Cooking food at home is easy enough but getting your kids to eat it is not so easy. Healthy meals should include a variety of foods from all food groups like Milk and Milk products, Cereals, Pulses, Fruits and Vegetables, Eggs, Meat & Meat products (in case of non-vegetarians) and less of sugars, fats, and oils. You could also vary your cooking methods to maximize the nutritional value in each meal. For instance, minimizing the heating/ cooking duration helps retain essential vitamins to some extent. Steaming, broiling, and sautéing are healthier options than boiling and deep-frying as they help preserve the nutrients to an extent. Right from childhood, try to incorporate healthy eating habits into your child’s regime.
Here are a few ideas for serving nutritious food in interesting ways.
Fruit Salad
Your kid may not like the taste of fruits. What should you do? Make it interesting for them not only to look at but also to eat.
Cut seasonal fruits (try using different coloured ones) into small cubes, mix, and chill. Serve with beaten yoghurt topping.
Not only do children like looking at the different colours but they also enjoy eating it because it has been served in an interesting way.
Fruits can also be incorporated into custards and milk shakes.
Healthy Bhel
1 small bowl of rice puffs (‘murhi’),
1 small boiled potato (chopped),
½ onion finely chopped,
½ tomato finely chopped,
sprouts,
pea nuts and salt to taste.
For the chutney : coriander and mint leaves, and ½ tsp. lemon juice. Blend all the ingredients in a blender till liquid. Add water as needed.
Mix the rice puffs, tomato, onion, potato, sprouts, pea nuts, and salt. Add chutney as per taste and serve immediately.
Egg in a Basket
Eggs are full of nutrients especially protein which a growing child needs. You could serve them in a number of ways including this new one.
You need: 1 slice of whole grain bread, 1 egg, salt & pepper to taste, and 1 tsp. of cooking oil.
Keep the bread on a flat platform and make a hole in the center of the bread with an upside down glass. Lightly oil a non-stick frying pan and heat on a medium flame. Put the cut bread on the pan. Break the egg in the centre, such that it remains in the hole in the bread, add salt & pepper, and cook. Once the egg white starts to harden, flip and cook till done.
You can use butter instead of oil.
Vegetable Paratha
Your kid eats parathas but won’t eat the vegetables that go along with it. Try mixing them together. Here is a way to do it.
Steam spinach (without the stems) or carrots till soft, with minimum water. Puree in a blender. Mix with paratha dough (make sure the wheat is made from whole grains) and make parathas in the usual way with a dab of ghee, butter, or oil.
Mini Pizza
Take a slice of bread preferably whole bread and toast it. Spread around 2 tbs. of pizza sauce thinly on the toast. Add toppings of your choice e.g. finely chopped onions, tomatoes, capsicum, thinly sliced mushrooms, salami, and sausage. Top with grated cheese. Grill the pizza in the oven until the cheese has melted.
Paalak Daal
This is a very tasty dish and children enjoy it very much.
Soak 1-cup chana daal (or arhar daal)
. In a pressure cooker,
heat 2 tbs. of oil
. Add 1 tsp. of whole jeera.
After a minute, add 1 cup chopped onions and fry till translucent
. Add 1 cup chopped tomato and stir.
After 2 minutes, add drained daal. Stir.
Add 3 cups of chopped spinach and stir.
Add salt to taste and ½ tsp. amchoor.
After the spinach has reduced, add water (use the water in which the daal was soaked) as needed and pressure-cook till daal is soft. Add some lemon juice before serving.
Tomato Soup
½ Kg. chopped tomatoes,
½ bunch chopped basil (tulsi) leaves,
1 cup vegetable broth,
2 cloves of minced garlic,
1 tbsp. lemon juice,
1 tbsp. lime juice,
salt & pepper to taste ..........................................,
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth. Strain and transfer to a pan and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
Basil leaves can be substituted for coriander leaves.
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