番茄肉碎米奇通粉

營養顧問話你知

不需要介紹其營養價值，若果只聽到「米奇通粉」，已經足夠刺激兒童食慾！我個人認為這個食品非常適合有偏食習慣的兒童進食，其實營養學家不但要了解到每種食物中所含的營養素，更要學會如何處理常見兒童偏食問題。

另外，通粉較白飯健康，原因與其分子團結構有關，令它的升糖指數較白飯低。升糖指數低的意思是進食後血糖不會急速上升，減少高血糖風險以及脂肪合成的機會。因此，番茄肉碎米奇通粉較番茄肉碎飯健康！若果要進一步吸引兒童進食的話，不妨加些蔥花、粟米粒、青豆等配料，令顏色較為鮮艷，增進兒童食慾。

營養小TIPS

豬肉一般比牛肉健康，相信與脂肪含量有關。豬肉含有豐富的鐵、鎂、磷、鉀、鋅、維生素B雜和蛋白質，對兒童整體發展相當重要。鐵質是兒童腦部發展的重要元素，而肉類中鐵質的利用率較蔬菜高，而牛肉一般飽和脂肪含量高，因此豬肉內鐵質是動物界優質之選。

Nutrition Analysis

Not to mention the nutritional value of this pasta, by just telling your children that the name of this dish, it would make them crazy already! Meanwhile, nutrients within this pasta are well-balanced, including carbohydrates (pasta), veggies (tomatoes) and protein (minced pork). Personally I believe this dish is suitable for children with bad eating habits. Besides knowledge on food nutrition, nutritionist also needs to learn how to deal with children with bad eating habits as well. The best way is to increase the children’s appetite, and in fact using “Mickey pasta” seems to be a good try.

On the other hand, pasta is comparatively healthier than white rice, since the starch granules of pasta and white rice are different, and this would lead to a lower glycemic index (GI) of pasta. A food with a low GI will not cause a sudden rise in blood glucose upon consumption, and therefore minimizing the risk of hyperglycemia and overweight. As a result, Minced pork tomato pasta often is the better choice over minced pork tomato rice! To help increase your children’s appetite, try adding toppings that are colorful such as green onions, corns and beans.

Nutrition Tips

In general, pork is a better choice when compared to beef, due to the difference in fat content. Pork contains iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, vitamin B complex and protein, and these nutrients are all vital for growth in children. Specifically, iron is extremely crucial for brain development in children, while iron from animal sources is more bioavailable than iron from plant sources, and since beef usually contains more saturated fat, thus making pork one of the best candidates for iron in animal sources.