A healthy meal plan for kids – and the whole family – is important to the health of all children. Meal planning using the food groups for meals and snacks will help your child meet their nutritional needs while making the family meals a whole lot easier.

Health eating is a priority for most families. Parents know that children who eat a healthy, balanced diet tend to be healthier. This is proven in the scientific literature. But planning meals for health isn’t always an easy task, especially when families are busy. In this article, I show you my step-by-step approach to planning healthy meals for the whole family.

I’ll help you take an effective approach to balanced meals, offering general guidelines for feeding your child. I will cover how to make nutritious meals, why they matter, specific food groups to include as part of a balanced diet, portion sizes for kids, and timing of meals and snacks.

You’ll learn:

• How to balance the major food groups
• Effective timing of eating
• Proper portions for children
• Best ways to encourage healthy eating

As a childhood nutrition expert, I see many parents get tripped up with family meals. They focus on one or two healthy foods in the meal, instead of an overall balanced diet. They scour the internet for healthy recipes or fixate on healthy options. Or, they worry about what to take out of their child’s diet, rather than what to add to it. 

All these things matter. But having a strategy and plan for healthy meals that’s efficient, nutritious, and helps you meet your goal of raising a healthy eater will not only get you to your goal, it will be long-lasting.

Easy and Healthy Kid Meals

You may be striving for a balanced, healthy meal plan, but if you don’t have the basics in mind, you may question yourself. Let’s cover the different types of foods that should be included in a healthy meal: 

nutritious, wholesome food

a balance and variety of foods

strategic timing for meals and snack time

helpful ways to incorporate sweets and treats

Together, a balanced diet and optimal meal timing creates a healthy meal plan for kids. 

Why Does Healthy Food Matter?

There are several reasons why healthy food choices for growing children matter. First, offering a variety of healthy foods ensures your child will receive the vast majority of their nutritional requirements to grow well.

Secondly, setting a regular time for meals and snacks helps to cover your child’s hunger and appetite so they’re better able to regulate eating.

In the end, healthy meals help them meet nutrient requirements while eating in a more intuitive and mindful manner. That means eating for hunger rather than boredom, emotions, or other outside triggers.

[Listen: How to Raise a Mindful Eater ]

Food Groups (Simple Food Categories)

Food groups are the categories of food that target important and specific nutrients. There are five main food groups, which I will describe below.

Fats are an additional food group, but many foods already include fat, so I generally don’t ask you to work this in, unless I feel there isn’t enough fat in your child’s usual eating pattern. Sweets and treats are a group I add to the mix so that you can explore the right balance of nutritious foods and indulgent foods.

Examples and Key Nutrients:

Fruit: Apple slices, banana, berries, orange juice and other fruit juice fall into this food group. You will find fiber, vitamin C and other nutrients, plus phytonutrients in fruit.

Vegetables: broccoli, green beans, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, and yes, even French fries fall into this group. Vegetables offer potassium, vitamin A, and fiber, among other nutrients.

Protein foods: peanut butter, red meat and other lean meats, poultry, fish, and eggs offer iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and more. These nutrients are especially important for brain development.

Dairy group: all types of cow’s milk, including full fat milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese provide a source of calcium, vitamin D, protein, potassium and other nutrients.

Grains: whole wheat bread, english muffins, and breakfast cereals, for example, offer other important nutrients such as the B vitamins and fiber.

Sweets and Treats: from maple syrup and brown sugar to ice cream and chips, this food group primarily offers added sugar, salt and fat, and little in the way of nutrients.

How to Plan Healthy Meals for the Whole Family

The more food groups you include in a meal, the better chance your child gets an optimal variety of nutrients. Here’s how to do this strategically:

Step One: Choose Protein Foods

I teach my families to use these basic food groups to plan a nutritious meal, starting with protein foods first.

Protein is important for growth in children and for appetite control, so I like to see it take a starring role on the meal plan.

Depending on the meal, this could be beef, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, soy, or it could be something from the dairy group (also a good source of protein) like milk or yogurt. A focus on protein first will ensure your child leaves the table satisfied.

Step Two: Pick Fruits & Veggies

Pick a fruit and vegetables to add to the meal. Yes, I like to see fruit on the table at all major meals. It takes the pressure off eating veggies if you have picky eaters. Serving fruit and vegetables is a great way to ensure a nutrient-rich meal. If your child has a sweet tooth, fruit is a good stand in for dessert.

Step Three: Round Out the Meal with Whole Grains and Dairy

Complete the meal plan with (whole) grains and dairy (if they aren’t present in the meal plan).

Including all the food groups gets you closer to a balanced nutrition plan and a healthy diet for your child.

[Need Recipe Inspiration? I’ve got my favorites in Dinner Ideas for Athletes!]

What about Portion Sizes for Kids?

I believe that the table is where kids learn about portion sizes. I also believe that children should be allowed to eat to satisfy their appetite.

These two goals: learning about the right amount of food to eat and targeting satisfaction (instead of fullness) can clash at the family table.

You never want portion sizes to become a restrictive way to feed your child. That’s why I like to use the concept of starter portions.

Instead of focusing on portion control, the idea of a “starter portion” allows kids to reflect on their hunger and appetite during mealtime. They are the age-appropriate portion sizes for your child.

Let me repeat: Your child should be allowed to eat an array of food groups at mealtime, in amounts that satisfy their appetite.

Starter portions are simply a place to begin with food amounts.

As kids grow, starter portions change to accommodate their bigger bodies and growth requirements. I like to see kids experimenting with measuring cups and spoons and other simple tools to help them learn.

What is the Best Eating Schedule?

The timing of meals is key, too. In fact, this can work for your child, or against him. Get the timing right, and he will be satisfied after eating and less likely to ask for more food afterward.

If you get the timing wrong, your child may be hungry, asking for snacks, and potentially grazing with or without your permission.

I base my meal timing recommendations on basic physiology. A child’s tummy is smaller. Because of this, children eat smaller volumes of food, and more frequently. As they grow, their stomachs can hold more food and they can go for longer periods of time between eating.

Meal Timing for Toddlers

A toddler has a very little tummy, so I recommend eating every 2 to 3 hours.

Translated: a meal or snack should be scheduled every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day. This will help to meet nutritional needs while covering hunger and appetite.

How Often Should School-Age Kids & Teens Eat?

The school-age child should eat every 3 to 4 hours. Teens do well with eating every 3 to 5 hours, depending on growth spurt, activities, and overall daily life events.

I think meal timing is critical to helping your child regulate their eating. I see kids go too long without eating and experience the sensation of being overly hungry, or hangry. You know where that can lead.

Or, I see the child who is eating frequently throughout the day and getting too much food, and never really experiencing real hunger.

Meal timing (and the supportive kitchen boundaries you need to maintain it) can help tame these eating extremes.

Kids Meals: Putting It All Together

A healthy, balanced meal plan for your child will include a variety of foods from the different food groups, starter portions, and optimal meal timing based on your child’s age. This three-prong approach will help you create a framework for meal planning, while teaching your child how to balance all foods and self-regulate their eating.

Resources

• Check out my recipes – I’ve used them with my own family. I also have an e-book with Dinner Ideas for Young Athletes, but these can be applied to any family.
• If you’ve got a sneaky suspicion you’re missing food groups or nutrients in your child’s diet, my e-book, The Essential Nutrients for Kids can help you sort this out. In this guide, you’ll get my Top 7 Nutrients you need to keep an eye on, along with nutrient sources of foods, substitutions if you need them, and guidelines on when to bring a multivitamin on board.
• Additionally, check out my parent education website, The Nourished Child, where I have workshops, classes and guidebooks to help you along the way to nourishing and nurturing your child to good health. 
• Kids Thrive at Every Size, my newest book, will offer you a whole child approach to setting up essential habits, including food choices and eating habits.

This post was updated from its original in October, 2024.