11 Healthy Food Options With A 'Twist' For Kids
Making meals for kids is like a project in the world of motherhood. If the child is a good eater, then the options to keep up with his/ her appetite make the mother dizzy; alternatively if the child is a picky eater then figuring and identifying food options that will appeal to the child's mood and palate gives the mother sleepless nights.
Either way, feeding the little or over grown babies remains a huge task and feels like as though the question "what must be cooked today?" outweighs some of our national interests.
Though we all cook what we have traditionally followed in our own households, a little bit of twist (serving old wine in a new bottle) goes a long way. Kids usually like food that looks good and are quick to reject mom's efforts. So treat them with what makes them happy, remain interested and not get bored or complain about home food.
Here are a few options -
If your child is bored of roti, sabzi treat him/ her with wraps.
Wraps are healthy, good looking and made of roti and whatever you desire in the filling; making it a complete meal in itself.
Take the same roti, fill it up with items like veggies, paneer, potatoes, eggs, chicken; whatever you like. Garnish it with some coriander and cooked bell peppers and kids will feel as though they are being treated in a restaurant.
Dosas are pretty stylish too ... You can fill them up with things your child likes and make it tempting enough for him/ her. Street food stalls sell very interesting Chinese dosas, schezwan dosas, paneer dosas, mixed veggie dosa and more ... Most of these can be replicated at home. If you are a dosa expert then options like dosas made in Urad dal, moong dal, mixed dal, ragi, egg, rava are also great options to name a few.
3. Pizza
Replace a regular pizza base with a multigrain base and top it up with healthy veggies/ chicken and other toppings of your choice. Hopefully your child will be delighted.
4. Healthy Burgers
Make tikkis loaded with nutrition - Soya, paneer, mixed veggies clubbed with some dal, chicken, kheema whatever you like. Place them between whole wheat or multigrain buns, layered with tomatoes and some greens. Kids and burgers have a historical love story.
5. Cookies
If kids want something sweet, treat them with some homemade Ragi, Oatmeal or Raisin cookies.
6. Fried Rice
Throw in a veggies (or non veg) in wok, stir fry them ... add some sauces of your choice and mixed it all up with some rice. Quick and easy to cook for mommies and something different for the kids to meal on apart from the daily white rice.
7. Home Made wafers (Khakhras)
Is your child asking for wafers and chips? Make some khakhras out of home made rotis and break them into chip size pieces. Sprinkle some salt over them and voila, some homemade chips are ready :)
8. Pav Bhaji
Pav Bhaji is probably one of the healthiest street foods. It is packed with nutrition from multiple vegetables and looks uber tempting when served with dollops of butter.
We Indians have been brought up on Rotis (Chapatis). As important as water in most North Indian households, Parathas are great breakfast, lunch and dinner options. One doesn't even need a separate dish with it. Just team it up with some yoghurt/ chutney/ sauce or pickle and the meal is complete.
Parathas can be made healthy for kids. You can make Palak paratha, methi paratha, dal paratha ... and of course the more famous ones like aaloo and paneer paratha. Slice them in shape of triangles and just make them appear different and exotic for kids :)
10. Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein, supply essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. A must have for kids in their diets, eggs can also be presented in interesting forms such as frankies, bull's eye egg, egg rolls to name a few.
11. Whole wheat Pasta
Treat your child with some whole wheat pasta instead of the regular one. Thrown in some home made purees and sauces with some veggies topped with some cheese. Pastas are usually a hit with kids.
Though feeding children can be a stressful affair, making it a fun activity can make life slightly easy for the mom and exciting for the kids.
Do share anything you cook with a twist for your child, with us in the comments below.
Until next time, enjoy your meals.
Follow me:
On twitter: @dipika_kanungo
On Instagram: dipikakanungo
Either way, feeding the little or over grown babies remains a huge task and feels like as though the question "what must be cooked today?" outweighs some of our national interests.
Though we all cook what we have traditionally followed in our own households, a little bit of twist (serving old wine in a new bottle) goes a long way. Kids usually like food that looks good and are quick to reject mom's efforts. So treat them with what makes them happy, remain interested and not get bored or complain about home food.
Here are a few options -
1. Different types of Wraps
If your child is bored of roti, sabzi treat him/ her with wraps.
Wraps are healthy, good looking and made of roti and whatever you desire in the filling; making it a complete meal in itself.
Take the same roti, fill it up with items like veggies, paneer, potatoes, eggs, chicken; whatever you like. Garnish it with some coriander and cooked bell peppers and kids will feel as though they are being treated in a restaurant.
2. Dosas
Dosas are pretty stylish too ... You can fill them up with things your child likes and make it tempting enough for him/ her. Street food stalls sell very interesting Chinese dosas, schezwan dosas, paneer dosas, mixed veggie dosa and more ... Most of these can be replicated at home. If you are a dosa expert then options like dosas made in Urad dal, moong dal, mixed dal, ragi, egg, rava are also great options to name a few.
Good Looking Healthy Junk food
3. Pizza
Replace a regular pizza base with a multigrain base and top it up with healthy veggies/ chicken and other toppings of your choice. Hopefully your child will be delighted.
4. Healthy Burgers
Make tikkis loaded with nutrition - Soya, paneer, mixed veggies clubbed with some dal, chicken, kheema whatever you like. Place them between whole wheat or multigrain buns, layered with tomatoes and some greens. Kids and burgers have a historical love story.
5. Cookies
If kids want something sweet, treat them with some homemade Ragi, Oatmeal or Raisin cookies.
6. Fried Rice
Throw in a veggies (or non veg) in wok, stir fry them ... add some sauces of your choice and mixed it all up with some rice. Quick and easy to cook for mommies and something different for the kids to meal on apart from the daily white rice.
7. Home Made wafers (Khakhras)
Is your child asking for wafers and chips? Make some khakhras out of home made rotis and break them into chip size pieces. Sprinkle some salt over them and voila, some homemade chips are ready :)
8. Pav Bhaji
Pav Bhaji is probably one of the healthiest street foods. It is packed with nutrition from multiple vegetables and looks uber tempting when served with dollops of butter.
9. Different types of Parathas
We Indians have been brought up on Rotis (Chapatis). As important as water in most North Indian households, Parathas are great breakfast, lunch and dinner options. One doesn't even need a separate dish with it. Just team it up with some yoghurt/ chutney/ sauce or pickle and the meal is complete.
Parathas can be made healthy for kids. You can make Palak paratha, methi paratha, dal paratha ... and of course the more famous ones like aaloo and paneer paratha. Slice them in shape of triangles and just make them appear different and exotic for kids :)
10. Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein, supply essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. A must have for kids in their diets, eggs can also be presented in interesting forms such as frankies, bull's eye egg, egg rolls to name a few.
11. Whole wheat Pasta
Treat your child with some whole wheat pasta instead of the regular one. Thrown in some home made purees and sauces with some veggies topped with some cheese. Pastas are usually a hit with kids.
Though feeding children can be a stressful affair, making it a fun activity can make life slightly easy for the mom and exciting for the kids.
Do share anything you cook with a twist for your child, with us in the comments below.
Until next time, enjoy your meals.
Follow me:
On twitter: @dipika_kanungo
On Instagram: dipikakanungo
Comments
Post a Comment