5 Nutritious & Healthy Foods That Kids will Love

Stuck for ideas on what should go into your children’s school lunches? Does your child always push away a plate of food unfinished? Does your child get bored with his food very easily? These are common issues that worry mothers across the world. How can you make your child love food that is nutritious?

Children today are constantly on the move. Whether it is school, extra-curricular activities or outings with friends, they are busy little souls. Eating healthy, in most cases, takes a backseat. As parents, we want to encourage them to live a full life, yet ensure that their diet comprises of a good level of nutritious food.

When you set out to shop for your children’s meals, you have to keep two very important things to remember:

• Freshness: Using fresh food to create meals from scratch for your children is important. Rather than use a bottled tomato sauce for your pasta, consider making one. Instead of ready-made dips, use yogurt as a base to create your own dips.

• Concentrate on fibre: For a healthy and nutritious meal, it is important that your child’s diet include a lot of fibre. Packaged cereals are not a good source of fibre but apples, flaxseed powder in meals, fresh fruits and raw vegetables are.

With options such as these to begin with, here are 5 nutritious foods that your kids may love:

Cheese: This is great for children who may be fussy about their milk. Choose low-fat cheese cubes that you may cut into different shapes for added appeal. Skewer together cheese with nicely cut fresh fruit – cheese, mango and strawberry is one combination. Or grapes, cheese and melon make a good snack. Cheese with citrus based fruits too work well though.

Whole Wheat Wraps: Variety is necessary when feeding children nutritious food. Having a healthy base which may be used in several ways is a good idea. Whole wheat wraps may be easily prepared.

Stuff these with a range of fillings: A mix of beans like rajma or black eyed beans with cheese may be an option. A vegetable salsa with tomatoes, onions, zucchini, bell peppers in a light olive oil dressing is good. You may use paneer, chicken and even shrimp for fillings.

Yogurt: This is an essential part of any good diet food chain. The good bacteria in yogurt help in digestion as well as cooling the body. It is a wonderful source of calcium as well. Make fruit-based yogurt whips or smoothies with naturally sweet fruits like apples, mangoes or berries. Make frozen popsicles too in a similar manner.

Pasta: Multi-colored pasta in different shapes is a favourite among children. Use this as a base for
several fresh vegetable and tomato based sauces. Adding in proteins of your choice like soya chunks,
chicken, and even fish make this a whole meal in itself.

Fish: It is not really easy starting a child on fish. It is best to begin with lighter fish such as Basa to get them used to the texture. You may then move on to white Pomfret and tuna. Build up various recipes in which to serve fish. Cooking it up fresh at home is important.

You may always have a nutritious meal and snack ready with these handy tips. A basic understanding of the food pyramid will help in creating some great, healthy meals.