Preschool children are in the stage of growth and development, with vigorous metabolism, and their demand for various nutrients is relatively higher than that of adults. Reasonable nutrition can not only ensure their normal growth and development, but also lay the foundation for their health as adults. Human foods are diverse, and the nutrients contained in them are not exactly the same. No natural food can provide all the nutrients the human body needs. Children's diet must be a balanced diet composed of a variety of foods to meet their needs for various nutrients, so a wide range of foods is advocated.

Cereal food is the main source of human energy and the main body of traditional diet in China, which can provide children with carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber and B vitamins. The diet of preschool children should also be based on cereals, and proper attention should be paid to the reasonable collocation of coarse grains and flour and rice.

Second, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits.

Preschool children should be encouraged to eat more vegetables and fruits. The different nutrients of vegetables and fruits are not exactly the same, so they can't replace each other. When preparing meals for children, we should pay attention to cutting vegetables into small pieces for children to chew and swallow, and pay attention to the changes of varieties, colors and tastes of vegetables and fruits, so as to arouse children's interest in eating more vegetables and fruits.

Third, eat a proper amount of fish, poultry, eggs and lean meat.

Animal foods such as fish, poultry, eggs and lean meat are good sources of high-quality protein, fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. Iron in meat is well utilized, and unsaturated fatty acids in fish, especially marine fish, are beneficial to the development of children's nervous system. Animal liver is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B2 and folic acid. There are still a considerable number of preschool children in rural areas in China whose average consumption of animal food is still very low, so their intake should be appropriately increased. However, in some big cities, the proportion of protein in preschool children's diet has met or even exceeded the needs, while the input of saturated fat is high and the intake of various vegetables is obviously insufficient, which is not good for children's health. Fish, poultry, rabbit, etc. High protein and low saturated fat. It is suggested that children can eat this kind of food often.

Fourth, drink milk every day and often eat soybeans and their products.

Milk is a kind of natural food with comprehensive nutrition, suitable composition ratio, easy digestion and absorption and high nutritional value. Besides being rich in high-quality protein, vitamin A and riboflavin, it is an excellent source of natural calcium with high calcium content and good utilization rate. Children's intake of sufficient calcium is helpful to increase bone mineral density, thus delaying the age of osteoporosis in adulthood. Therefore, preschool children in the stage of rapid growth and development should be encouraged to drink milk every day.

Soybean is a traditional food in China, which is rich in high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, calcium, vitamin B 1, vitamin B2 and folic acid. In order to increase the protein input of rural children and avoid the adverse effects caused by excessive meat consumption in cities, it is suggested to eat soybeans and their bean products regularly.

Fifth, the diet is light and less salt, and the snacks should be correctly selected and the drinks with high sugar content should be less.

When cooking and processing food for preschool children, we should keep the original flavor of the food as much as possible, so that children can taste and accept the original flavor of various foods first. In order to protect children's sensitive digestive system, avoid disturbing or affecting children's perception and preference of food itself, realize the correct choice of food and dietary diversity, and prevent the bad eating habits of partial eclipse and picky eaters, children's diet should be light, with less salt and less fat, and avoid adding irritating substances and condiments.

Preschool children have small stomach capacity, less glycogen stored in the liver, lively and active, and are prone to hunger. The number of meals should be appropriately increased to adapt to the characteristics of preschool children's digestive function, and the system of "three meals and two points a day" is appropriate. Reasonable distribution of nutrition and energy for each meal, and adding a proper amount of extra food between breakfast, lunch and evening meals not only ensure the nutritional needs, but also do not increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Usually, in the energy distribution of three meals, the energy provided by breakfast accounts for about 30% (including the main meal at 10 am), the energy provided by lunch accounts for about 40% of the day (including noon at 3 pm), and the energy provided by dinner accounts for about 30% of the day (including a small amount of fruit and milk at 8 pm).

Snacks are an important part of school-age children's diet, which should be scientifically recognized and reasonably selected. Snacks refer to foods and drinks eaten outside of meals. For school-age children, snacks refer to foods with insufficient supplementary ability and nutrition added after two o'clock in three meals a day.

Preschool children have a strong metabolism and a large amount of activity, and their requirements for nutrition are higher than those of adults. The water demand is also large, so it is suggested that the daily drinking water for preschool children should be 1000- 1500ml. Its drink should be mainly boiled water. At present, many sugary drinks and carbonated drinks on the market contain substances such as carbonic acid and phosphoric acid. Excessive introduction of these drinks will not only affect children's appetite, make children prone to dental caries, but also cause excessive intake, which is not conducive to the healthy growth of children.

Six, food intake and physical activity should be balanced to ensure normal weight growth.

Food provides human energy, while physical activity/exercise consumes energy. If the food intake is too large and the activity is insufficient, the excess energy other than protein required for synthetic growth will be deposited in the body in the form of fat, leading to excessive weight gain and long-term obesity; On the other hand, if the food intake is insufficient and the activity is too large, it may cause emaciation due to insufficient energy, leading to decreased activity ability and attention. Therefore, children need to keep a balance between food intake and consumption. Thin children should increase their food intake and oil intake appropriately to maintain normal growth and development and gain weight appropriately; Obese children should control the total food intake and high-fat food intake, moderately increase the intensity and duration of activities (sports), and appropriately control the excessive weight gain on the premise of ensuring adequate nutrition supply.

Seven, not picky eaters, not partial eclipse, cultivate good eating habits.

Preschool children begin to have a certain independent activity ability, strong imitation ability, increased interest, prone to irregular diet, eating too many snacks, food overload. When the party is exposed to cold and heat, which easily affects its digestive function, illness or emotional instability may cause anorexia, partial eclipse and other bad eating habits. Therefore, we should pay special attention to cultivating children's good eating habits, not picky eaters or partial eclipse.

Eight, eat clean food, not bad.

Pay attention to children's dining hygiene, including the dining environment, tableware and the health and hygiene of the food supplier. Kindergarten collective dining should advocate the system of separate meals to reduce the chance of disease transmission. Do not drink raw (unpasteurized) milk and uncooked soybean milk, eat raw eggs and uncooked meat processed food, and eat contaminated and unsanitary food.