nutrition Archives - Easy Mommy Life

5 Nutrition Hacks Every Parent Needs To Try

Ophira1 CommentJanuary 26, 2022March 2, 2020

Read time: 3 minutes

On entering toddler years, children experience a dip in appetite and a slower rate of growth. At the same time, certain nutritional requirements become even more important for proper growth and development. But selective eating behaviors and picky eating make it difficult to meet the growing child’s needs. While it is not recommended to force-feed children or offer distractions at the table, parents do need to be more alert and creative in helping meet the nutritional demands of the growing child.

Here are 5 nutrition hacks every parent must try. These toddler hacks have helped me through the picky eating and teething phase.

Related reading: Teething foods to feed your toddler

NUTRITION HACKS FOR PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN

1. Sprinkle flaxseed powder on everything

Flaxseeds are a rich source of plant-based omega 3’s. Omega 3’s are fatty acids that are essential for heart health and brain development.

The beauty of using flaxseed powder is that in the ground-up form it is more readily absorbed into the body and so easy to use.

Add a tablespoon on porridge, smoothies or add to chapati dough and your child won’t even notice the healthy fats he is eating in his favorite meals. Flaxseeds are perfect for vegetarians and vegans who don’t get their omega 3’s from eggs and fish.

2. Nut butter for life

I rely on nut butter to fill in the nutritional gaps on days of poor eating. Nuts contain an array of nutrients and nut butter is an easy way to get those nutrients on the plate.

Add a little nut butter to toast, smoothies, porridge or on fruit. Most children like the taste of nut butter, popular favorites being almond nut butter and cashew nut butter.

Related reading: How to make nut butter at home

3. Whole eggs on selective eating days

On days with poor or selective eating, one of my favorite go-to’s is eggs. Eggs are so versatile to cook with.

Boil them, scramble them, add to a stir fry or rice dish. A simple and easy way to get more protein in the diet.

4. Energy ball everything

You know me and my love for energy balls. Here are some of the energy ball recipes we make regularly.
Energy balls are a power-packed way to get in carbohydrates from dates, protein, and vitamins from nuts.

Plus, children love the natural sweetness. I use energy balls as my number one healthy baby weight gain food.
Make sure though that your child doesn’t overindulge. It’s best to take breaks between batches and go back to other loved snacks as well.

5. Smoothie to the rescue!

Picky eating phase or teething phase, smoothies come to the rescue every time.

Here is how I build a nutrient-dense smoothie every time.

Add some milk of your choice, some fruit, some nuts/seeds/nut butter and some natural sweeteners like banana, honey or maple syrup.

This one is a good option to have in your mommy arsenal against picky eating.

How to encourage healthy eating habits in your fussy eater

There you go,

I hope you found this post useful.

Let me know what foods do you use to fill in those nutritional gaps?

How I Get My Child To Eat Healthy Every Day

Ophira59 CommentsJanuary 19, 2022September 5, 2017

Read time: 6 minutes

How I get my child to eat healthy everyday

India is celebrating National Nutrition Week from 1st to 7th September. The theme this year is Optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health.

Family health and good nutrition have always been topics that I have deep interest in. Most of my adult life I have strived to maintain a healthy balance between good food and junk food. Since becoming a mother my passion for this subject has only increased. I have spent the first year of my baby’s life researching on what to feed him, how to offer nutrient dense foods and how to implement a system at home where an environment of healthy eating thrives. As a mother to a 18 month old I have found a few systems and tricks to keeping good healthy food available at home and outside regardless of how busy I get. Today I want to share my tips on building a healthy eating envirnoment for your child, and getting your children to eat healthy always.

Start with meal planning and abundance of fresh food. This is a no brainer. If you want to inculcate healthy eating you first have to stock up your house with fresh fruits and vegetables. There has to be abundance in order to eat healthy. The more good food there is the lesser the chance of opening packets. Find a weekly home grocery delivery service in your area, it will get you organized as a busy mom. It’s best when you make a meal plan for the week and prep on the weekends. Though I personally can’t stick to meal plans, I am quite creative at coming up with dishes that are healthy with whatever I have in the fridge. If you struggle with meal ideas its best to plan a weekly menu for family, write down a few meal ideas and stick it to your fridge so you know what you are going to prepare during the week.
Stock up the house with your child’s favorite staples. These need to be replenished every-time they run out. These are go-to meals you know your child will love. Better homemade food than take-out. My toddler loves : Pastas, quinoa, coconut meat, peas, eggs and avocados. These are all easy meal staples that can be thrown together to make quick combinations of meals. Eg. avocado and peas quinoa bowl, pesto pasta or tomato pasta, etc.

Vegetables are a must for your kids, they contain many vitamins and minerals that are essential during development. Don’t be afraid to use them in meals. In my experience, I have seen many mothers have a mental block in using vegetables in dishes for fear of rejection and food wastage. Pack vegetables into every dish you can think of. Its ok if they don’t eat it once, consistency helps when it comes to vegetables. Get innovative with the dishes you prepare. Don’t give up easy.
Eg. Add peas and carrots in upma, pohe, leftover vegetables can be made into a vegetarian patty and served as a snack, buy vegetable pastas, there are many options in the supermarket now – beetroot pasta, spinach pasta. Kids love the colours and get excited about eating them.

Every once in a while make new dishes for the family. This keeps the kids interested in meal times. I try to make new recipes once every weekend as a change.

Make friends with simple meal ideas or one pot meals for the weekdays. This makes it easy for you as a busy mom. My go-to weeknight recipes are one pot meals like hearty soups, stir fried rice, pots of vegetarian curries served with rice. All these recipes are easy to make, don’t require much cooking skills and are packed with vegetables to up the nutrition content.

Always stock the house with super foods like avocados, berries, coconuts, ragi flour, barley grass powder, flaxseed powder, nuts and seeds, sprouted wheat (dalia). Kids benefit from eating these on regular basis. You can incorporate them in a variety of ways in your meals and be assured that your child gets great nutrition from the food too. Here are some easy recipes using these super foods as snacks. I make these when I am running out of ingredients in the house, this way I am still managing to serve healthy options to my little one. That is why its so important to always keep the house stocked with some of these ingredients.

Lentils come in many varieties like masoor dal, tur dal, moong dal and are high in protein and fiber. Lentils are an excellent natural source of folate and manganese. If your child is like mine and doesn’t like dal as a dish you can add these lentils to soups or in finger food forms. They enjoy the novelty of these dishes.

Healthy fats are important for growing kids. If you are a largely plant based family include avocados, sesame paste, nut butters, nut powders, coconut meat and almond meal in food preparations.

Mothers tend to worry about adequate iron content in their children’s diet and rightfully so. Children with insufficient iron may suffer from cognitive and behavioral development deficits and delays. You can add iron rich foods like meats, legumes, lentils, green leafy vegetables to your child’s everyday diet. Serve iron-rich foods alongside foods containing vitamin C (such as tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, and strawberries). Vitamin C improves the way the body absorbs iron. Eg.
- Oats porridge with berries or mangoes
- Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C – have them along with lentils and quinoa to increase absorption of iron,
- Squeeze lemon over quinoa salad, rajma (kidney beans) sabzi,
- Beans cooked in a tomato base or with tomato salsa etc.

Be mindful about the sugar consumption of your kids. Even honey and jaggery are considered added sugars. The AHA reccomends limiting the amount of added sugars in the diets of children 2-18 years of age to about 6 teaspoons a day.
To know more about the effects of exessive sugar consumption in kids read my post on sugar and our children here. Ripened banana and cooked apple sauce are great substitutes for added sugars in dishes like smoothies and pancakes.

Model good eating to your children. Eat meals together as a family. Give them more information on how to eat healthy. About the vegetables and fruits they are eating. Get them excited about food.

Okra-Capsicum-Dal-Rice-Indian-Meal — Complete Indian meal, with dal rice and vegetables. Dal and rice when eaten together make a great protein source.

vegetarian-coconut-curry — Making dishes like this vegetarian curry with rainbow colored vegetables gets the kids excited. The curry has all the nutrients from vegetables and essential fats from coconuts.

Stir fried veggies laid out on a plate with vegetable patty — Healthy lunch with leftover vegetables turned into a yummy patty. Served with stir fried rainbow colored vegetables.

Dalia-roasted wheat-porridge — Sprouted wheat (Dalia) is a highly nutritious porridge for breakfast. Contains carbohydrates, iron and fiber. Roast the dalia before cooking.

Blueberries sprinkled over a bowl of oats porridge. — A quick and healthy breakfast. Adding berries rich in Vit C to the porridge helps in absorption of iron from the oats. I also add almond butter, roasted flaxseed powder to meet the healthy fat requirements. Superfood porridge indeed!

Healthy-Dal-Sweet Potato-Rice — Add sweet potatoes to dal as they are rich in Vit C and help in better absorption of iron from the dal. Here I made a type of a dal soup with sweet potatoes and pumpkin and served with rice. Squeeze a little lemon on top for more flavor.

I hope my tips on serving healthy food to children helps you too. How do you plan and prepare meals for your kids? Do you have some tips for me?

Baby Led Weaning Guide For Indian Mothers

Ophira20 CommentsSeptember 3, 2021June 15, 2017

Read time: 10 minutes

Baby led weaning child holding a bowl of food

I stumbled upon baby led weaning when my son was 4 months old. Being a rather unfamiliar method of weaning in India; the literature was sparse in the Indian context. In this post I’ll address some of the concerns Indian moms might have regarding first foods, choking, appropriate gear for baby led weaning, nutrition and much more. Let this post be your baby led weaning guide.

WHY DID I WANT TO START WEANING THE BABY LED WAY?

As a child, I was a fussy eater and know firsthand how much I hated being cajoled into eating. This became the primary reason why I wanted my son to be in control of how much he wanted to eat.

So,

What is Baby Led Weaning?

Baby led weaning is a method of weaning where the baby is allowed to explore his/her food and self-feed from the age of 6 months. The baby controls how much he/she eats, dines with family and eats what the family eats.

The method seemed perfect in my setup – a nuclear family with a traveling husband. It would cut down on special food preparations and the idea of my kid becoming an independent eater was very appealing.

On a side note – I hold nothing against traditional weaning as long as your child isn’t force-fed and his/her hunger limits are respected. I believe that a basic respect of child’s hunger cues is more important than the ongoing debate on the internet about pros and cons of traditional weaning versus baby led weaning.

Now, let’s address the two elephants in the room:

Choking

Choking is by far the biggest concern for any parent. It is important to note that a baby’s gag reflex is in the front of the mouth which prevents them from choking on food. Babies gag when they are not ready to swallow a big chunk of food.

When a baby chokes their entire airway is blocked, they go silent and may change color in face. Whereas in gagging they cough and look uncomfortable. Make sure never to offer high risk choking foods. Check that every food offered is soft enough to turn to mush between your thumb and forefinger.

A September 2016 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that baby-led weaning did not cause more choking than traditional spoon-feeding. (Fangupo et al., 2016).

I have provided an exhaustive list of foods that should be avoided below.

It is very important to understand the difference between choking and gagging. I found this article very helpful in understanding the difference between the two.

Iron rich foods for Baby led weaning

Iron becomes a hot topic of discussion in baby led weaning groups. Breastmilk stores of iron start to drop post 6 months, therefore, it is important to incorporate iron rich foods into your baby’s diet.

Examples of iron rich foods for baby led weaning are Cereals, lentils, legumes, chicken, red meat, egg yolk. Check this post for more detailed ideas about iron rich foods for baby led weaning.

And always remember, if you have concerns about any specific nutrient deficiency you must consult your pediatrician and get blood work done.

What are the first foods for Baby Led Weaning?

As a guideline, cut all foods in long strips so it’s easier for baby to grasp in their tiny palms. Here are a few examples of foods to offer a 6 to 9-month-old:

Ripened: Banana, Papaya, Mango, Sapota (Chikoo), Muskmelon, Avocado;
Steamed: Apple, Pear, Pumpkin, Cauliflower & Brocolli Florets, Idli;
Boiled: Dal, Potato, Sweet Potato, Egg Yolk
Cooked: Chicken Liver, Oats, Ragi & Oats Pancake, Scrambled Egg Yolk.

Around 9-10-month-old babies get better at eating due to development of pincer grasp. This is a good time to offer family food in sizes appropriate for pincer grasp.

Always start weaning by introducing one new food at a time and trying it for 3-5 days depending on allergy history of that food in your family.

Choking risk foods

I steered clear from offering any hard raw fruits like apples, pears, grapes etc. for more than a year of baby’s life. Also, I didn’t feel comfortable offering steamed carrots as they always felt to be not soft enough.

It is best to avoid,

Whole Nuts
Whole Seeds
Hard raw fruits (e.g. Apples and Pears)
Foods with thick peel (e.g. grapes, plums, tomatoes)
Popcorn
Chips
Lotus Seeds (e.g. Makhane)
Raw salad leaves
Big chunks of meat
Bony Fish

For a more detailed idea of what foods to avoid, I found this link by the New Zealand Ministry of Health very helpful. (Ministry of Health NZ, 2012)

Baby Led Weaning Essentials

High chair:

One that is easy to clean. Expect a lot of mess with baby led weaning. So it’s best to have an easy to manage chair.
- I would recommend the Chicco Pocket Lunch High chair. We used this from the beginning of our BLW journey. It is easy to clean by spraying some water and wiping off. Once a week I pull out the cover and wash under hot water with some soap. The chair comes with a large tray so a lot of the mess stays on the tray itself.
- Another very popular option is the Ikea Antilop High chair. You can find similar designs to the Ikea Antilop in the Indian market on all the leading retail websites.

Booster chairs:
- I recommend Fisher Price Quick Clean N’ Go Booster. It’s cheap, lightweight, easy to clean, comes with a shoulder strap and has a built-in wipes compartment. This makes this booster the ideal travel companion. Amazon always runs deals on this booster.
- My second recommendation is Mastela Deluxe Comfort Folding Booster Seat . It’s also easy to clean and lightweight. Additionally, it has a two-level height adjustment which can be used for older toddlers (up to 30 months of age). The only con is that it doesn’t come with a shoulder strap so it’s inconvenient to use for travel.

A plastic spray bottle:
- To clean any leftover messes on the chair. Fill it with water and white vinegar (Ratio 3:1) or use an all-purpose disinfectant like Chicco Multipurpose Disinfectant.

Feeding plates:
- Buy plates and bowls with a suction bottom. Babies end up throwing the bowl on the floor and suction bottom is a real effort saver. These bowl and plate sets by Avanchy are very sturdy, made of bamboo wood with silicon headed spoons. The spoon is wonderful for those soft gums and also double up as a teether. To know about our experience using this set head to my post on Avanchy bowl and plate review.

Cups:
- There are varied types of cups available in the market. There will be a lot of trial and error and you have to figure out which one works best for your baby.
- My recommendations are; 1) Regular stainless steel cup: works from 6 months up, 2) Philips Avent Classic Soft Spout: 6-12 months, 3) Philips Avent Straw cup: 12 months up.
- For a more detailed review of available Sippy cups in India read this post of mine.

Crumb catching bibs:
- I absolutely love the Chicco Soft Bib With Crumbcatcher. It’s perfect for baby led weaning. We have two of these.

Other Points To Consider

One of the basic tenants of baby led weaning – “The baby eats what the family eats” is not without its caveats because not all families follow healthy diets. The food offered to the baby maybe heavily processed, devoid of nutrition and high in sodium. Parents need to be aware of their children’s nutritional needs and plan healthier family meals.

Most family foods can be modified for your baby by cutting out salt, sugar and reducing spice. An easy alternative is to steam the vegetables separately if you are making a spicy version for yourself.

Also baby requires more fat than adults; if your household follows a low-fat diet then consider adding a side of grated coconut chutney, ghee on chapattis/dal/rice or avocados just for baby.

A 6 to 9-month-old baby is still mastering the pincer grasp making it difficult to properly eat a typical Indian meal. Start out with finger food versions of family meals and slowly ease into a complete family meal as the pincer grasp improves.

Another point that comes up repeatedly is, explaining baby led weaning to the extended Indian family. Here you may have to hold your ground more than a few times. Once non-consenters see the baby eat on their own, they too are proud. Stay patient, its best not to get stressed. Ultimately only the parents are the best judge of what suits them and their baby.

Our Experience With Baby Led Weaning

The idea of a self-feeding baby always appealed to me. There are videos online of 6 to 7-month-old babies eating big chunks of meat off the bone, while its quite an attention getter – I wanted to proceed more gently.

What I loved about our experience with baby led weaning was the freedom from elaborate meal making for me and independence it offered my child from the onset. We introduced him to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in the first year. And it is amazing watching just how quickly our little humans pick up all the skills. Baby led weaning and “no pressure tactics at the table” allowed him to be a great eater and a happier child.

To sum it up

Feeding your child should focus on sharing in the joy of eating healthy and nutrient-rich foods. Don’t worry too much about the rules!
If your baby is having a difficult time with baby led weaning you can always try pre-loaded spoons or switch to traditional weaning.

Whatever ways you choose to wean you need to be respectful of your baby’s hunger. If they squirm and move their head side to side, spitting out what you feed, stop the session. Try again later. An unhappy baby at the table will never learn to associate food time with positive interactions. You have to be patient and let your child lead.