Picky Eaters
The thought
of placing a bowl of brown lentil soup in front of a picky eater, adults or
children, can bring images that lead to disaster, or them never wanting to
visit you again! For some, transition to a healthier diet can feel daunting and
overwhelming. For others it can be an exciting time with tremendous
breakthrough. Today we will be focusing on those who need a little more
nudging.
· First of all, you have to realise that
you have to make the effort and stick with it. You need to realise that your
taste buds need to be retrained, even if it (and your family..) throw a
tantrum. It can be done!
· Presentation is key. Place a healthy
breakfast in front of a picky eater, and they will most likely say “no thank
you”, and wait for something more appealing (usually with sugar). By serving
the same breakfast in a beautiful glass, it will instantly add more stars to
your meal.
· Tweaking existing meals. Adding extra
vegetables to your dishes can add extra nutrition into your family’s meals.
Taking a star favourite like “mac and cheese” you can add pureed butternut to
your sauce, and then adding less milk, flour and cheese.
· Instead of having mince on rice, serve
mince on vegetable mash. Mash together potatoes, carrots and butternut, and add
a bit of salt or natural seasoning.
· If they don’t like beans and legumes,
then slowly start adding beans or cooked lentils to mince or soup (instead of
brown lentil soup!). When preparing butternut soup, try adding some red
lentils. It will keep them fuller for longer instead of filling up with more
bread.
· If white bread is your staple food,
then have a decent sandwich for lunch for now. You will slowly learn to move
over to a healthier bread. You need to fill it up with salad ingredients. Add
some hummus, avo, chickpeas and hummus. It will nourish your family and fill
them up while still having bread in the picture. How about adding some leftover
roasted vegetables to your sandwich? You can replace your white bread with a
wrap here and there. Have a little mayo or healthy salad dressing with it.
· Start your day with oatmeal, even if
it means getting up a little earlier. Add some cinnamon, raw honey, dates,
sliced banana or peanut butter. It makes it a little bit more interesting.
· If you want pizza, then make it a
family effort. If you eat pizza every week, then make your own over the
weekend. Make it from scratch and load it up with vegetables. I’m not talking
about the once a month take away!
· If you feel like cakes or biscuits,
then make the effort of baking it yourself. Get the kids involved, and everyone
will appreciate it much more.
· If it’s instant, then it’s out! (As
far as possible…)
· Don’t bring sugar laden flavoured
yoghurts into your home. Not for breakfast, and not as a treat. It wrecks havoc
on your sugar levels, leaving you tired and miserable. Change to pasture fed,
live culture plain yoghurt. We buy Verlorenkloof yoghurt every once in a while.
Serve it with different toppings like chopped up fruit, berries, nuts, seeds,
raw honey, cinnamon, dates or raw oat. Sunflower seeds are more affordable than
nuts and are very nutritious.
· Remove the packets of chips and save
it for a braai or special occasion. Most chips are packed with MSG, colourants
and heated oils. These are addictive and hormone disruptive. Replace chips with
home made popcorn and lightly salted peanuts and raisins during the week.
· Have fruit everyday! Sliced apples
with peanut butter and cinnamon are great for a snack.
· Have carrot sticks ready to crunch on
while everyone is waiting for dinner to be ready. Don’t be tempted by bread and
chips. Remember, you had bread for lunch.
· Stay away from drinking yoghurts and
milky drinks. These are loaded with sugar and colourants. Make your own
smoothie combinations or flavoured milks.
*Milk, banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder and water.
*Bananas, berries, almonds, plant-based milk and water.
· How about making your own potato
wedges and serving it with a home made tomato sauce or avo dip?
· Teach your family how to make “oats
and banana flapjacks” (see my previous blog). You can make a batch and store
them in the fridge for snacks. Serve with nut butter for a nutritious and
filling snack. Add some dark chocolate chips for special occasions…
· If you have sweets everyday, how
about installing a rule; no sweets before 1pm. This will teach self control,
which is a big step forward. When eating foods that contain sugar, a vicious
cycle errupts.
*Sugar High:
Everyone is happy, bouncy and loving.
*Sugar Low:
Meltdown, tantrums, exhaustion, fatigue, paleness set in.
*Unstability:
Irritability, hunger, unstable, irrational emotions and behaviour set in.
The last
stage is where you will crave more sugar and not proper, nutritious food. You
will find that the person will say “no” to meals, and wait until something
sweet comes along. And say “yes” to sweets!
Maybe have
an oats, banana and dark chocolate cookie on hand in case of emergencies! (See
recipe below)
So instead of serving your family and friends brown lentil soup, focus on them getting to eat nourishing, appealing yet familiar foods again. Which steps will you be implementing first?
Recipes:
Oats
cookies:
2 Large ripe
bananas mashed
1 and a half
cups raw oats
1 Third cup raisins | dates or dark
chocolate
-Mix well
-Scoop 2 Tbsp per cookie, roll in a ball and flatten, and shape.
-Place on parchment paper. Bake for 12 min, 180 Celsius.
*For a crunchier cookie, spray baking tray and leave out parchment paper.
*Add cinnamon (optional)
Breakfast
pots:
Layer raw oats, chopped, fruit or berries with pasture fed, live culture plain yoghurt.
Options:
· Add chia seeds to yoghurt night
before.
· Make your own soya yoghurt.
· Or add chia seeds to kefir yoghurt.
· Serve in beautiful glasses.
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