Encouraging good eating habits and introducing various foods to your children is often easier said than done. Kids can be notoriously fussy and refuse to eat a wide variety of foods simply based on their appearance or smell. Many parents worldwide struggle with this, and if your child has a restrictive diet, it can be worrying if they aren’t getting the nutrients they need to sustain healthy growth and development.
But getting as many nutrient-dense foods into their meals as possible within the realms of what they enjoy can be beneficial and help you to ensure they are eating as balanced a diet as possible. But what are the best foods for your child, whether or not they’re fussy about food?
Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are increasingly versatile, meaning you can make them into both sweet and savoury foods and cook them in various ways that help you improve their appeal to your kids. From this sweet potato recipe you’ll love sweet potato fries, mash, soup and even crisps; you have so many options to choose from, experimenting to find what works for you and can help you to get the benefits of sweet potato into your kids.
Milk
Milk is high in calcium, has excellent levels of phosphorus, potassium, and B12, and is a great source of fibre. Again, milk can be drunk on its own or added to meals to help you boost the amount they consume, meaning you can get the goodness of milk into your kids without too much fuss. You can make pancakes and milkshakes with real fruit, not just fruit flavouring, white sauce, and so much more.
Yoghurt
Yoghurt is an excellent snack for any child, and it’s packed with calcium, magnesium, B12, B6 and potassium, to name a few. Yoghurts can come in multiple options, from plain and low-fat Greek yoghurt to fromage frais, fruit yoghurts, or natural yoghurt. You can add honey or fruit, too; the choice is yours. Plus, they can make a great addition to many recipes to help you sneak this food in without your kids knowing if you need to.
Avocado
Avocado is high in polyunsaturated fats and has multiple benefits for everyone, significantly growing kids, when consumed in moderation. Plus, it moves through the digestive tract really slowly, meaning it can fill your child up for longer, meaning fewer snack requests all around. Avocados can be enjoyed in many different ways. From on toast with an egg, in a smoothie, eaten on its own, or you can whip it up into a pesto, the choice is yours, or rather tiers based on taste preferences.
Bonus Food: Mushrooms
So many kids don’t enjoy mushrooms! Until that is, they don’t realise that they are actually eating and loving it. My favourite way to disguise mushrooms in their diets is to finely chop them and add them when I am making burgers, bolognese sauce, chilli and other similar dishes. When you raid the cupboards you can find so many ingredients that pair well with mushrooms and give great flavour combinations.
There are so many foods your child can benefit from having in tiger diets, but these choices are staples in most people’s diets. They can offer your kids a source of vitamins and minerals that can support healthy growth and development even if they have a restricted diet due to taste or texture limitations or simply not being open to trying new foods. All of the above can be eaten directly or hidden in foods or hippos to boost nutrition and support their health.
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