importance of food

Dear Nishtha, the first step is to keep junk food out of the house. If there are chips, chocolates, ready to eat foods available at home, your son will be tempted to eat only those. Here is a link to a blog on healthy eating habits. You may find some suggestion herein: https://www.parentune.com/parent-blog/healthy-food-habits/168

This blog has some great suggestions too: https://www.parentune.com/parent-blog/right-nutrition-and-diet-for-your-child/341

Hi dear Nishtha! I agree with Anurima and would like to add not only we need to keep junk food out of their sight, we also need to satisfy their urge to have tasty, spicy, different from regular food. This can be done by providing them yummier looking, tasting and appealing food items which not look tempting to eat but also pleases their taste buds. Also we need to be role models for them and keep these junk food items reserve only while feasting on special occasions. We also need to reinforce the same message using interrnet, books etc where we can show them the illeffects of junk food in the long run on their health. We need to reinforce good habits such as excercising and having nutritious balanced diet. It is advisable to add variety, colour, novelty and flavours to their food along with healthy nutrients. We can make a diet chart and plan in advance how a 5 year old's daily nutrition requirement can be met by incorporating different ingredients. Hope this helps!

My son is 5 and like most kids loves junk food. I have tried all possible methods of persuading him to eat healthy. There is no junk food in the house. My son will remain hungry but simply refuses to eat vegetables, dal,paneer,chicken etc. I've tried soups,curd,shakes,dry fruits etc nothing works. Please suggest

Hi Nishtha and Shilpi, the change will not occur overnight. U can show the calories and the fat content in the junk food before he eats. U can ask him to take junk before 6 in the evening so that the calories get burnt up first, then once in a week and then once in a month. If he likes chips try to make it at home with potato or raw banana. U can introduce vegetables thru cutlets, stuffings in parathas, mixing it while making dough of roti or batter of dosas, inside fried or steamed momos, inside samosas, stuffings in sandwiches etc. U can mix kasoori methi in roti flour or dosa batter. U can make veg omlettes. If he likes sweet, make it at home like carrot kheer, carrot halwa etc. U can add dry fruits in them. Especially when the dish is ready for kids when they come from school they"ll love it. Also everyday if there is variety they will get the habit easily.

Hi Shilpi, u can clean the chicken and mix one teaspoon of turmeric powder well in it and keep aside for 10 min. Then wash the turmeric powder nicely. It will remove the fowl smell. Then marinate the chicken with lime juice, curd , ginger garlic paste, salt, and preferably fresh ground masala of ur choice and leave it for atleast 4 hours. The masalas and the salt will blend with chicken well . Then u can deep fry or make it as a semi dry. It will taste yum and ur son will ask for more. U also can tell ur son that after eating spinach Popeye gets power and try giving spinach. Slowly introduce a bowl of sundal, salad or half cup soup everyday along with the yummy dishes. Give the soup or salad less and make it compulsory, and give the yummy dish unlimited after that. This might help!

I will try the chicken recipe. Sounds good.