Nutritional adequacy
How ExpertEating could help
Mr and Mrs T came to see us as they were concerned about their teenage daughter's diet.
Miss T had been a vegetarian for a year but as she had also always been a faddy eater her diet was fairly restrictive and her parents wished to check she was getting all the nutrients she needed.
What we did
We asked Miss T to keep a record of her food intake over the course of a week and a registered dietitian then analysed this using a specialised computer package. A full report showing the amount of each nutrient, (vitamins, minerals, fibre, etc) Miss T was obtaining from her diet and a comparison of this to her requirements was produced.
Miss T then came into see us with her mum and we explained it appeared from the food diary kept her iron and calcium intake were lower than the amount needed for an adolescent of her age.
What information and advice was provided?
Experteating discussed what a healthy vegetarian diet is and how it can be achieved. Information on iron rich and calcium rich foods was provided and after finding out Miss T's food likes and dislikes lots of ways to include more of these foods into her favourite dishes were given. A suggested meal plan was devised with different meal and snack ideas to help Miss T and her parents ensure her diet was interesting and varied and to show a vegetarian diet can be diverse and highly nutritious. Plenty of practical information and tips, such as lunchbox ideas, were provided to make it easy to make the suggested changes.
The outcome!
At a follow up appointment 1 month later Mrs T was delighted that her daughters diet was more varied and Miss T was equally happy that she was having new and exciting meals and snacks and was getting all the nutrients she needed without having to eat foods she didn't like!
Find out how ExpertEating can help you
If you would like practical, useable and realistic information from a friendly dietitian then ExpertEating can help you. Contact us by email or call on 07918 731 645.
