How to Serve Healthy Meals to Kids

By Roi Lomotan

It’s always a struggle for parents how to feed their children a balanced meal. Kids would always insist on eating foods they like, which most of the time lack substantial nutrients that would make them healthy.

A common lament of parents is that they find it hard to make their kids eat vegetables. Children would always demand for hotdogs, chicken, pork, and burgers but not vegetables. In grocery stores, youngsters would make a beeline to the junk food section and select nutritionless food.

To solve this dilemma, young parents are advised that at the earliest, even after being weaned away from milk, children must be taught the importance of eating healthy foods so that they can develop healthy eating patterns as they grow older.

One way of doing this is to involve children in the food preparation process. It can be a venue for both parents and children to bond and an opportunity to teach their kids the advantages of eating healthy foods.

As a guide to parents, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) shared some ideas on how mothers and fathers can make their kids love eating nutritious foods.

Here are some tips for parents:

1. Try modifying a meal. Simple foods like oatmeal can become more interesting, nutritious, and appealing to kids if you add fruits in serving it. Parents can put apples, mangoes or grapes in oatmeal to bring color to it. Children are more enticed to eat it because of its colorful appearance.

2. Plan foods with the kids. Parents should engage kids in planning the menu. In that way, parents will be able to balance the food of their children and inform them on the benefits of having a proper diet. Children will also appreciate the food they eat if parents would let them participate in food preparation like washing potatoes, carrots, and other kinds of vegetables.

3. Take kids to the market. This is a fun way of introducing fruits and vegetables to children. Sometimes, let them pick the vegetables they want to eat.

4. Make it simple. Healthy meals don’t need to be complicated. Simple dishes can become nutritious as long as you have the right ingredients. You can use vegetables growing in your backyard or the foods easily available in the market.

6. Cut vegetables in small slices. Children don’t eat vegetables if they see a big chunk of it on their plates. Cut small pieces of potatoes, cabbages, carrots, beans or other vegetables and mix it with ground meat or other viands. In that way, parents will be able to feed their children vegetables.

7. Put creativity in serving food. A little creativity in the presentation can attract kids to eat the food. Try putting style and color in it by garnishing the plate of food.

Most importantly, parents should encourage and not force their kids to eat healthy foods. If parents force them to eat vegetables, they may develop a great dislike to it. Mothers and fathers should be patient in feeding their kids.

Moreover, parents must allow their kids to discover what kind of vegetable they prefer eating but they must continuously educate them on the benefits of healthy eating. (RAL/PIA Negor/RAFI)