Updated: Friday, 16 November 2007.
PACKED MEALS: NO REASON TO FRET!
-Aditi Dande
As a Diet Consultant, it is fun to interact with mothers who talk about their children's bizarre food fads and choice (or the lack of it!). Mothers confess that opening the lunchbox to find an unfinished meal is the biggest fear they face (apart from the fear of asking the previous night what he/she wants in the tiffin-box !)
Children come complaining about unattractive or unpalatable packed meals, making most mothers do the worse – pack unhealthy snacks. With a view that the children would eat “something”, mothers fill up the lunchboxes with anything from chivda / farsaan , chocolates, biscuits, chips, cakes, etc., not realizing that they are pushing their children towards being unhealthy adults, thanks to the unhealthy food habits leading to obesity.
Then there are mothers who get to the other extreme of opting for the chapati-bhaji combo everyday. Some kids might actually like it, but most find it unpalatable and monotonous. Since they are so busy with their school and other activities, children want their meals to be exciting to simply want to eat!
Planning nutritious and attractive meals for kids is however, no reason to worry, since it can be easy combining various foodstuffs to make filling snacks.
Idlis can be stir-fried with veggies; snacks like bhel can be made nutritious by adding sprouts and vegetables to it; leafy vegetables added to parathas/theplas will suddenly become tastier! Simple veg-sandwiches will become tempting with the addition of a little chutney or cheese. Chapati-bhaji when given in form of veg-rolls seems much more exciting. Eggs can be added to sandwiches, mix-veg-pulao, rolls etc. The options are unending.
Some useful tips:
- Do not pack the box while the food still hot. It gets sticky and undesirable once cold.
- Try and plan a new recipe everyday (give 2-3 choices to your child the previous night, to make it sound exciting).
- Try planning on weekends for the coming 5-6 days to avoid last minute rush.
- Avoid foods like dals, buttermilk etc. in tiffins . The runny liquid makes the meal undesirable.
- Try giving homemade chutneys/sauces to make it colourful and attractive.
- Giving a small sized fruit will make it all the more healthy.
It sure can be a big deal convincing children and planning for a healthy yet attractive lunchbox. But it is worth all the pain if it helps your child grow into a healthy individual.
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