How I Made Homemade Meals Fun for My Fussy Eater

Your children’s health is directly associated with the food they eat. So it’s very important to teach them to eat right at a very early age. A balanced diet for kids can promote health and longevity in the long-run. Kids eat very differently compared to us, and even their tummy is smaller than an adult’s, so it’s critical to ensure that they eat 3 small balanced meals, and nutritious snacks in between. And who says tasty meals for kids can’t be healthy? Nutralite’s range of veg mayonnaise, chocolate spread, butter spread and other products is perfect for tasty, yet healthier recipes for kids.

A balanced diet contains a blend of essential nutrients. A child’s meal should be balanced between carbohydrates and protein, with the remaining energy coming from good fats. Children also need micronutrients like Iron, Vitamins and Calcium.

As a mom to a 3 year old, feeding my daughter the healthy food she needs is a daily struggle. She is a BLW (Baby-Led Weaning) baby and enjoyed all the vegetables and healthy food until she turned 18 months old. And then the real issue began – she became a fussy and picky eater. She would reject vegetables and avoid most healthy foods that I tried to make her eat. The only healthy food she would eat were dairy products and fruits.

Although this was not so bad, it was not a balanced diet. She could end up missing out on so many vitamins and minerals that she needs so much in these early years. I wanted my child to eat all these healthy foods, but she seemed to dislike their taste. So I tried to understand what she enjoyed eating and how I could smartly include nutrition in every bite she ate. I noticed that she enjoyed eating some foods with tomato ketchup, or any other tasty dip as they made her food taste different. Kids, including my daughter, like foods that are different from the usual and have a rich and indulgent taste.

Nutralite Mayonnaise – Tasty Balanced Diet for Kids

Recently I heard about Nutralite veg mayonnaise. Since I have been using their lite butter spread for years, I decided to give it a try. On doing some reading about it, I found that Nutralite Mayonnaise is India’s first mayonnaise range that provides a good dose of vitamins. Nutralite Mayonnaise is fortified with Vitamin A, D and E and meets 30 percent of your daily requirements with every serving. It is also completely vegetarian! It’s a great trick to make simple homemade meals fun and tasty for a picky eater. 

Egg Sandwiches, Vegetable Cutlets and Cold Pasta Salads

Here are some recipes for kids that I tried and that my daughter loved. I’m sure your kids will love it too!

• Kids love pasta and a cold pasta salad is a very creamy and flavourful dish that they will devour. To boiled pasta, just add some Nutralite Mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and a spoon full of roasted peanuts. This is my daughter Kenisha’s favourite snack!
• Nutralite Mayo also makes for a perfect and Vitamin-rich dip with homemade potato wedges, mixed vegetable omelettes, and healthy homemade vegetable cutlets.
• My daughter also loves eggs, and egg sandwiches with Nutralite Mayo are another favourite at home. It’s a protein and vitamin-rich breakfast, a perfect start to my daughter’s day!
• Try it as a dip with boiled raw vegetables to make a beautiful colorful plate that no child can resist.

Feeding a child can be tricky, but you can always try new and creative ways to interest them. I hope you try these simple ideas as well as Nutralite Mayonnaise. Remember to always introduce new foods slowly and repetitively – they’ll dislike it at first but eventually, they will get used to the taste and might even like it. Allow children to make their choices, and be a role model, because what they see is what they learn. Most kids are fussy eaters, so don’t worry too much. Instead, observe them and work around their preferences, either by hiding veggies, or adding nutritious substitutes like Nutralite Mayonnaise and Nutralite butter spread. I feel that this kind of a trick is worth the effort, because my child’s nutrition is my priority, and just like you, I’m ready to do whatever it takes!