Healthy snacks and meals for kids

[ZGT Mummy]

As you probably know I thought we were reasonably healthy, but now I know otherwise! Not that we're unhealthy, but definitely could do better.

So I'm wondering if anyone has some ideas for what I can feed my kids (and the adults too) for meals and snacks.

I honestly don't know where to start seeing as what I thought I was doing right turns out not to be so great.

So firstly I realise that I was giving the kids too much in one sitting, hence they weren't bothering with snacks too much, so instead I'm trying to spread their meals more evenly. But I still don't know what to give them that means they get all the nutrients they need in a day (and how to get them to eat all the things they're supposed to be as well). All I've learned in the last 5 years (mainly from Plunket etc) has just focused on meat for iron and fruit and veges for vits and minerals, but there's obviously more I need to know.

Funny thing is, I don't know what I don't know!

So any tips on healthy eating, any recipes or ideas gladly received. Oh, also any links to sites etc that give good nutritional advice?

[Serephina]

The biggest tip I can give you is to eat a wide variety of whole foods. When I say whole foods I means foods that are recognisable as being in their natural state as in fruits and vegies, nuts and seeds, legumes and whole grains (prepared at home) plus your meats, eggs etc.

Try to get lots of colour in your diet as well. Drink water instead of sweetened drinks and juice.

What do you think you are missing out on? What do you feel is unhealthy about your current diet? It's difficult to give you specific advice without knowing where you are starting from.

[magical1]

I think home made hummus with vege sticks is a great snack for kids... it's not often you can get them to eat raw garlic without them knowing!

[Wonder-Full]

I buy organic peanut and almond butter and spread that on slices of apple or the kids dip their carrot sticks in it.

They snack on fruit, nuts, raw veges, yoghurt with LSA, a small amount of cheese, and soup if there's some left over.

With meals, I try and always cook with onion, garlic and fresh herbs.

[Nirvana]

I make lots of hummus and falafel at home and offer them to DD with whole wheat pita made at home. Also because we are vegetarians, I am always concerned about EFAs. So I make guacamole which is really yum and offer her butter as dips. When she is hungry for a snack, I give her cubes of cucumber sprinkled with sea salt and one Indian all-purpose spice called Chaat masala. It really does tingle the palate and is delicious.

She does love fried savories so I make french fries at home instead of Mac ones. Also you can try homemade cupcakes, banana cake etc. They turn out really well and are very easy to make too. You can use honey instead of sugar. Put lots of fruits, milk, nuts, whole wheat flour and you are ready to go.

I don't use eggs in baking and my stuff always comes out nice and fluffy. Do try muffins. They are a huge hit with kids.

[ZGT Mummy]

The biggest tip I can give you is to eat a wide variety of whole foods. When I say whole foods I means foods that are recognisable as being in their natural state as in fruits and vegies, nuts and seeds, legumes and whole grains (prepared at home) plus your meats, eggs etc.

I think our variety is poor. I'm a creature of habit and tend not to be able to think of new stuff so we do tend to do the same things over and over. Can't do nuts or eggs (or dairy) due to DS2's allergies. As for whole grains, well I just tried giving DS2 wholegrain bread for lunch instead of his usual white and he didn't like the "stones" in it. He did at least try to eat it which is rather unusual for him so I was pleased about that, but then it came straight back out :(


What do you think you are missing out on? What do you feel is unhealthy about your current diet? It's difficult to give you specific advice without knowing where you are starting from.

Not really sure what they're missing out on, essential fatty acids I guess (only because I've just found out about them!!), no fish or nuts here so makes it hard. Will start adding flaxseed to their cereal/porridge though so that's a start I guess. They just eat a lot of refined flour I guess, snacks are usually wheat based, lunch is sandwiches etc etc. I do make homemade muffins and have just started using wholemeal flour and wheat bran etc, but DS2 won't eat them :(


I think home made hummus with vege sticks is a great snack for kids... it's not often you can get them to eat raw garlic without them knowing!

I've always roasted my garlic, guess it would be faster to make with raw garlic! DS1 will eat hummus on pita crisps (I just cool bake pita bread into bite sized crisps with a bit of garlic salt) but DS2 won't touch hummus and neither will eat raw veges. The problem is I think I royally stuffed up when they were little and didn't introduce them to things like this so now it's going to be an uphill battle. I don't want to make the same mistakes with DD though so am going to ensure she starts out the right way.


I buy organic peanut and almond butter and spread that on slices of apple or the kids dip their carrot sticks in it.

YUM! But no nuts in this house :( I could use FreeNut butter though, it's made with sunflower seeds but tastes almost exactly like peanut butter (well from what I remember it tasting like anyway, haven't had it for years!).


They snack on fruit, nuts, raw veges, yoghurt with LSA, a small amount of cheese, and soup if there's some left over.

What's LSA? DS1 will have some yoghurt occasionally, I make Easiyo but DS2 can't due to allergies and no cheese obviously either. We actually don't have cheese in the house anyway as it was sticking to plates/cutlery etc and it was too much of a concern in terms of cross contamination.

What kind of soup? Last winter I the kids didn't want to know when I made soup, but thought I'd give it another go this year. I was just going to do chicken, winter veges and I want to try to find some barley I can use as the stuff in the supermarkets all has nut warnings on it :(


With meals, I try and always cook with onion, garlic and fresh herbs.

I don't use fresh herbs :( but I do use loads of onion and garlic (not that they eat dinner very often though - tonight is beef and vege stirfry, DS1 will eat the rice and I might be able to convince him to eat one piece of brocolli, DS2 will push his plate away as soon as it's put in front of him).

Sorry it seems like I have an excuse for every suggestion! It's just so hard when my kids are just so fussy and to be fair they weren't exposed to the right foods in the first place. Hence I will use all these ideas as DD gets older so that she hopefully will be different.

I guess with the boys it's just a matter of saying "well this is all there is, eat it or go hungry". Tried that with DS2 today at lunch, he ate half an apple and that was it :(

[Serephina]

Okay, so there's a nice starting point for you. Work on increasing the variety and decreasing the refined junk.

Whole grains don't just have to mean "grain bread" either. In fact a lot of multi-grain breads are white bread with a few grains added - not ideal. Try different varieties like spelt or rye instead of just wheat all the time. Rye bread with pate is delicious :) Steel cut oats are great for breakfast at this time of year. If you use white rice switch it out for the brown variety. If you soak the whole grains overnight it will cook quicker and be easier to digest too.

Get the kids involved, let them pick out different fruits and vegies at the market and get involved with preparing them. I don't believe in forcing children to eat anything. You only need provide them with healthy options, it's up to them whether they choose to eat or not.

[ZGT Mummy]

Oh, sorry missed your post Nirvana, it took me so long to write mine! I've tried falafel and guacamole too. DS1 will sometimes have a bit of guacamole (he loves avocado but strangely won't eat it mashed up?) but DS2 again won't eat any of it.

OK so any tips on HOW to get kids to eat these things. I do the "it's this or nothing" but DS2 is the type of personality that he'll just say "fine, nothing then" and go without, just to prove his point! He's 3 in September though so I'm hoping that we'll move on from the terrible two's soon!

[ZGT Mummy]

Whole grains don't just have to mean "grain bread" either. In fact a lot of multi-grain breads are white bread with a few grains added - not ideal. Try different varieties like spelt or rye instead of just wheat all the time. Rye bread with pate is delicious :) Steel cut oats are great for breakfast at this time of year. If you use white rice switch it out for the brown variety. If you soak the whole grains overnight it will cook quicker and be easier to digest too.

I'd actually like to start making my own breads (have a breadmaker) as the specialty breads are just too expensive. Again though, DS1 is not too bad but DS2 won't have a bar of it! I don't really know where to start though, I don't have any recipes for different breads with my breadmaker so don't know what types of grains to buy.

What are Steel cut oats as opposed to normal ones? I just get the Harraways Rolled Oats from the supermarket.

And yes, I've been meaning to swap my rice to brown (not that it matters as DS2 won't eat it anyway) but also hubby will not be happy!

Why are my family soooo difficult?!?!?!

[magical1]

I've always roasted my garlic, guess it would be faster to make with raw garlic! DS1 will eat hummus on pita crisps (I just cool bake pita bread into bite sized crisps with a bit of garlic salt) but DS2 won't touch hummus and neither will eat raw veges. The problem is I think I royally stuffed up when they were little and didn't introduce them to things like this so now it's going to be an uphill battle. I don't want to make the same mistakes with DD though so am going to ensure she starts out the right way.


We have one rule in our household... everyone must at the very least TRY new foods. If that means they put something in their mouth and they have to spit it into a tissue then that is fine... they know they have that "out" if they need to... I'd say about 80% of the time they put something new in, start to chew and say... yep it's ok or YUM! Sometimes it gets spat out and that is ok... the kudos goes to the trying. It works wonders. Their palates are huge compared to when I pandered to their likes and dislikes... they'd say Oh I don't eat that I don't like it... and I would think how do they know they've never tried...

Bearing in mind that mine are 11 and 9 so to have got to this stage with them is a huge breakthrough... I wish I had done it years ago instead of shovelling up the same old trash everynight.. I swear my nine year old lived on processed nuggets for the first five years of his life! yes I'll admit it..it was a long time ago.. tell you what also made a SUDDEN and very profound change in him changing his taste and being more open to healthy options... digestive enzymes chewed before meals.

We laugh now when we walk past the freezer isle at the supermarket! He said to me yesterday... I used to eat that stuff and I said what kind of a mother was I!!:o He just said back, that was before you learnt all the things you know now Mummy.

[Nirvana]

Magical, what are digestive enzymes? You are supposed to have them daily or once in a while? I am all ears.

[Wonder-Full]

Mine need to try a new food as well. DS (6) isn't fussy with food and will shovel in whatever I give him but dd (4) has hit a fussy stage.

M1 - what are digestive enzymes? Do they increase stomach acid (it's something on my to-do list for DS who is still having undigested food coming out the other end at times).

I'm another who used to offer ds fish fingers and chicken nuggets several times a week when he was a toddler...having to go gluten free for him was the best thing for me in really changing the way we ate.

[justine]

I give my guys dried apricot, raisins & dates. I also put puree of caulliflower in with the mash potato as well as a raw egg. I can make cookies with chick peas in them.

I never buy cookies, chippies or juice but I do buy fishfingers. :o

Love
Justine xxx

[gilima]

We also have that "custom" of the kids trying out new foods and if they really don't like it they can spit it out:giggle:...which really never happens...
and I agree that their tastes will change and mature as they grow.
We also have the rule of "at least one veggie at a meal" so if we are having fish, with baked potatoes, corn and salad, they have to choose at least one of the veggies. this is for 2 of my younger kids...thankfully the older kids all eat salad and veggies.
I think it is important to go slow with them, like try giving wholemeal sanwiches one day and then what they are used to the next. Also wholemeal or multigrain bread might be more apealing when toasted at first. my kids love grilled cheese, sooo we make it with different breads add onions , olives etc; you can also try maybe french toast, pancakes etc; We have a salad, either lettuce( romaine, or a mix of romaine spinnach leaves and I sometimes chop up 1 or 2 kale leaves really small like parsley so that it just blends in) with tomatoes, cucmbers, onions and any other additions we have on hand or not and just a simple homemade dressing with balsamic vinegar , olive oil and garlic, you can add a bit of honey too, my kids like the slightly sweet taste, we even add leftover chicken chunks and make it a meal sometimes. most nights we have simple Israeli salad which is just cucumbers ,tomatoes, onions (sometimes green peppers ) all diced up really small with some olive oil, lemon juice and salt, sometimes chopped parsley and all my kids have eaten that from early on.
getting them involved and giving them choices will also help. If you bake potatoes in the oven, try baking both sweet and regular, then let them slice them and add their own "toppings" like olive oil, salt, nutritional yeast, gravy( some kids will love gravies from stews and roasts even if they don't love the actuall meat, and the gravies have nutritinal value and fats too.) let them experiment....and become little chefs.

[Nirvana]

Oh and I totally forgot to mention try tabouleh which is a lebanese salad made with finely chopped parsley, mint, spring onion, tomatoes, bulgur wheat/chickpeas, lime juice, salt and olive oil. It's really yummy and a huge hit with DD. Also for snacking you can give like the PP suggested cashewnuts, raisins, dates, roasted ground nuts, almonds, walnuts.

Oops I forgot about the nuts allergy...but do try raisins, dates.

[Serephina]

What are Steel cut oats as opposed to normal ones? I just get the Harraways Rolled Oats from the supermarket.

Steel cut oats are the whole oat grain that has been cut into 2-3 pieces as opposed to rolled oats that are steamed and rolled (obviously!). They take a little longer to cook but I prefer the flavour and texture. They are a bit nuttier and chewier than the rolled oats and don't have that slimey gruel-like texture when cooked into porridge. Very nice cooked with some sliced apple and cinnamon.

And I think we need a :vomit smilie for all of you people that are eating fish fingers - yuck!!! :p

[3monkeys]

OMG fish fingers are DISGUSTING....... like luncheon of the sea :)

my kids snack mostly on fruit and cheese and juice (homemade). I need to make hummus but I always make WAY too much. Does it freeze.

Breakfast is oats, brown sugar or honey (just a little), unhomo milk and fruit.
I struggle with lunch, but gonna try Hilarys salad. YUMMO. The kids usually have homemade yoghurt and fruit and cut up veg. If I give them crap yoghurt (fresh and fruity etc) then a whole lot of probiotic powder goes in too.

I really struggle with lunch :)

I always have a fruit bowl on the table and thats pretty much an all day free for all. I used to have a nut and seed bowl as well that was a kiddie free for all. Must do that again.

[Wonder-Full]

We do oats for breakfast too (and, ds gets scrambled eggs).

3M, lunch is a struggle here too. My range on offer are boiled eggs/tinned salmon/avocado/grated cheese, or homemade baked beans, or GF pizza base with homemade tomato/vege sauce and cheese and if i'm all out of inspiration I do homemade oven fries served with guacomole or hummus (and yes it freezes well!). DH often makes vegetable patties in the weekend - just a bunch of veges cooked and mashed and cooked into patties (with a tin of salmon mixed in).

[Serephina]

Here's a lovely vegetarian wholefoods blog for those needing some inspiration.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/index.html

[justine]

Thanks for the tip on peanut butter spread on apple Wonder-full, my kids just love it.

thanks
Justine.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Here's a lovely vegetarian wholefoods blog for those needing some inspiration.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/index.html

the problem is that so many vegetarians become grain obsessed.... :(

[Seaweed]

the problem is that so many vegetarians become grain obsessed.... :(

The Gf free ppl do too. I am forever on the look out for healthy paleo snacks for the kids myself. I have discovered a really nice GF banana cake recipe which I can make with either tapioca flour or walnut flour which uses honey. The non GF ppl who eat it like it. I can post the recipe if anyone wants it.

As to the fish fingers - euww!!! Thankfully I live in a port so I can buy fresh fish on the way home or for swift seafood the kids will eat, clams. Steamed with vinegar :D Or smoked moki or king fish or eel :drool:

Baked custards are good for breakfast. Getting better as the chooks are starting to lay more eggs. All you do is beat up a dozen or so eggs, mix in some honey to taste then whatever you want the custard to be flavoured with. So maybe a can of coconut cream or milk for coconut custard. Some mashed pumpkin & spices for pumpkin pie custard. Cultured cream & vanilla for vanilla custard. You can have this with fruit or on its own. Or with more cream.

Fritata is good for lunch. Which is just eggs & veges really. There are recipes all over the place for different versions. I tend to make it with whatever I have in the garden or is in season. Pan fried potatoes or oven wedges with maori potatoes & lard/tallow are always good in the winter. As are soups made with broth for lunch.

I have noticed with my kids that if I take them physically out to the vege garden when they are hungry they will eat far more salad than if I put it in front of them. They do still eat it then but they will often enjoy it on the hoof far more.

[Serephina]

the problem is that so many vegetarians become grain obsessed.... :(

I agree, in fact some vegetarians would probably be most accurately described as carbotarians. Too much carb and not enough protein and fat.

[Nirvana]

Serephina, what should be an ideal diet for a vegetarian in your opinion? Please be as specific as you can. We have always used lots of grains but I wish we had included more variety.

[Serephina]

Nirvana I don't subscribe to a one-size-fits-all "ideal" diet for everyone so that's a difficult question to answer! My body doesn't like grains at all and is happiest when I avoid them entirely, but I certainly don't suggest everyone does that. You have to figure out what works for you.

An interesting exercise if you are concerned about the amount of variety in your diet is to write a list of the foods that you eat over a couple of days, then count up the different foods. You'll soon see the types of foods that predominate and it will give you a starting point for increasing the variety.

[Nirvana]

No grains at all? Wow! I don't think I can function very well without them. You are right...to each his own.

Thanks for that exercise tip. Will jot down a list and work my way through it.

[Seaweed]

We are alot better off without grains too. The kids are far calmer overall & I feel alot more with it. I feel like I am very tired & I err towards binge eating if I have grains.

[Wonder-Full]

Yep, we're a lot better without grains too (I've introduced the occasional one now though). I find we eat "less" food than when we were eating grains - guess the fats, proteins and fibre make up for it.

Seaweed, do you have a Paleo cookbook that you use or just look on the net? They don't do dairy though eh? I think having done the GAPS diet we've found a really nice balance with the odd grain for main meals only and certainly not the "bulk" of the meal. I'm now working on bringing in more vegetarian meals and trying to cut the meat back down which was one thing I really didn't like about the GAPS diet (although I kept our portion sizes small, I found I was needing to cook with meat most nights).

[Seaweed]

I'd love a good paleo cookbook. Maybe I should write one one day. I just look on the net & also look out for recipes which are naturally paleo. I do find alot of the paleo recipes on the net are very orientated to foreign foods like coconut. Yes it is no dairy. I probably shouldn't do dairy either. I cook vege meals but with tallow & broth. Instead of vege oil & vege stock. I also cook alot of things like bacon bones which are minimal meat.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

No grains at all? Wow! I don't think I can function very well without them. You are right...to each his own.

Thanks for that exercise tip. Will jot down a list and work my way through it.

I used to think that too. Then I did a tot up of what my ancestors used to eat and realised that using grains was essentially "buying into" convenience foods. :giggle:

Seraphina, you're right... and in our neck of the woods, the most commonly seen habit would be pastatarians....

[Wonder-Full]

What really appeals about the GAPS/paleo type diets is that it's been a challenge of mine to eat "local" (as in NZ, not necessarily the 100mile diet) for the past year but it was difficult to get away from the GF grains and products. Now that I've done it, I love that we can survive on what we can grow and produce here in NZ.

I've been including a lot of wild weeds from around my garden into my cooking lately since my vege box delivery has not had any leafy greens in recent weeks.

[Seaweed]

I've been including a lot of wild weeds from around my garden into my cooking lately since my vege box delivery has not had any leafy greens in recent weeks

I really like chickweed. I make chickweed pesto & put it in salads & soups. I put puha in my bacon bones & soups & put native spinach in fritatas etc. MT my ancestors would very definitely have been wheat free if not close to grain free. I'm not really sure how far back you need to trace nutritional ancestry but we were primarily sea coast fishing people.

[Wonder-Full]

Yes chickweed! I love that I have loads of it in my garden (it seems to grow in abundance where I have previously harvested) without any effort! I was reading a friends blog the other day and she posted a chickweed pesto recipe that I am keen to try. I also chop it into all sorts of dishes - frittata, mincey things, vege mash etc. My kids were playing "survival in the bush" this morning and DD was in charge of collecting food and went off and gathered handfuls of chickweed lol.

Oxalis/wood sorrel/sheep sorrel are tasty little additions (in small amounts due to the oxalic acid) too that we like to have a wee chew and spit on when out and about.

[Seaweed]

Miner's lettuce is not really a weed per se but once you have it, it always comes back & it grows steadily all thru the winter. It is very useful for winter salads & is one of our salad staples at this time. My kids love it too & will eat truck loads of it.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Why don't you post a recipe for chickweed pesto?

[Seaweed]

Quantities mystify me too :giggle:I just throw chickweed ( or whatever leafy green ) in a blender with some garlic, some nuts or seeds & enuf olive oil to make pesto. I guess you could use an avocado or so instead of the oil? I haven't experimented with it yet. In terms of nuts or seeds, traditionally pine nuts are used in pesto but you can use macadamias as they are grown here. I can sometimes get locally grown pine nuts from central otago at the farmer's market. Walnuts too but they have quite a strong flavour. Walnut & rocket pesto is quite nice with baked potatoes. I also get very yummy locally grown hazelnuts. They are already roasted & taste so nice I have never gotten around to pestoing them. One day maybe.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

can you add that post to the thread on pesto?

[Seaweed]

OK I will be very non-technical & literally just cut & paste the whole thing to a new repy to that thread. I don't think I can just move one post can I?

[Seaweed]

I just discovered these
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/07/delicious-honey-nut-bars-dairy-sugar-gluten-and-grain-free.html

Her stuff always looks beautiful. Often it uses very expensive american ingredients which we dont get easily here like agave syrup. However, these are adaptable to whatever you have in the cupboard. I used walnut flour instead of the ground nuts & added chopped brazil & almonds. You could easily use butter instead of coconut oil. Very yummy!