Feeding time- for kids

As a mama, I know how kids can be all for a food one day, and completely off it the next. My boy is 17 months old, and still breastfed a few times a day, so I know he is getting a good portion of nourishment from me.

I know how I might be feeling though, if he wasn't breastfed AND wasn't eating what I was offering. A bit worried to say the least.

I hope for those of you who might be at this point that I can shed some light on how to easily incorporate healthy, nutrient dense foods into a little one's day.

When children have access to a variety of wholefoods, they experience tastes, flavours, aromas, textures and temperatures. Between the ages of 6 months and 3 years of age, believe it or not, a child may need to be offered a food 15 times before he/she will eat it. Sounds crazy, but children need to have the opportunity to experiment with foods, and at this stage of life, it may translate to us as 'fussy eaters', when in fact they are simply learning what the food is, how to get it into their mouth, and how to deal with the textures.

I have found it is a big learning experience for me also. Knowing when Max wants a whole piece of something or have it chopped up, or rustically mashed for example. Small children need to experiment & learn new skills independently, but they also need a little help until they have worked things out like how to get a spoonful of porridge into their mouth without it spilling on their shirt first!

My view on how children need to eat is quite different to what mainstream healthy choices might sound like. Toddlers need a moderate amount of fat in their diet, followed by protein, then carbohydrates. Some examples of good quality fats include coconut (oil, milk, cream, butter), grass fed meat, unpasturised, unhomogenised whole milk dairy, avocadoes and deep sea oily fish. 

The reason why I feel the need to highlight the need for fats is because many parents feed their children so-called 'healthy' food, which might be fine for an adult with a mature digestive system- things like carrot sticks, celery sticks, puffed rice crackers and other light snack foods. 
However these foods are difficult for young ones to digest, as they are energetically cooling for the stomach. These raw food snacks also contain 'negative calories', so they cause an energy deficit when we eat them.

When we eat, energy will go first to the running of the body, and second to the growth & function of the nervous system, brain, bones, muscles etc. So it is important while children are still growing (up until 18 years old) that adequate amounts of nutrient dense foods are eaten as opposed to eating negative calories.

How to incorporate nutrient dense foods into everyday life

Include lightly cooked wholefoods in your child's meal that have different colours, textures and flavours. 

Put the foods out in front of them, and allow the child to choose what they eat. Kind of like toddler tapas!

Remember kids have little stomachs. They require small amounts of food, often. If they don't finish a meal, don't throw it away. Keep it for later. I find re-offering leftovers 10-30 minutes later can sometimes encourage eating if they weren't ready for it when you first offered it.

Include kids at family meal time. I know some families eat after their child is in bed, so perhaps start eating dinner earlier, as a family. This will encourage a good social relationship with food and children are more likely to try foods they can see the rest of the family are eating. They are great at mirroring our behaviour!

Some ideas...
Steam carrot sticks, broccoli florets and zucchini sticks.
Crush half a clove of garlic and mix with a tsp melted butter and tsp olive oil and pour over the vegetables.

When you make porridge, use steel cut oats (soaked overnight) as opposed to instant or quick oats (these are very refined & not very nutrient dense). Add coconut cream and a few pomegranate seeds before serving. This is a great example of balanced temperature, nutrients, colour, texture and flavours.

When cooking homemade organic popcorn, add lots of coconut oil and butter before the corn pops. Use celtic or himalayan salt to taste, and add asafoetida (indian spice) powder for some extra flavour. Add shredded coconut and goji berries (about a handful of each).

Make dips with avocado as the base. Add natural, unsweetened yoghurt, a little ground cinnamon (1/4 tsp) and clove (just a pinch).

Add mild spices such as turmeric, cumin, paprika and coriander to meals.

Be creative with eggs- boiled, scrambled, fried in coconut oil or butter, omelettes, fritattas with a variety of seasonal vegetables and meats. Leaves great wholesome leftovers, and you (or the kids) can eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Roast sweet potato and pumpkin (chopped into spear shapes) in coconut oil for about 20 minutes. Add rosemary and a little salt. A great healthy version of chips!

 

You can try including older children in the cooking process to encourage them learning how to cook from a young age.

Cooking and eating wholefoods might take you a little time to get used to, but it is worth it in many more ways than one.

Remember- the way you approach and view food will influence food choices your children will make in the future. Feed them real food, then they will have a taste for real food, and they might even enjoy it ;)