| I have friends who fondly call spinach inedible goop. So don't be surprised if your kids show distaste for all things green, especially when served raw or boiled. Children discriminate against anything that looks remotely healthy, as though they have inbuilt sensors for such detection. Since green vegetables are such nutritional powerhouses (excellent source of Vitamin K, C, E, B, Beta carotene, Iron, Calcium, Potassium) we need to find ways to get our kids to eat them.
Here are tips to make your kid eat up the greens.
Start early. Six-month-old babies have neutral taste buds which is why we recommend that you don't add salt or sugar to early foods. Mash/puree spinach and such mild greens, adding to khichdi/dal right from when your baby is on solids. They will develop a taste for it. Greens make an excellent soup combined with pureed dal.
Make it interesting. Use pureed freshly blanched greens to add colour to the plate, such as green idlis, green parathas, green dosas and even to pizza dough. Anything that looks different from the same old boring dish will perk their interest.
Use a variety of greens. Don't throw away radish tops, cauliflower greens, carrot greens, fennel tops, etc. Combine these finely chopped and sauteed, in dishes your child loves such as pasta or noodles or pav bhaji. You can also use boiled, blanched and drained spinach in dips with cheese or hung yogurt and give a few sticks of carrot or cucumber for your toddler to dip in. She will make a mess but she will also eat most of it.
Grow some greens with your kids. If your kid is over 2 years old, you can enlist his help in planting common household seeds like coriander, methi, mustard seeds in different pots using good quality organic soil. Every couple of days you can follow up on their progress. Your child will be excited to see them grow from seed to shoot and then to full-fledged leaves, which you can use in cooking something for them.
Safety Precautions
Greens should be washed thoroughly to remove any sand or worms as they grow very close to the soil. Fill a sink with clean water. Wash the leaves by gently swishing them in the water so all the sand goes to the bottom. Repeat at least thrice. Use very little water while boiling greens with a pinch of salt and sugar to retain their colour. inbox@dnaindia.net |
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