How I added healthy food items to my little footballers diet?

You ask my son about football and the information he has about football will come flooding through his mouth. For his age, he knows a lot about football, right from what club or country a player belongs to, to what kind of a celebration the player does after scoring a goal. As a parent, I am extremely proud of his talent however I always push him to put this knowledge to the practical game and support his love for playing football.

I often seldom even end up day dreaming about him moving across the football field like a quick gush of air and then I drag myself back to reality because expecting that from naughty and exuberant 6 year old, is a little too much to ask for! I soon began seeking answers for him sometimes becoming unusually lost while he was amidst a game.

At one of the pediatrician’s visit when I raised this question with the doc, I was asked to pay more attention to his nutrition and I felt like the wall crashing in on me because food is something I always took care about. Yes, he was at war with eating vegetables most of the times, but he did have fruits. He also drank milk sometimes and ate dry-fruits too.

Why did I suddenly switch over from football to nutrition, well because it’s entwined together right. Right nutrition helps you to be healthy, be energetic and focus well. It’s like the hocus pocus of good health.

He soon had a football match at school that he had tried to get shortlisted for. To improve our practice sessions we soon graduated to a balanced sleep routine, regular match practices and concentrating on our big day.I got recommended plenty of ideas and options, thanks to the sometimes being nosy world of social media. I also tried milk with ragi and milk with jaggery and all sorts of smoothies, which eventually found place in mommy’s tummy after a few sips. I also made sure he ate fruits and dry fruits however it wasn’t sufficing for wholesome nutrition.

Then it seemed like someone sitting up in the clouds heard my plea and decided to sprinkle a little extra magical dust in our lives because mommy was still gloomy about getting wholesome nutrition for her football champ. We were on a playdate with our friends busy strategizing our tips and tricks for the upcoming football tournament and in the meanwhile Mommy got suggested including healthy foods in his diet.

She insisted on using dry fruit powders, adding fruits to his diet and also adding a little fat in the form of ghee. We were ready to experiment with rotis and parathas of different flours and the vegetables needed to make their way back into our diet.

Breakfast as mentioned previously is an important aspect of our diet. It is best to eat fruits on an empty stomach and best to consume dry fruits after they have swam in water for a while.

Incase you need to add any milk supplements to your child’s milk, use additives like turmeric or honey. You can turn regular milk into smoothies and shakes. Add some yogurt to smoothies, a little sugar and disguise the veggies to yummy looking smoothie. The kids are going to love you for presenting new food items everyday.

Experiment with sandwich fillings, spread pesto or humus on pizza breads with some cheese to change the flavors. These are delicious and healthy.

Kids love burgers, so you can switch the regular patty to a vegetable patty coated with peanuts powder to make it more health. Add your vegetable purees to pastas and toss noodles in those purees too.You can make savory and sweet muffins, that is where I disguise the nuts. Add sesame seeds, flax seeds, to the savory muffins or pancakes. You just need a little planning and little patience to win this food battle.

As far as our game is concerned, after tons of strategies, silly football celebrations and the ball zooming in all different directions, the little man did win the match and we also savored a pastry as a treat just the way we were savoring all the happiness that came flooding in, after winning the match.