Continuing Nutrition chat this #nutritionweek. In the last post I shared ways how to make kids eat healthy (read it here) right from the start, this post is by Toral Shah, who is a dietitian and also the author of the book “Kids food planet”, focusses on Catering Picky eaters.

Are you parents of Picky eaters?

Today’s contemporary situation in most families with children are, special meals being made, phrases of pleading, coaxing and bribing overtake the dinner time, and panicked parents are left feeling stressed and hopeless. Here are few wild cards which have the power to really make things fun and relaxed.

• Creating healthy junk recipes which will transform junk foods into healthy, culinary masterpieces. Staples like pav-bhaji can be made with lots of vegetables and moong dal and served with parathas or homemade bread, burger patty with boil cassava, mix vegetables and rajma.
• Modelling healthy eating habits will definitely have a positive and long-lasting effect on children as they pick up much of their behaviour from their parents. No screens on the dinner table.
• Mindful planning, shopping and preparing meals together will help kids explore fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses. They will enjoy having one-on-one time with parents, be eager to try the new food and may even end up loving it.
• Keeping a variety of healthy snacks at home, will give your child the power of choice: “carrot or cucumber stick?” “Khakhra or chikki?” “Chana or peanuts?”

Parents need to be little tough and stop cuddling and overindulging their children wrt food habits. Teach them basic values of avoid wasting food and respecting our food : By telling them about the laborious journey of bringing food to the table. One of the many small ways we can do this is by teaching them the basic idea that food is for nutrition first and enjoyment second. Because, if our kids grow up obese, picky and less immune, we have only ourselves to blame. The ‘Kid’s Food Planet’ series will help parents and children in making mindful food choices, fostering healthy habits and enjoying a wholesome and healthy lifestyle.

Here are some quick nutritious and delicious foods for kids :

Meal planning should focus on providing a range of nutritious food options that include foods both kids and adults can enjoy.

To begin with go for options like :

• Beet root Hummus dip with khakhra
• Tacos stuffing on bhakhari
• Kids will love making paneer, pineapple, carrots, and green pepper skewers, marinated for added flavour and cooked on the barbecue.
• With left over roti make Pizza quesadillas which is simple to prepare and kids will love them.
• Make potato or sweet potatoes as canopy base and add toppings of kids’ choice like corn, beans, grated carrots top it with Greek yogurt and mix herbs.
• Try making energy balls i.e. advance version of Indian laddu with powerful nuts like coconut, Til, peanuts, flex seeds, roasted Chana flour, jaggery etc.
• Make dessert with hung curd and fruit of your choice like apple, pineapple, strawberries, pomegranate, and banana.

It is must to know about the importance of meals and quick kid-friendly recipes. Get fussy little eaters into the kitchen and turn them into little chefs with fun cooking project. Try using more than three food groups from food pyramid for better nutrition. They will love tasting their hard work! 

Hope this post helped you ponder on many simple combinations and changes which can be done to basic foods, post which picky eaters will love some or the other serving.

Thanks Toral for sharing this post.

Love,

Jhilmil

This is my Week2 post in the #MyFriendAlexa Campaign, one of the biggest blogging event and my 1st to join in!

I am taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with with Blogchatter, I’ll be penning down some interesting stuff with #Mommyinmewrites , be tuned!