chuck