When we talk about baby food, there are options that are both healthy and cheap, and there are no prohibited products as such, but the dose makes the poison, explains HotNews.ro nutritionist Ligia Alexandrescu. According to the nutritionist, healthy, balanced food, including for children, is not necessarily expensive. Due to the cost and many other things, feeding children exclusively organic food is a difficult task, but “no one says that we have to buy everything organic in the supermarket, we can turn to the sources we have outside the supermarkets”, this is the advice of Lihiia Alexandrescu.

Ordered food is often expensive, and those on a budget should kick this habit.

As for forbidden foods, “there are no completely forbidden foods, but the poison is the dose,” says the nutritionist. To take an example fried potatoes, which aren’t the healthiest food, but the kids really like it, “of course, nothing beats the taste of fried potatoes, but don’t eat them every day. It is recommended no more than once every 5-6 days,” says Ligia Alexandrescu. “There is also pressure from the community: he comes home and complains that the other person is eating. We cannot disappoint them and cause some kind of guilt, which ultimately turns into certain emotional states,” adds the nutritionist.

Hydration is very important for children as it is for adults, so instead of bottled water, which is more expensive, you can buy a water filter.

Exercise is just as important, and exercise doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym or doing intense sports. “It’s enough to walk – our grandfathers walked. We don’t do that anymore. We use the car, the elevator, there are no more stairs. For this reason, it is good for children to walk. It doesn’t have to be something that involves a budget – playing a sport that’s expensive.”

Lihiia Alexandrescu, consultant in sports nutrition, nutrition education and nutrition communication

What does a healthy breakfast for children look like and how much does it cost

What does a healthy and inexpensive breakfast recommended by Ligia Alexandrescu for children look like:

• Speaking of children, a child needs good carbohydrates in the morning. This means quality bread. You can buy quality bread for about 5 lei. It contains 400 grams, and a child needs 50-60 grams of bread in the morning. And an adult too.

• What can we put on bread? No cheeses that contain I don’t know how much salt. It is good to look at the food label, because children are not allowed to eat salty food. We Romanians eat instead of 5 grams of salt per day as recommended by the WHO and up to 20 grams of salt per day because we do not check the food label.

• What do we put on bread? We can use good quality oil – a pack of oil is really expensive, about 15 lei. 200 grams of butter. But the child needs 10 grams of butter in the morning. This is quality fat, natural fat, and 10 grams is quite enough.

• We also buy cheese, but without going into the salty zone – we can turn to cheese, cottage cheese. Romania produces mozzarella. So, cheeses that are not very salty, but contain high-quality protein. You can also buy cheese or milk from us.

Family with children having breakfast / Photo: Arne9001 | Dreamstime.com

• Vegetables are best eaten in season. Of course, cherry tomatoes are expensive in winter. Let’s eat a leaf of lettuce that can be put in a child’s sandwich.

• You can use an egg instead of cheese. It is extremely important that the child eats an egg, at least one day yes, one day no. An egg costs 1-1.5 lei.

• For breakfast, the child can also drink tea.

• It is good to have a jar of honey from which a child can eat a teaspoon – 10 milliliters of honey.

• Sour milk products are very important because they contain probiotics and quality protein.

• Yogurt should be eaten as it is, not with inserts – not with fruits, not with grains. From childhood, we learn to consume them correctly.

• In such a breakfast there is protein, there are carbohydrates, there are antioxidants from everything that means vegetables. And, after all, breakfast is collected here for about 4 lei. And we managed to feed the child well.

School break – fruit or homemade cookies

An example of a school break snack recommended by Ligia Alexandrescu:

• A child can eat a fruit during a break at school. We have apples in the market. These are our brands – Voinești, Dâmbovița apples. The apple can be cut into 4 slices and wrapped in napkins. The child needs to wash his hands and have an alcohol-based, not necessarily expensive, disinfectant wipe.

• An apple is highly recommended, and a banana 3 times a week, because children need potassium.

• If the child is weak and needs a lot of energy, we can also make cookies at home, with oatmeal and white flour.

A child eats an apple / Photo: Pavla Zakova Dreamstime.com

Lunch – soups are perfect, 2nd course only if necessary

An example of a healthy lunch recommended by nutritionist Ligia Alexandrescu:

• Soups are very useful for lunch. It moisturizes very well, helps the body to digest well. It is good to make them at home, boil as many different vegetables as possible, without flavor enhancers. It is not good to have food substitutes in the child’s diet, such as flavor enhancers.

• The 2nd course is eaten only when necessary. If we make soup from chicken, poultry, meat, then we will not eat two dishes. If he eats a hearty soup, in which there is also meat, the child does not need two meals – two meals would enlarge his stomach. If the soup is hearty – with a lot of vegetables, a little rice or potatoes, therefore, carbohydrates, and there is also meat, then it is practically a hearty, nutritious dish. In this case, there should not be two dishes at lunch, especially if the child is also not very active.

• 2 courses are recommended if the soup/soup is less thick – only vegetables. For method 2, it would be good for the baby to eat fish 3 times a week. We are, I believe, the country with the lowest consumption of fish in Europe – Bulgarians eat more fish than we do.

• It is not necessary for a child to eat fish every day, but 2-3 times a week is highly recommended.

• It is also useful that the child does not consume animal protein one day a week.

• Beans, lentils, chickpeas, mushrooms contain high-quality proteins that can successfully replace meat.

• Potatoes are a legume that provides satiety – baked in the oven, boiled (mashed) or grilled.

• Of course, nothing beats the taste of fried potatoes, but it doesn’t have to be every day. It is recommended not more often than once every 5-6 days.

• There is also pressure from the community: he comes home and complains that the other person is eating. We cannot disappoint them and cause guilt, which eventually turns into certain emotional states.

• Potatoes are recommended for children, and not necessarily sweet potatoes, but regular ones. 2-3 times a week can be used with protein – meat.

• Potato soup is very useful, but only in a certain amount. If you eat excessively – the child likes it – then it is necessary to accompany it with physical exercises, so that a large amount of glucose can be removed and the child does not gain weight.

• Movement does not necessarily have to be in the gym or intensive sports. It is enough to walk – our grandfathers and grandmothers walked. We don’t do that anymore. We use the car, the elevator, there are no more stairs. For this reason, it is good for children to walk. It doesn’t have to be something that involves a limited budget – playing an expensive sport.

At the table / Photo: Evgenyatamanenko | Dreamstime.com

No meat for dinner

What a healthy and cheap dinner looks like:

• I always said: never eat meat for dinner. Digestion of meat takes hours. It means a digestive system that works all night. Just as we want to rest, our digestive system and our baby also want to rest.

• In the evening, you can eat salads, polenta, less salty cheese, kefir or whipped milk, baked dishes – for example, cabbage baked in the oven is highly recommended, and a kilogram of cabbage costs 3 lei.

• We can reach a budget of 5-6 lei for a balanced lunch for a child.

• We can eat healthy, local (Romanian food) and fit into a budget.

Photo: Dreamstime.com.