How to Boost the Nutrient Intake of My Children’s Diet
As most parents may know, low appetite and picky eating can cause a lot of stress in the kitchen. Picky eating is characterised by eating limited amounts of foods, refusing foods (especially fruits and vegetables!), being unwilling to try new foods, accepting only a few types of foods and preferring drinks (such as milk) over food. The biggest worry for parents is that small intake will impact a child’s physical and mental development due to lack of nutrition. Also, a preference for food begins in infancy and carries through childhood into adulthood. All parents want the best start for their children and this includes a nutrient dense diverse diet!
If your child complains of low appetite and is a picky eater at times, here are some tips to make sure your child gets the most nutrition from the small amount of food eaten:
Meal Composition
- If children don’t eat enough during meal times, offer a snack 1-2 hours later, nutrient rich snacks include
- Fruit and yoghurt based smoothie or Rafferty’s Garden Smoothie range – great for on the go
- Home-made fruit, nut and seed slice
- Vegetable sticks with beetroot dip or hummus
- Spelt/buckwheat pikelets with yoghurt and fruit
- Offer small quantities of a variety of foods rather than getting children to fill up on a single food
- For instance, reduce the amount of pasta served with a sauce and instead add a wide variety vegetables to the sauce and serve a greater quantity of sauce – this way children are getting more nutrients
- Use drinks as a vehicle for adding extra nutrition
- Smoothies – add milk, yoghurt, chia seeds, oats, fruit, coconut oil
Easy ways to sneak extra nutrition in
- Add pesto and feta cheese to scrambled eggs
- Stir ground up flaxseeds to porridge and muesli
- Blitz vegetables in a food processor and use as a base for risotto
- Make ice-blocks blending yoghurt with fruit or using Rafferty’s Garden Pear and Superberries Smooth
- Opt for vegetable based dips – roasted beetroot, roast pumpkin or mashed avocado
- Try a zucchini slice or frittata adding grated zucchini, capsicum, mushrooms
- Spread sandwiches with hummus, avocado or cannellini bean dip
- Serve pasta with a nutrient dense puree such as Rafferty’s Garden Apricot Chicken or Hearty Beef and Veggie Baby puree
Simple Swaps for added nutrition
White rice > quinoa
Plain milk > smoothie (milk, yoghurt, fruit, rolled oats)
White bread > fibre-rich wholegrain based bread
Sweet yoghurt > natural yoghurt with homemade fresh fruit puree/compote
Commercial sausages > homemade rissoles with grated vegetables
Store bought pasta sauce > homemade sauce with tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum and herbs
White pasta with cheese > whole grain pasta with homemade pesto
Recipe
For a nutrient dense and warming breakfast recipe try dishing up my Veggie Rich scrambled eggs, I guarantee empty plates!
Veggie Rich Scrambled Eggs
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
- 2 free-range organic eggs
- 1 pouch Rafferty’s Garden Just Veggies Carrot, Potato and Swede Smooth
- ½ cup buckwheat pasta, cooked
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tbsp. chives, chopped finely
Method
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs with Rafferty’s Garden Just Veggies until well combined
- Pour egg mixture into pan and gently scramble eggs
- Once eggs are almost set, toss pasta into pan and warm through
- Take off the heat, spoon onto serving plate and sprinkle with chives
