TIFFIN TROUBLES

Do you pack healthy tiffin only to have it come back uneaten? Most children have an inclination to consume foods that they enjoy the most and turn up their noses at those they deem unsavory. You may not be able to convince your 7 years old child that carrot is tastier than chocolate, but with a few spins, you can make healthy food interesting and appealing for children.

Thinking of exciting tiffin snacks can be quite challenging to most of you. You have to dismiss the monotony of bland snacks for tiffin by stripping up some interesting recipes. It’s a challenge for a mother to not only make the tiffin interesting but also nutritious and wholesome. But a bit of thought process and a professional help can surely help your child to lick his fingers. As a nutritionist I would suggest mothers to keep certain points in mind while designing a tiffin menu:

1. To ensure your child takes up a good height make sure to add good sources of proteins like eggs, paneer, soya products, small amounts of cheese and beans.
2. School going children tend to fall sick often which can weaken their immune system. Power foods like sweet potato, broccoli, mushrooms, oranges, amla, curds and yoghurt can benefit the child.
3. Foods rich in vitamin A like carrot, pumpkin, eggs and beetroot if included in tiffin can act as excellent vision booster.
4. Also nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts, walnuts and raisins are wholesome foods.

The challenge is how to use all these foods in tiffin. Here are some easy combinations which will make your child’s food wholesome and nutritious. This is what I do for my two daughters:

1. Paneer cutlets: Paneer + carrot + 1 tsp almond powder + potato, mix and make cutlet and shallow fry.
2. Cheese kathi roll: Knead atta with 1tsp of peanut powder + 1 tsp of beetroot + egg instead of water. Make chapati of this and spread some tomato sauce and sprinkle cheese on it and roll it.
3. Crunchy lollipop: Nutrela nuggets + wheat bread + seasoning + egg method:
   Soak nutrela nuggets, squeeze out water, churn in a mixer with all things except egg. Make into cutlets and insert an ice cream stick [can do this pre-preparation a day before]. Apply egg on lollipop and shallow fry.

These delicious ideas will boost your child’s appetite while they get right nutrients.