Calcium builds and maintains strong bones and teeth, but what if your kids don’t eat or drink dairy products? In addition to a calcium supplement, the United Stated Department of Agriculture recommends these high-calcium foods to meet children’s daily needs (1,000 mg for ages 4 to 8; 1,300 mg for children 9 to 19).
• Calcium-fortified beverages: Juice and soy milk with 30 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance per cup.
• Tofu: Prepared with calcium sulfate.
• Legumes: Edamame soybeans, black-eyed peas, and white beans.
• Leafy green vegetables: Turnip, mustard, collard greens, bok choy, kale, and broccoli.
• Canned fish: Sardines and salmon eaten with the bones.
• Black-strap molasses: Two tablespoons contain a whopping 400 mg of calcium.
For a bone-building boost, add calcium-rich foods to your child’s favorite smoothie recipe. Try tofu, molasses, a stalk of kale or calcium-fortified almond milk. At snack time, offer dried figs (up to 55 mg in two) and almonds. Sprinkle sesame seeds on favorite foods.
