Jodie Black, Peterborough
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Jamie Oliver has done a great job in highlighting the inadequacy of
school meals. However, the subsequent media attention devoted to children’s
diets in general has left many parents worrying about what their children eat.
I am no exception, and at one stage became almost obsessed with my son, Nyall’s,
diet. I was writing down everything he ate and freaking out if he hadn’t eaten
a portion of pulses on a given day.
I soon realised that this was an unhealthy attitude to have and I am now
a lot more relaxed, but I still follow a few basic principles to ensure he eats
a balanced and varied diet. My efforts have been rewarded as Nyall, now 25
months, will happily eat a wide range of different foods (though like all
toddlers he has his moments) and I am often asked what my secret is.
I am not a nutritional expert, but I think that variety is important in
order to ensure that Nyall gets all the vitamins and minerals that he needs. I
cook a wide range of foods and am always on the lookout for new recipes and
ideas. It helps that I am a vegetarian and my fiancé, Chris, is a big meat
eater as it means that Nyall is exposed to a huge range of different meals. He
is just as happy eating lentil bolognese as he is tucking into roast pheasant
with all the trimmings and I hope that this is something that will continue as
he gets older.
I also plan my family’s meals carefully; before I go shopping I draw up
a meal plan for the week ahead, taking into consideration any commitments or
activities we have planned. Not only does this reduce our food shopping bill,
it also means that I am less likely to arrive home after a busy day with no
desire to cook a complicated meal and end up getting a takeaway pizza! ‘Busy
day meals’ in our house could be baked potatoes with tuna and sweetcorn and a
side salad or a supermarket bought pizza base loaded with mushrooms, mixed
peppers, tomatoes, pineapple, olives….
I accept that as a full time mum I have more time that some parents, but
many meals can be batch cooked and frozen. Chilli con carne, shepherd’s pie and
sausage casserole can all be cooked in advance, frozen and then defrosted as
needed, and all three go down well in my household, especially in the winter
months.
If you have a fussy eater, never underestimate the power of ‘hidden food’
to give their diet a secret boost! Homemade soup is a great way to get a
variety of vegetables into fussy little tummies, and with a bit of careful
blending they’ll have no idea that they’re happily wolfing down carrots,
onions, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes or whatever else you choose to add.
Finely grated carrot can be smuggled into almost anything including bolognese
sauce, baked beans and grated cheese sandwiches – trust me, they won’t even
know it’s there! Raisins and sultanas can be added to chocolate cornflake
cakes, fresh fruit can be added to jelly, and mashed banana or pureed apple can
easily be stirred into a bowl of Ready Brek. Potatoes and butternut squash
mashed together always go down well in our house and stewed fruit with natural
yoghurt is one of Nyall’s favourite snacks.
In order to ensure that Nyall’s meals are well balanced and that his
energy levels are consistent throughout the day, I try to stick to at least one
portion of protein (e.g. meat, quorn, cheese), one portion of carbohydrate
(e.g. bread, pasta, potatoes) and two portions of fruit/vegetables for lunch
and dinner. I apply the same principle to breakfast but aim to include at least
one portion of fruit and vegetables rather than two. This isn’t as complicated
or difficult to achieve as it sounds.
Breakfast could be porridge with dried apricot or scrambled egg on toast
followed by a banana. Lunch could be soft cheese and grape sandwiches followed
by a tangerine, or pasta with red pepper, peas and cheese, while dinner might
be sausages with mashed potato, carrots and broccoli or grilled chicken with rice
and stir fried vegetables.
In addition, Nyall has two snacks a day and, although I do allow him
cakes and biscuits, they are an occasional treat and he doesn’t eat them every
day. Instead, I try to steer him towards healthy snacks such as oatcakes topped
with peanut butter, bread sticks, raw carrot sticks and cucumber strips with
dips, dried/fresh fruit and natural yoghurt.
It may sound as though I am too strict with Nyall’s diet, but I am
careful not to ban certain foods or label some food as bad and other food as
good. I simply explain to Nyall that our bodies need lots of different types of
food and that some foods are more important than others.
I know there will come a time when Nyall is asking for takeaway junk
food, but I hope that by setting a good example at home, it will be easier to
limit such food to an occasional addition to an otherwise healthy, balanced
diet.
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