As we are thinking about back to school, boosting our kids’ immune systems is a major priority! You can do it in an easy, healthy way through FOOD! Here you’ll find information on the vitamins and minerals that boost immunity, the foods that have them, and ideas and recipes to get your kids to eat them! Plus a handy free printable for easy access! Keep reading to find out how!
Not the 2020 We Hoped For
I don’t think there’s a mom in America that is feeling great about back-to-school right now. Usually, moms are counting down the seconds until summer is over and we can shoo them out the door to school.
Not this year.
I’m sure most of us are feeling that there really are just no good options. If we send them, we risk virus exposure. If we keep them home, we worry about the isolation, the lack of face-to-face interaction, and other amenities they get on campus. Maybe we work full time and can’t keep them home, even if we’d like to.
There’s no shortage of opinions and thoughts on all this – and that’s not what I’m here to discuss. Like it or not, the virus is here, and we have to deal with it. And if not this one, any number of viruses. As much as I wish I could keep them in a bubble to protect them, I can’t prevent every germ from getting near my sons, as hard as I try.
So I need to go at it another way.
Immunity Boosters = Priority #1
My take on it is that I need to do my best to strengthen their immune systems to fight whatever sickness comes there way. There are lots of things that can boost immune systems – multi-vitamins, essential oils, even sleep.
But there’s one thing kids do every single day (and probably too much of) that I can use to my advantage: eat.
Food is such an amazing source of natural immune boosters. I truly believe that God gave us so much of what we need for health right in His creation. Today, I want to share how we can maximize that as moms, with foods kids will actually eat.
The Immune-Boosting Benefits of Specific Vitamins & Minerals
Before I get into the foods I want to go over a few terms as well as the benefits of some vitamins and minerals. I want to do this ahead of time, because several food choices have the same vitamins. So rather than repeating it for every food, I’ll list them first, and you can refer here to refresh your memory.
The other good thing about foods with similar vitamins is that you have some options. If your child doesn’t like one type of food, you can try another.
Disclosure – I’m not a scientist; I do not have a degree in nutrition or health. I just like to do my own research and share what I find. Always follow medical advice first.
Antioxidants: Stop oxidation in the cells. {Oxidation creates free radicals, which are unstable molecules that damage cells.}
B and T Cells: Immune systems cells that adapt to invading bacteria, viruses, and infections to fight them – and remember them for future invasions.
Beto Carotene & Carotenoids: A substance in plants that turns to vitamin A in the body
Iron: Helps with red blood cell production and carries oxygen to your cells
Omega 3 Fatty Acid: A fat that enhances the function of B & T cells, increasing the actions of immune cells that patrol the body for viruses and bacteria.
Probiotics: Found in the live active bacteria cultures (the good bacteria your body needs). Probiotics are important for gut health as 80% of your immune system is in your gut. They “crowd out” pathogens in your gut and boost B and T cells.
Vitamin A: A part of the creation of B & T cells, which have a primary role in the way our immune system responds to disease. Vitamin A also cleans up damaged free radicals.
Vitamin B6: Helps the body form new and healthy blood cells. Helps body produce antibodies involved in immunity. Proteins (beef, chicken, pork, seafood, beans, eggs) are a great source of Vitamin B.
Vitamin C: Boosts white blood cells to help the immune system fight infections.
Vitamin E: An antioxidant that reduces the effects of free radicals that break down and attack healthy cells. It also prohibits oxidative damages to cells. Vitamin E boosts the immune system, helps your body fight infections, and is the key to a healthy immune system.
Zinc – Stimulates white blood count, which reduces the chance for infection. Zinc is a key player in immune cell development. Meat, legumes, and seeds are all great sources of zinc.
What Your Child Shouldn‘t Eat
Before we get into what your child should eat, let’s talk about what they shouldn’t. First, to really strengthen the immune system, we need to be cutting out refined sugar and processed foods. Those two things alone wreak havoc on the immune system. Sugar affects the way white blood cells attack bacteria and suppresses their function.
Processed foods attack the good bacteria in a person’s gut, which leaves more room for the bad bacteria to take over. As a result, the part of our immune system in our gut (80%) is weakened.
{Here’s another great article if you want to dig deeper into other types of food that hurt our immune systems.}
As much as possible, we need to steer our kids to a clean eating diet – all-natural foods, with as little processing as possible.
Foods Your Kids Should Eat to Strengthen Their Immune System (& Ideas for Getting Them to Eat It)
So here’s the challenge, right? We know what foods kids shouldn’t eat, we know why they should eat other foods…but how do we get them to eat it?
Sister, I hear you.
Below, you’ll see lots of food choices for your kids, along with the vitamins and minerals they contain, so you know what you’re targeting. I’ve included some kid-friendly suggestions (as per my own 5-year-old twin boys) as well as some links to recipes to help your kids get them down!
Right after this list, I’ve also included a free printable you can grab, for handy reference. I added a few more foods in there that I didn’t specifically list here, so you have a few extra suggestions in there (dairy, etc.). Be sure to fill out the box at the end to get it!
1| Avocado {Vitamin E}
If your kids don’t like guacamole, you can mix in an avocado with a smoothie, and they’ll never know the difference! You can even freeze the smoothie and make it an ice pop. If your kid doesn’t mind avocado, they are great on a turkey sandwich or in place of mayo in egg salad.
2| Baked Beans {Iron, Zinc}
A lot of kids like hot dogs, so mixing in baked beans with uncured hot dogs is a great way to keep it healthy!
3| Bananas {Vitamin A, B, E }
Most kids love to eat bananas, so they are a perfect food to include. You also can make so many recipes using bananas as sweetener, such as these banana oatmeal cookies! Bananas are a great choice for breakfast, or an on-the-go, lunchbox. or after-school snack.
4| Broccoli {Iron, Vitamin A & C}
Some kids love broccoli – others… meh. You can serve them with ranch dressing or dip – lots of kids will eat them that way. Broccoli poppers are a great way to get kids to get their broccoli.
5| Chicken {Iron, Vitamin B6}
Chicken should be an easy dish for kids. You can use ground chicken for burgers, grilled chicken, or even homemade chicken nuggets (or store-bought organic nuggets).
6| Citrus Fruits {Vitamin C}
Here, we’re talking fruits like oranges, tangerines, clementines, lemons, limes, kiwi, papaya. Thankfully, the sweetness of fruit is attractive to kids! Oranges, tangerines, and clementines are kids’ favorites.
You can make your own lemonade and lime drinks, or even just twist a little in their water. Papayas are great in smoothies and kiwis make great ice pops!
7| Dark Chocolate {Probiotics, Vitamin A, Zinc}
This is a no-brainer! Kids will never refuse dark chocolate! Dark chocolate chips are perfect mix-ins for trail mix or healthy cookies. You can even just buy the bars and dole it out!
8| Eggs {Vitamins A, B, E}
Most kids will usually eat scrambled eggs, so it’s a fast, easy way to give them this nutrient-dense food! Hard-boiled eggs are a great snack as well. Many healthy baked recipes include eggs, so that’s another way you get it into their system.
9| Garlic {Vitamins A, B, C}
Garlic is a fight-all food known for working against bacteria- and worth the effort. It stimulates white blood cells, which fight off infection. Of course, you can add it to your sauteed vegetables, ground beef for tacos or sloppy joes, and in marinara sauce.
10| Nuts { Vitamin E, Zinc}
Almonds, cashews, peanuts, and pine nuts are great sources of zinc! These are easy, healthy snacks for kids and come in pre-portioned snack packs. They are perfect in trail mix and in granola as well!
11| Pomegranates & Pomegranate Juice (Vitamins B, E}
Pomegranates are wonderful antioxidants, and typically, kids will take any opportunity to have juice! If this is too strong, it can be mixed with water to cut it down. If you want to try other healthy, kid-friendly recipes with pomegranates, check out this list!
12| Pumpkin {Antioxidants, Carotenoids, Vitamins B, C, E}
Pumpkins are in everything in the fall, so it’s a great back-to-school choice. Just be sure to use real pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. This is another healthy, kid-friendly recipe list with pumpkin, check out this list! And if your child will eat pumpkin seeds, that’s a bonus as it’s a great source of zinc!
13| Spinach {Iron, Vitamins A, B, C}
Most kids aren’t fans of straight-up spinach. You can add it to a smoothie or even puree it and add it to spaghetti sauce. You can also try a healthy spinach dip as well, which is a great snack with cut veggies or multi-grain crackers or chips. But spinach is a power food loaded with vitamins, so it’s worth it to try to sneak this one in!
14| Strawberries {Vitamins, B, C, E}
As a food that’s rich in antioxidants, this is a perfect snack for kids! It’s easy to throw it on cereal or oatmeal. Another way I love to get strawberries into my kids are in this strawberry frozen yogurt bark. It has dark chocolate & granola mixed in with the yogurt (other foods on this list), so it’s super-packed with immune-boosting nutrition!
15| Sunflower Seeds {Vitamin E}
Most kids like sunflower seeds, so this is a great choice for a school lunch or after-school snack. You can also mix them in trail mix. Also, try substituting sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter.
16| Sweet Potato {Beta Carotene, Vitamin C}
Sweet potato fries are delicious. I even make sweet potato chips with just coconut oil and cinnamon! Many kids also like mashed sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole (hold the marshmallows).
17| Walnuts {Omega 2 Fatty Acid, Vitamin E}
Walnuts can be added to some healthy and clean brownie and cookie recipes as well as thrown in trail mix, or even the morning oatmeal.
18| Watermelon {Antioxidants, Vitamin C}
This should be super-easy when watermelons are in season. I like to freeze them and make watermelon smoothies all year long with just some ice, coconut milk, and watermelon! {Cantelopes and other melons are also a good source of Vitamin C if that’s your kid’s fruit of choice!}
19| Whole Grains {Vitamin B, Zinc}
Carbs tend to get a bad rap these days, but whole grains are the kinds of carbs you want! They are great sources for Vitamin B and Zinc. Just making your child’s sandwich on whole grain or whole wheat bread is an easy way to do it! Oatmeal for breakfast or cookies with whole oats or oat flour is a great way to get kids to eat whole grains. Granola is a fan favorite around here and another great source of oats – this is my favorite clean granola recipe. Switching from white rice to brown rice is another way to get in healthy grains! Easy!
20| Yogurt {Probiotics, Vitamin B}
Most kids like the sweet stuff, but if you can get them to eat plain yogurt and add your own fruit or natural sweeteners, that’s the best. Greek yogurt is full of protein as well. Yogurt can also be mixed in smoothies as well as used in frozen yogurt bark, breakfast bars, or even frozen yogurt granola cups!
Free Printable Immune Boosting Foods for Kids List
If you want something handy to hang in the kitchen, just a list so you know you are covering your bases with the foods your kids are eating, I have a free printable! Just fill in the box below to grab it. I added in some more generic food choices as well (meat, dairy, etc.)
We can feel very out of control in today’s world, for sure. But what we feed our kids is one thing we DO have control over. By giving them healthy nutritious food, we can know we are boosting their immune systems and helping to protect them. No, it’s not a safe bubble from every virus and sickness, but we do what we can do and leave the rest to God, right?
Other Healthy Resources for Kids
If you’re needing some other quick, easy, grab-and-go snacks for kids, here are 65+ organic snacks that kids love!
However, in spite of our best efforts, kids are gonna get sick. When my kids do come down with something, I try to use natural remedies first. I have nothing against traditional medicine and we use it, but I believe God gave us so many cures in His creation just the way He gave us so many vitamins and minerals in natural food. If you’d like to see my favorite natural home remedies, take a look here, which also has a free printable for handy reference as well!
Moms, it’s not easy – it never is. But don’t run into the future and super-impose every “what-if” and hypothetical scenario on your kids. One day at a time. We do what we can and we trust God for the rest. You got this, mama. xo
Thoughts I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below!
Sources:
Cancer Center Treatment Center of America
Thank you so much, beautiful article and I’ll share on my Facebook page. I’ve been sharing tips for years but get weary!
Thank you for the time you spent on this one. Ok to share your link in my next newsletter?
Absolutely! Thank you so much, Rhonda! I appreciate it! I keep the printable on my counter, so I can make sure we’re eating all the good stuff! Stay well! 🙂