Summer holidays are the time of the year when you want to have fun and adventure. With school vacations on, kids have all the time to themselves and are beaming with energy. It is the time when usually parents prefer to engage them in different activity classes and workshops to ensure their day is spent well with some significant benefits.
With so much to do during summers, the body's demand for food and water intake goes up. Kids often refuse to eat when the body is exhausted. We mothers ought to make sure that after an hour of physical activity, be it any sports or play, kids must be fed healthy food or drinks to ensure their body gets all the required nutrients that they burn during their play. You can visit here for all your cooking needs, recipes, tips and more.
With a fussy eater at home, it has always been a struggle for me to ensure the right amount of protein, carbs, vitamins, and calories go into his body. As a mother, I have had the toughest time seeing my child fall sick now and then due to low immunity. Children with weaker immune systems are often prone to seasonal infections that effects their overall growth and development.
This summer I decided to have some food adventure with my little boy to improve his eating habits:
Involve your kids in cooking
My little chef loves to help his mommy in kitchen. So every time I am cooking, I try and get him involved in small stuff like picking veggies from the fridge, washing, peeling and chopping. He enjoys doing all of it by himself. While we are busy preparing the vegetables, we discuss the various features and benefits it gives to our body. Now that he is learning all of it in science, it’s fun when he can relate to all that he has studied. Cutting salads is his favorite thing to do, and we don't mind popping in a few bites while chopping carrots, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, etc.
Have a color theme for the day
Summer is the season of juicy fruits like berries, grapes, watermelon, lychees, mangoes and many more. Having a color theme helps us introduce different colors each day. So we make sure we have variety in our food, and he gets to try new food and vegetables too.
Take them along while buying fruits and veggies
He is my little helper. As much he likes to pull the trolley and shop things from the list, he enjoys picking vegetables and fruits. Allowing them the freedom to choose what they want gives them a sense of pride, and they enjoy the whole experience.
Let kids experiment with different shapes
Trying out shape themes for each day is another great idea. Having food items with varying shapes allows them to experiment with various forms, be it sandwiches, salad, fruits or cookies.
Make your own infused water
Summer is at the peak and keeping kids hydrated is the most important thing to do. Drinking just plain water isn't enough as they are active nonstop. Drinking infused water or letting them make their own infused water with their choice of fruits like watermelon, orange slices, mint leaves, cucumber, etc., is a great idea. My son loves to sip from the colorful bottle he carries with him to play.
Homemade Ice-creams and Popsicles
Summers are the time when kids demand ice creams and popsicles, why not make them at home? With the great variety of seasonal juicy fruits available, it's not just comfortable but also a healthy option to try with kids.
Experiment with smoothies and shakes
Smoothies and shakes with the different combination of fruits like mangoes, banana, strawberry and a spoonful of Pediasure’s new cookies and cream flavour will provide kids with significant health benefits.
Mix and Match / Try various food combinations
The best thing to do to change the child's attitude towards food that they think they don't like is to mix and match it with something that they want. Camouflaging the food items in something of their choice helps increase their affinity towards the food item.
Make mealtime fun
Another good idea is to make eating time fun time. Kids try and look for ways to find something to play with even while eating food. Playing fun games like a quiz or puzzles relating to the food item can keep their interest in eating and trying different food items.
Above are the tips that worked for me and I see a significant change towards his eating patterns and food habits.
Recently, I was at the event where Abbott India launched Pediasure in a new cookies and cream flavor, that's so far the best and tastes lovely. My son's favorite was the vanilla flavored Pediasure, but after trying the latest one, he doesn't want to go back to vanilla. It tastes so yum.
I know his love for Pediasure, and that's the reason we don't limit its use to just milk. Our homemade ice creams, smoothies, shakes, cupcakes, cookies oatmeal, yogurt all contain Pediasure. And now it's going to taste even better with the new cookies and cream flavor. It's a great way to provide them with the maximum nutrients with the least of efforts because it's #TimeToGrow for our kids and this is when their body demands the most.
