Simple tricks to make kids eat traditional and homely food

It is a common scene today where parents approach doctors and dieticians with their kids suffering from Chinese restaurant syndrome. Not just Chinese food which contains monosodium glutamate, modern junk food can also cause many growth disorders in growing children. Pizza, burger etc on regular basis can give obesity, head ache, fatigue and many health issues. It can also lead to malnutrition because of the deficiency of healthy and balanced diet.

To enhance the taste and odour of Chinese dishes, restaurants regularly use monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is not at all good for health. It can lead to Chinese restaurant syndrome. If kids regularly consume such food items which uses artificial taste enhancers they gradually lose their ability to recognize real and natural taste. They may start hating homely food, and it will definitely lead to malnutrition and obesity.

Please don’t feel disheartened. You can bring back your kids to your ‘homely’ plates and make them feel special, just like fast food. Here are a few tricks.

Experiment with new tastes occasionally

If same kind of food is prepared at home every day, kids will get easily bored. They go in search of new tastes and their search end with nearby bakery or restaurant. Even adults get bored with the same routine idli, dosa, steam cake etc. Then what to say about kids! Try to make different kinds of food and try new recipes at home. You can also bring small alterations to your routine food items to make them special, and kids will definitely love it.

Till a child reaches three, he may not easily express his likes and interests in food. When he reaches three, he starts sharing with you, his favourite dishes, and what he hates most. You can bring a twist to your daily dosa with this simple trick. Temper a little mustard, shallots, red chillies and curry leaves in hot oil and allow it to cool. Add it to dosa/idli batter and prepare dosas. Kids will definitely love it. Make a masala mixture using carrot or potato and make stuffed idlis. If same masala mixture is placed inside dosa, masala dosa is ready. You can make small alterations in shape while preparing chapatti or steam cake, and also use stuffed masala to make your breakfast special.

Avoid artificial drinks as much as possible

There are at least a few parents who preserve colas and soft drinks in refrigerators to serve kids soon after they reach home from school. When you make it a habit, the kids lose their ability to identify tastes of natural drinks and other food products. After that kids will only prefer such artificial drinks in the long run, and this habit is not at all healthy.

Instead of soft drinks you can prepare different juices, smoothies and shakes at home. Tender coconut shake is a natural drink and healthy as well. It contains potassium in abundance which is refreshing. Here is yet another natural and healthy drink for kids. Soak some dates in cold water for a while. Take a mixer and add dates, cooked carrot, cashews and almonds. Blend the contents well adding a little milk. Keep in refrigerator for a while and serve your kids when they reach home in the evening.

There is an easy method to prepare banana pudding. Take egg, ghee, sugar, cardamom and cooked big banana in a mixer and blend the contents well. Add chilled milk to it, mix well and place in refrigerator to set. When it is cooled and set, your healthy banana drink is ready.

When you introduce a new dish to your kid, make decisions wisely. When your baby is too small, never make it a habit to serve him with different types of biscuits every time. When he grows he may hesitate to eat rice food, and may ask biscuit always. Also biscuits which we get from shops have maida and artificial sweeteners as main ingredients, which are not at all advisable to young kids. Instead you can prepare healthy wheat cookies at home.

Kid’s meal should be nutritious and well-balanced

Health mixes are good if served with milk. But it’s not a good habit to use such health products continuously. Instead you can add ragi (millets), almonds, cashews, groundnut etc while giving him milk. You can also prepare health powders at home by grinding the above said products, and store them in a container. You can use different types of grains, legumes and pulses to prepare healthy mixes at home. If so you can provide your kids with all necessary supplements and they will love this taste as well.

Advertisements are often traps to trap kids, and they fall prey of them easily. Noodles with extra fat, carbohydrates and salt can easily lead to obesity in kids. So it’s better not to allow them to taste such products. Even if you have done so, never make it a habit.

You can also make twists to snacks to make them feel different. If you gave him morning breakfast item as lunch, he may not like it. Instead you can prepare colourful salads, paneer or chicken rolls, chapatti rolls etc and fill in his snack box. Vitamin E – good for eye sight is found abundant in orange coloured fruits and carrot, yellow fruits like mango and papaya etc. Steam cook broccoli and carrot for two minutes and decorate using almonds and pomegranate seeds, and send them in snack box.

Traditional Kerala snacks like Pazham Pori (banana snack) and Kozhukkatta can be made easily at home. You can also prepare burgers, banana cake, bread sandwiches using fruits and vegetables etc at home. Teens are prone to go behind artificial flavours and fast food. Now school and college canteens also provide the same. But it you give them tasty food, they won’t go to canteens to taste such unhealthy items.

Try to bring a twist to at least one item on your dining table every day. Also give preference to kids’ favourites, while preparing dishes at home. Prepare a menu, and make it a habit.

Image source: Pixabay

A few more parenting tips to parents