HAPPY HEALTHY EATING FOR KIDS

If you have a baby and a toddler, you might be finding it difficult to find meal ideas that suit everyone.

Today's post is by Sheena from Laptops and Naptimes who has been recording some of the meals that they've been eating.

Family Meals Are Best

I have a toddler and a baby and I like them to eat the same as everyone else in the family - as far as possible.

This means that I have a few rules such as no salt in cooking to make sure the food is appropriate for small children.

My baby daughter is now eight months old and loves her food. Everything goes in (and around) her mouth and it’s a lovely time to be feeding her.

My toddler son used to be just the same but now he’s nearly three and has learnt the word “no!”

Sometimes he eats his dinner and sometimes he doesn’t. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern.

The same meal he loved last week could go uneaten today.

Dr Orlena's Tip. It can be difficult to watch a child not eating their food but I totally recommend it if they don't w...

One of my favourite easy dinner options is to use a slow cooker. A slow cooker is an absolute life saver when you have a busy evening and you know you won’t have time to cook. You prep ahead and dinner is ready when you step in the door.

Here's how I use my healthy and easy slow cooker dinner to make sure that everyone in my large family (including the picky eaters) has something that they can eat!

Related: Healthy and Easy Dinner Idea with Crepes

Healthy Dinner Idea 1

This slow cooker dhal is amazingly delicious. The only chopping is an onion, some garlic and ginger. I managed to put it on whilst my twins were finishing their breakfast. They aren’t very quick in the morning!

Of course, not all my kids like dhal. In fact, the precise words that Dante used were,

“I hate dhal!”

I was tempted to tell him that I hated carbonara every single night but went with,

“Last night we had trout and that’s your favourite."

Lentil Dhal is Full of Plant Protein

The dhal is full of ...

Today, we are going to talk about how to deal with challenging behaviour from your toddler or preschooler at meal times.

How to Deal With Challenging Behaviour at Meal Times Video

Transcript of Video

We can divide challenging behavior up into two separate areas. Firstly, we have behavior that is surrounding food and children’s likes and dislikes of food.

Today, we are going to talk about all that challenging behaviour that is not related to food. I spend all the other videos talking about the food, so this time we’re just talking about behaviour.

Toddler’s Behavior During Meal Times

If we’re looking at that behaviour at meals which is not related to food, we can see two big reasons for that behaviour.

Feeding Toddler Cheat Sheet and Food Diary

If you are struggling to feed your toddler, then please feel free to sign up for the "Feeding Toddler Cheat Sheet".

Challenging Mealtime Behaviour Number 1: Anxiety

The first one is anxiety. We really underestimate anxiety in childr...

We all want our kids to eat a healthy, varied diet without standing over them, prodding them every 5 minutes nagging them to eat vegetables.

We need to teach them healthy eating habits so that they learn to enjoy healthy foods and carry on healthy habits into adult hood (when we won't be there to stand over them and prod them!)

How to Help Your Kids Learn Healthy Eating Habits Video

Feeding Toddler Cheat Sheet (mentioned in video)

You can sign up here for the Cheat Sheet.

What is Healthy Eating?

The different aspects of healthy eating can be divided up into different areas.

1. What we eat.
2. Portion Sizes.
3. Proportions.
4. How we eat.

Firstly, we need to think about what you eat. That includes the portion sizes and the proportions.

Related: How to Get Your Toddler To Eat More Vegetables

What do I Mean by Proportions?

Do we eat all carbohydrates or do we eat a bit of carbohydrate, a bit of protein, and lots of fruit and vegetables?

Do we eat lots of treats or a little bit ...

To sign up go here.

Constipation in toddlers and older children is common. Sometimes kids need medication for constipation but often natural ways and natural stool softeners help constipation in toddlers.

In this 10 minute video I explain what constipation is, why it occurs and what you can do about the most common cause of constipation in children.

Video About Constipation in Kids

If you prefer to read than watch videos, I've written down the main points. 

What is Constipation? 

Constipation is when we don’t go to the toilet to do a poo as often as we should do. 

There’s no exact definition of constipation, but you want your child's poo to be soft and squishy, a bit like that soft fluffy ice cream – what we in the UK would call "Mr. Whippy Ice Cream".

You want the poo to be nice and soft and easy to pass.

You want your child to be going to the toilet at least once a day.

RELATED: How to Teach Your Child to Wipe their Bottom.

What Causes Constipation in Children?

The vast majority of consti...

Hands up who has a child who prefers eating snacks to regular meals? Kids often prefer to graze on unhealthy snack options, leaving them full up and not interested in the healthy dinner that you've spent ages preparing.

Kids snacking through out the day is a problem that we can all relate to.

In this 10 minute video, Dr. Orlena Kerek explains why many kids prefer to eat snacks and what we can do about it.

Healthy Eating Snack Guide

You can sign up for your Snack Guide here.

Why Do Kids Prefer Snacks To Regular Meals?

I think when we think about this problem, there are two main aspects that are really worth delving into a little bit more.

What Exactly is a "Snack"?

The first is, what do we mean by “snack”?

When we talk about snacks, we are often talking about biscuits, cookies, and cakes.

What we’re really saying is, children prefer sweet and sugary things to vegetables.

Related: How to Stop Kids Nagging for Snacks

Problem 1: Most Children Prefer Sugary Treats to Vegetab...

If you have a fussy eater you'll understand the total agony of introducing new foods. It's as if you've asked them to eat slugs on toast. (I wonder what would happen if I actually did!)

Sadly there isn't a magic cure that will turn your picky eater into an adventurous eater over night.

However, the way we behave as parents can either help our fussy eaters to become more open to trying new foods in the long run or keep them firmly in the "stop trying to poison me camp!"

What Normally Happens When I Present New Foods to My Kids

I am sure that you have tried to introduce new food to your kids and it has gone a little bit like this:

Me: “Ooh! Why don’t you try this yummy new thing?”

Fussy eater: “Ugh! I don’t like it! I don’t want to try it!”

Me: “Well, why don’t you try just a tiny little bite?

Fussy eater: “No!

It’s almost like they put their feet together and go: “No! No! No!”

And then you may have tried something like: “Well, in that case, you can’t have any dessert if you ...

Our new favourite healthy and easy dinner idea is the simple french crepe (aka pancake.) Crepes are amazing as they are so versatile so they’re fantastic for large families with picky eaters.

Take Something Your Kids Love and Make it Healthy

It all started on a camping trip to France when my kids discovered the joys of sweet, not hugely healthy chocolate crepes.

Who doesn’t love a sticky gooey crepe? Not that there’s any claiming a mountain of chocolate sauce is anywhere near healthy.

Plus buying them in a cafe for 6 of us wasn’t cheap.

So when we got home I bought a crepe plate.

The kids absolutely loved it. It’s been one of the best kitchen buys I’ve ever made. (That and my faithful Magimix.)

Related: Easy Ways to Make Breakfast Healthy

I Gradually Made the Crepes More Healthy

We started with a few experimental crepes, the first ones were a bit of a disaster. And yes, we started off with chocolate ones. I wanted the kids to make sure they still loved them!

Then I started ...

Getting your toddler to eat more (or even any) vegetables is a common problem, particularly if your toddler is a fussy or picky eater.

In this 10 minute video, Dr Orlena Kerek explains how to help your toddlers eat more vegetables without pressuring them and whilst teaching them healthy eating habits.

For those of you who prefer to read than watch, here's a transcription of the video. 

It is Normal for Toddlers and PreSchoolers Not to Like Vegetables

As frustrating as it is, the truth is that most young children don’t like the woody and sometimes bitter texture of vegetables.

They normally prefer the sweet and less challenging textures and flavours of carbohydrates, protein and fruit.

Hands up who has a “carb junkie” in the house who just eats bread and pasta?

Related: How to Cook Veggies Your Kids will Love

Healthy Eating for Kids is a Long Term Goal

Teaching your child to love healthy foods and willingly choose healthy options is the long term goal. Healthy eating is somet...