Useful tips for concerned parents

Sometimes, children simply do not want to eat vegetables. Every evening sees the same struggle to force down that small plate of healthiness. When this daily fight keeps on getting tougher, some parents tend to lose hope. They want their offspring to eat healthily and have the very best nutrition, but don’t know how to make it happen. The result? Both parents and children find themselves in a vicious circle, turning each mealtime into an absolute nightmare. End the fighting, use your creativity and make healthy food fun again!

Vegetables and fruit = healthy food

Vegetables and fruit are important for a healthy body. They are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibres and other vegetable nutrients that our body requires to function properly. Vitamin C and E, for instance, support the immune system and iron plays an essential role in haematopoiesis. Magnesium is good for the heart, potassium benefits blood pressure and calcium is important for bone formation. The soluble fibres in green vegetables maintain a good cholesterol level, while the insoluble fibres promote the digestion. For all these reasons, we must ensure a sufficient intake of these healthy substances on a daily basis, something that is not always easy to achieve with children.

The Voedingscentrum (Nutrition Centre) has calculated the exact amount of vegetables and fruit required for children:

Toddlers from 1-3 years:
Vegetables: 50-100g per day (1-2 serving spoons)
Fruit: 150g per day (1.5 pieces)

Young children from 4-8 years:
Vegetables: 100-150g per day (2-3 serving spoons)
Fruit: 150g per day (1.5 pieces)

Children from 8-12 years:
Vegetables: 150-200g per day (3-4 serving spoons)
Fruit: 200g per day (2 pieces)

Fruit is often not the problem. Cleaned or juiced, kids devour it in a flash! The problems are mostly caused by vegetables, since many children do not like them or have a preconceived idea that vegetables taste awful. Sounds familiar? Fortunately, there are clever tips and tricks to make eating vegetables fun again.

1) Spread

You do not need to serve healthy vegetables just at dinnertime. If you spread their consumption throughout the day, you will soon reach the recommended amount, which will make the portion size more ‘bearable’ in the evening. For example, you can use cherry tomatoes, cucumber or pieces of carrot for a snack. Carrots and cucumber with a hummus dip are totally delicious and twice as healthy, since this dip is made with healthy and protein-rich chickpeas.

2) Party platter

‘Playful vegetables’ instead of marshmallows and crisps are becoming increasingly popular at parties. Create a party platter with sliced strips of carrot, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery, pepper and cauliflower rosettes, accompanied by a delicious yogurt dip. Your platter will be emptied before you know it!

3) Smoothie

Put a banana together with carrots, cucumbers, peppers and some spinach leaves in the blender and turn it into a nice shake. This way, your kids will drink up their vegetables in no time – and love doing it!

4) Super sauce

Pasta with a tasty red sauce, in which you ‘hide’ the vegetables, makes for a delicious dinner. Use onions, tomatoes, carrots, courgettes and peppers, but don’t forget to puree the sauce. Fantastic with some grated cheese on top!

5) Let them join in

Involve your kids in the cooking and allow them to pick the vegetables they want from the supermarket shelves. Let them wash the vegetables, stir them in the pan and taste them together with you. This makes them curious for the end result and helps them to overcome their veggie reluctance!

6) Healthy soup

You can make a tasty soup from vegetables, pureed by hand blender. Why not try a pumpkin-carrot or tomato-vegetable soup, for example? Serve in a cheerful soup bowl with a delicious breadstick to make it even more fun.

7) Vegetable omelette

Yummy, yummy: a whisked egg with stir-fried vegetables makes for a truly delicious omelette. A real dinnertime treat for kids, delicious with mushrooms, leak, peppers and fresh herbs.

8) Supergreens

Biotona Bio Supergreens Raw makes it possible to add extra vegetables to your children’s diet; for example, in a smoothie. Supergreens powder is made from green vegetables, healthy grasses and seaweed, and is super concentrated. The freeze-drying allows all the nutrients to be preserved during the production process. Add a teaspoon to a smoothie, soup or omelette each day to give your meals a super-healthy boost!

Are you ready to play hide and seek with your children? Click here for several recipes to make tasty and colourful smoothies.