The skinny on fats

By Alyssa Rolnick, RD

With all the reports that say our kids are overweight and obese, as a parent, you may think it’s a good idea to put your family on a no-fat diet. That’s not only unhealthy, but also unrealistic. The best way to handle fats is to know which ones are healthy and which ones to limit and avoid.

Canada’s Food Guide recommends that kids 2 years of age and older should eat a small amount of unsaturated fat each day (30 to 45 mL or about 2 to 3 tbsp). This includes the fat and oils used in preparation and cooking of your kid’s foods, for example, dressings, mayonnaise and margarine. 

Eating too many of the wrong kinds of fats (saturated and trans fat) in the early years may cause an increase of bad LDL cholesterol and lowering of good HDL cholesterol. This can increase their risk of high blood pressure, narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), heart attack and stroke later on. Here’s how you can help your children eat well by choosing the right kinds of fat.

Think olives, fish and nuts
Unsaturated fats include monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 & omega-6). These healthy fats are very important for your children’s growth and development because they supply calories and essential fats and help their bodies absorb fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K.

Cook with olive, canola and peanut oils (monounsaturated) or safflower, sunflower and corn oils (polyunsaturated) when cooking. Also use non-hydrogenated margarine and substitute it for butter in your recipes. 

Serve fish at least twice a week. This will cut down on the amount of meat your children consume (meat contains a higher proportion of saturated and trans fat) and provide them with the beneficial omega-3 fats that only fish can provide. Try cold-water fish such as mackerel, sardines, rainbow trout, cod and salmon. For a family meal everyone will enjoy, try our whole-grain baked crunchy fish sticks.

Include nuts such as hazelnut or almond butters on whole grain breads (use them sparingly though, only about 1 to 2 tbsp). Have your children snack on a small handful of walnuts or cashews instead of potato chips or processed crackers. Just keep in mind your school and communities nut allergy policies. For a delicious treat try our frozen yogurt almond bars.

Rethink fatty meats, cookies and fries
Foods high in saturated and artificial trans fats include hard margarines, shortenings, deep fried foods and some baked goods like muffins and doughnuts. Artificial trans fat is made when a liquid vegetable oil is made into a solid fat. Some fatty meats and high-fat dairy products also have saturated fat and small amounts of naturally occurring trans fat. Your body uses these fats to create cholesterol. If you eat a lot of saturated fats and especially artificial trans fat, your body may make too much cholesterol, which builds up in the arteries as plaque and blocks blood flow. Plaque may also break off and cause blood clots, the number one cause of strokes and a major cause of heart attacks. To protect your children’s future heart health, follow these tips:

Serve leaner cuts of meat (cross rib, strip loin, extra-lean ground beef) and trim all visible fats (and chicken skin) before cooking. To decrease the amount of meat your children eat, add vegetables and beans to stews, chili and lasagna. For an alternative to hamburgers this summer, I’ve made baked chickpea patties, which my boys love. 

Read labels and avoid buying your children foods made with butter, hard margarines, lard, coconut oil, ghee (clarified butter) vegetable ghee and palm oil. Look for a lower % Daily Value for fat (10% or less), saturated fat and trans fat on food products.

Look for hidden fats in many packaged crackers, cookies and commercially baked products (danishes, doughnuts, muffins). Don’t ban them, just serve smaller serving sizes occasionally or make your own. Try our applesauce muffins. Serve more vegetables, fruit and whole grains to your children and they will likely eat more foods full of nutritional value and less of the higher-fat varieties.

Avoid serving fried foods, especially from fast food outlets. Instead, choose and make foods that are baked, broiled or grilled. Try baking homemade chicken nuggets made from white-meat chicken strips dipped in egg white or bottled salad dressing and coated in whole-grain breadcrumbs. My kids love when I make homemade baked fries. Try our sweet potato fries recipe.

Posted July 2008.