Tips to handle the meal struggle in kids

As mothers, we often find ourselves struggling with the biggest task of our lives.Nah I am not talking about raising kids, well that’s a task that never will end and neither do I want it to end. Parenting is fun, one great experience, accept when it comes to feeding them food.

I have seen kids who eat almost anything. They get introduced vegetables like broccoli and pumpkin for finger foods and they seem to relish it all. Yes, they spill some of it and eat some of it but I wonder how.

Then there are kids who relish roti and sabzi without a fuss and seem to enjoy all varieties of rice preparations too! And then, there are kids who will pick between a few items only and would not even eat them if they are repeated in the same day. Phew!!

 

My kid apparently falls in the third category of kids. Yes, I did give him vegetable purees of all sorts and mashed vegetables with his khichdi until he discovered the independence of saying no and choosing his food.

However, after many war scenes over food and hysteric meal times, I have learnt my lesson well. These are lessons, I am hoping will help you too.

 

Don’t give them choices in food.

Yes you heard it right. We often tend to run in and out of the kitchen just whipping up dishes in a quest to make sure our children are fed well. This however gives them extended liberty to throw tantrums over food. Let them know what’s for breakfast/lunch/dinner and let them choose the accompaniments they want with it.Like, for example, if you have roti and sabzi, you can let them have a slice of cheese with it by turning it into a roll, or if you have plain rice and dal, you can ask them if they want ghee added to it, or maybe they want a little pickle or salad to go with it. Once you get through this phase, you have already won quarter of the battle.

Presentation Matters

Yes, how you present food to your child matters. In the world where we have people styling food and almost everything is full of colors, it’s important how you serve your meals. The simplest of meals when served in colorful kitchen ware can be tempting.

Food Videos Helped Us!

Yes, I am among the few people who love cooking and watching food videos. My son happened to peep into one of the videos we were watching and he demanded I make that for him. It was a vegetable he never ate and I was too happy to try it. He didn’t finish it but I am glad he at least ate part of it. So a little bit of food video watching will do no harm.

Take their help.

You can always get them to sort beans, pulses, get them to peel easy vegetables like peas, use baby knives to cut carrots, cucumber and they will love eating food they helped to prepare.

 

Try variations in your recipes.

Children tend to get bored just as us adults if they have to eat the same food every day, so make sure you make easy variations to your food. Thanks to the internet we now have umpteen variations to the food we make daily. You can definitely try and implement that.

 

Camouflage

That’s my favorite trick. All veggies turned into a puree go into making a dough for the roti. I recently added sesame seeds, dry fruits, dates to a chocolate cake I made at home. Also you can easily chop leafy vegetables and add them to rice or daal. Paneer goes into cheese sandwiches we make. You can make pasta sauces out of blanched and pureed vegetables. Similarly you can use your own ideas to add nourishment to their meals. Another favorite is making faces/people out of fruits which get relished easily.

 

Thankfully mums are blessed with the art of creativity, we can almost make anything out of anything to feed our kids a healthy meal. I am hoping these tips will make your life a tad bid easier.

Do upload pictures if you have or will try some of these tips.You can even tag me on Instagram.

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