As a parent, our focus always remains that our kid should eat healthy food. On the contrary, kids are known to be picky eaters and making them eat something healthy is a difficult task at times. We constantly look for recipes that are healthy and will help in increasing our baby’s weight. We should not rely only on the child weight chart to decide if the baby is healthy or not. Skinny does not mean unhealthy and similarly chubby is not a definition of health.
For moms, the real challenge is to make healthy food choices look appealing. Below mentioned are few food items that are healthy and nutritious, using these we will prepare a few recipes which your little ones will gobble down in a minute.
Fruits
Vegetable
Dry Fruits (In moderation)
Pulses
Oats
Rice/Dalia
Ghee & butter (In moderation)
Khichdi:
This is considered to be one of the most nutritious and healthy first food for toddlers. It is easy to make and different vegetables can be easily incorporated. It helps in weight gain and it’s easy to digest as well.
Ingredients:
• Rice/Dalia (half cup),
• Moong Dal (half cup),
• Ghee (1tsp),
• Cumin Seeds (1/2 tsp)
• Vegetables: Carrot, tomato, spinach, bottle guard, potato (cut into small pieces)
• Spices: Salt, pepper, and Turmeric
• Water (1 cup)
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes
Recipe:
Pick, wash and soak rice and dal in little water. Put ghee or butter in a pressure cooker and heat it up, then put cumin seeds till it starts to splutter. If you wish you can add a pinch of asafoetida as well, it helps in digestion. Then put all the vegetables in a pressure cooker and sauté it for a while. Add all the spices like salt (as per taste), pepper (a pinch) and turmeric then let it simmer for a minute. Put rice and dal and 1 cup water. Give a couple of whistles and Voila! A perfect meal is ready for your baby.
P.S. You can adjust the consistency of this dish as per your choice.
Oats Pancakes:
Ingredients:
• Oats powder (half cup) ***roast half a cup of oats for a minute and then grind it to a powder ***
• Fruits: banana, blueberry, apple, grapes
• Dry fruits (Chopped and roasted)
• Honey (2 tsp)
• Rice powder (Half cup)
• Baking powder (A pinch or two)
• Milk (1.5 cup)
Cooking time: 10 to 15 minutes
Recipe:
Mix oats powder, rice powder, sugar, salt, baking powder in a bowl. Pour milk into it and give it a good stir. Put a pan on the stove and drizzle few drops of butter. Pour a ladle full of prepared batter and spread it evenly in circular motion. Cook it on medium flame from both sides and transfer in on a plate. Layer it with chopped fruits, dry fruits, and spoon full honey on top of it.
Your healthy and delicious dessert is ready and your kids will love it.
P.S: You can use chocolate syrup once in a while to change the taste. Put a dollop of peanut butter on top of a pancake, drizzle some chocolate syrup and serve it to your little ones.
One of the best ways to get your little ones to eat a healthy meal is to work on the presentation.