Life Desk :
Is your child a picky eater? Does your child love junk food in the lunch box? Every day, do you have a tussle with your child with leftovers in the lunch box? And every morning, you are faced with the dilemma: “What should I prepare for lunch today?” Then, you have come to the right place.
Firstly, find out your child’s secret favorite dish. For some it could be bread, for some others, it could be noodles, and then it could also be chapattis and rotis, yet for some it is the basic South Indian dosa. So, once you have found the key to make your child eat his lunch box fully, improvise and let your creativity play upon it.
The first step is to get a lunch box which your child likes. Invest in different types of lunch boxes, experiment in the aesthetic appeal of a lunch box. Get a good thermos if you plan to give soups or juices. There is a new variety called laptop lunch box now available in the market. Check it out. If your child likes it, you are in luck I know of children who hate to eat lunch in boxes, which they don’t like for many reasons.
So, let’s start with healthy, easy to prepare and fun lunches which kids would absolutely adore. The rule of the thumb is, do not make a school lunch elaborate or have many courses in it. Make it simple, nutritious, easy to eat and snacky. Children love such mini-lunches which makes them feel light.
Breads and sandwiches – Absolutely any sandwich will do as long as it is healthy and not filled with junk. Veggie patties, buttered, or peanut butter and jelly, raw vegetable sandwiches, sandwiches with a light sabji within it, sometimes with a cheese slice, Oh, run your imagination a riot. Sandwiches are a rage with children and the more varieties you provide, the more popular they will be. A few chunks of apples, some grapes, and perhaps a juice or a soup in that thermos would go well with this lunch. All the goodness of fruits and vegetables are here in this power lunch.
Now if you need more variety with that suggestion, change the bread. Use whole wheat bread, sandwich bread, fruity bread or even the pav of the pav bhaji. Just like you change the veggie every other day, change the type of bread. Use buns instead of breads. Use any baked grain flour if you know what I mean.
The next easiest thing to make is chapattis and rotis and are a rage with most of the kids. One chapatti spread with jam is all a child wants, but parents want those green demons called spinach to go with it. So, what are you left with it? Spinach chapatti? Yes, exactly! Check out how to make this methi chapatti. In addition to this, you can make almost any chappati with veggies in it. I tried radish chapatti and carrot chapattis.
It came out great. Soon, I would post recipes for the same. You could ask your child, what colored chapatti he needs and depending on his choice of color, you could select the veggies 😉 Easy, huh?!
Keep aside a few treats. On days, you give your child he does not favor too much, but would still not mind, because you cajole him a lot to eat it, keep aside tiny treats in the lunch box. Perhaps a small box of dry fruits or a granola bar if he likes it, some raisins, a cup of flavored chilled yoghurt, and such things would earn you a lot of reward points in coaxing him to eat things you want him to. Oh yes, life is full of bargains: D
Do you have a cookie cutter? Do you know how useful it is? Get one today and cut out different shapes of that sandwich bread for a variety. You could have dragon sandwiches, monster sandwiches, angel ones and everything else your toddler likes to imagine. You could also make chapattis with different shapes.
If you child loves south Indian, you are in luck too. Make vegetable upmas, vegetable vermicelli, and kichdi and leave a note, so that the teacher helps your child to reheat it up in the school microwave oven. You get those carbohydrates as well as those vegetables inside.
Rice, dal, sabji is not the only solution to a healthy lunch. If you are worried that all that proteins in the dal is missed, beat up a milkshake with any of your child’s favorite flavor like strawberry, vanilla, chocolate or even badam, and give it in that thermos I was telling you about. He can have it for the morning break or for the lunch and you wouldn’t need to worry about his daily protein intake from dal. You could also avoid your child getting cool drinks for the break.
With just a few vegetables, fruits, healthy snack items, you could create wonders and make lunch break a much awaited time of the day.
Come out of the conventional thought that rice and dal are the only good way to a healthy lunch.
Keep it simple, keep it easy, and keep it popular and healthy too. And don’t compromise on keeping your child happy!
-Internet
Is your child a picky eater? Does your child love junk food in the lunch box? Every day, do you have a tussle with your child with leftovers in the lunch box? And every morning, you are faced with the dilemma: “What should I prepare for lunch today?” Then, you have come to the right place.
Firstly, find out your child’s secret favorite dish. For some it could be bread, for some others, it could be noodles, and then it could also be chapattis and rotis, yet for some it is the basic South Indian dosa. So, once you have found the key to make your child eat his lunch box fully, improvise and let your creativity play upon it.
The first step is to get a lunch box which your child likes. Invest in different types of lunch boxes, experiment in the aesthetic appeal of a lunch box. Get a good thermos if you plan to give soups or juices. There is a new variety called laptop lunch box now available in the market. Check it out. If your child likes it, you are in luck I know of children who hate to eat lunch in boxes, which they don’t like for many reasons.
So, let’s start with healthy, easy to prepare and fun lunches which kids would absolutely adore. The rule of the thumb is, do not make a school lunch elaborate or have many courses in it. Make it simple, nutritious, easy to eat and snacky. Children love such mini-lunches which makes them feel light.
Breads and sandwiches – Absolutely any sandwich will do as long as it is healthy and not filled with junk. Veggie patties, buttered, or peanut butter and jelly, raw vegetable sandwiches, sandwiches with a light sabji within it, sometimes with a cheese slice, Oh, run your imagination a riot. Sandwiches are a rage with children and the more varieties you provide, the more popular they will be. A few chunks of apples, some grapes, and perhaps a juice or a soup in that thermos would go well with this lunch. All the goodness of fruits and vegetables are here in this power lunch.
Now if you need more variety with that suggestion, change the bread. Use whole wheat bread, sandwich bread, fruity bread or even the pav of the pav bhaji. Just like you change the veggie every other day, change the type of bread. Use buns instead of breads. Use any baked grain flour if you know what I mean.
The next easiest thing to make is chapattis and rotis and are a rage with most of the kids. One chapatti spread with jam is all a child wants, but parents want those green demons called spinach to go with it. So, what are you left with it? Spinach chapatti? Yes, exactly! Check out how to make this methi chapatti. In addition to this, you can make almost any chappati with veggies in it. I tried radish chapatti and carrot chapattis.
It came out great. Soon, I would post recipes for the same. You could ask your child, what colored chapatti he needs and depending on his choice of color, you could select the veggies 😉 Easy, huh?!
Keep aside a few treats. On days, you give your child he does not favor too much, but would still not mind, because you cajole him a lot to eat it, keep aside tiny treats in the lunch box. Perhaps a small box of dry fruits or a granola bar if he likes it, some raisins, a cup of flavored chilled yoghurt, and such things would earn you a lot of reward points in coaxing him to eat things you want him to. Oh yes, life is full of bargains: D
Do you have a cookie cutter? Do you know how useful it is? Get one today and cut out different shapes of that sandwich bread for a variety. You could have dragon sandwiches, monster sandwiches, angel ones and everything else your toddler likes to imagine. You could also make chapattis with different shapes.
If you child loves south Indian, you are in luck too. Make vegetable upmas, vegetable vermicelli, and kichdi and leave a note, so that the teacher helps your child to reheat it up in the school microwave oven. You get those carbohydrates as well as those vegetables inside.
Rice, dal, sabji is not the only solution to a healthy lunch. If you are worried that all that proteins in the dal is missed, beat up a milkshake with any of your child’s favorite flavor like strawberry, vanilla, chocolate or even badam, and give it in that thermos I was telling you about. He can have it for the morning break or for the lunch and you wouldn’t need to worry about his daily protein intake from dal. You could also avoid your child getting cool drinks for the break.
With just a few vegetables, fruits, healthy snack items, you could create wonders and make lunch break a much awaited time of the day.
Come out of the conventional thought that rice and dal are the only good way to a healthy lunch.
Keep it simple, keep it easy, and keep it popular and healthy too. And don’t compromise on keeping your child happy!
-Internet
