Out goes Mc Flurry as in comes Mom’s Smoothie- How I get my child to eat healthy

As mothers, it’s natural for us to obsess over our kids’ food habits, their intake, their likes and dislikes. My concern notwithstanding, I personally didn’t want my conversations to center around food. “Khana khaya, kya khaya, kab khaya?” ……you get the drift. So subconsciously I wanted to steer clear of that stereotype. Another reason was that in the past few years, childhood obesity has become a bigger problem than nutrition. And probably our food obsession is to be blamed for that, partially at least. On one hand we advise older people to eat like children which means not to eat if we are not hungry and on the other hand we spend considerable energy in stuffing our children’s mouths for fear ki kahin hamara bachcha kamzor na reh jaaye.

The strategy of not fretting over food has worked well for us in many ways. For one, my daughter is in touch with her hunger center so even if it’s her favourite junk food, she never goes overboard. Our fridge may be spilling with chocolates and goodies but she will take only sparingly. Secondly, now as she’s growing older she feels more in charge as a decision maker. This definitely does not mean that we are taking food lightly. There have been certain ground rules that we stick to

• The rules apply to all of us, age no bar.
• Whatever’s on the plate essentially needs to be finished. No excuses, absolutely none. And that includes spinach and methi and dill leaves and all those veggies we snort at
• If we are planning to pig out we balance it with eating healthy BEFORE that meal. Because let’s face it, all of us crave for junk.
• Fox nuts and peanuts are the go-to options for snacking
• I encourage my daughter to have warm water even if she doesn’t have a sore throat. In fact, warm water seems to keep it at bay.
• I have an unshakable faith in our traditional cooking so some things just stay in our kitchen. My daughter has to have a spoonful of desi ghee (clarified butter) in every meal.
• Eat seasonal and local.

Besides the general stuff there is some specific stuff that I have recently added. We have recently moved to Hong Kong and still finding our feet. There’s a major shift in the food scene and a lot of stuff that we took for granted in India is either not available or its too expensive and the quality isn’t the same. So, we browsed through the supermarket aisles to look for potential replacements. My daughter though not picky with veggies, changes colours when it comes to fruit.  Here are two recipes I have come up with, which go well with my no-fuss-cooking mantra but still makes the cut on the nutritional index.

Very Berry Smoothies

I discovered that the supermarket shelves are loaded with berries of all imaginable colours. Strawberries, raspberries, cape gooseberries, green and black grapes, blue and black berries…you name it and they have it. And though they may not have our greens, they have quite a handful of their own. They have kale, Chinese spinach, bok choy, all sorts of lettuce and what have you.

So, what do I do? I mix all the berries, add any two greens, a pinch of cinnamon powder and squeeze some lemon and blend it all with as little water as possible. Drink it without straining. If you like it colder, refrigerate it for a while, though not too long. Somehow, I am a little paranoid on consuming it fresh. You can make the same smoothies as per the regional availability. Mix any two greens and any two fruits. If its melons you are using, then stick to melons. Back home I had a soft spot for mint because I really love the flavor and curry leaves for their health benefits. You can juggle around for variety and till you hit the sweet spot.

Raw foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and are great for the gut while improving the oral health on the side.

Nutty Buddies

There’s another bounty that I hit upon here, and that’s the variety of nuts and seeds. Apart from pistachios we have hazelnuts, pecan, sunflower, melon and pumpkin seeds. Dry roast them and while still warm grind them with an equal amount of organic jaggery. Roll the mixture into small balls and voila we have laddus that pack a mean punch.

As I am on my discovery trail, much to the despair of my daughter, I hope I’ll keep coming with more such stuff. So, let’s watch this space for more. To Happy and healthy eating……….

 

May I thank Shipra Trivedi  for introducing me. She is chronicling her journey as a working mother while she juggles between family and office. you can read what she writes on www.vibhuandme.com
May I also introduce Shruti C Thakkar who is a homemaker, a mother, an experimental blogger, Financial Enthusiast and an educationist. She loves to cook, is a yoga Practitioner, she paints and makes DIY stuff. Follow her on  https://creativepencilblog.wordpress.com

I am participating in the ‘Get Fit, Stay Fit’ blog party with Bon Happetee!Hosted by
First Time Mommy
Aesha’s Musings
Kreative Mommy
Sirimiri