THE PICKY EATER!
It has always been difficult to get kids to eat healthy and nutritious food. That’s a given. Somehow, children naturally gravitate towards chocolates, burgers, fries, and other delicious treats we otherwise call ‘comfort’ food. And once they’re defined what they like, they usually stick to them. They become picky eaters. And while meat tops their list of favourite food, they’re not exactly huge fans of vegetables, fruits and fish. Feed them what they don’t like, and the most you can make them do is take a bite or two. And this is when they take meals at home, under the watchful eye of Mom. But have you ever wondered what kinds of food they eat when you’re not around to observe them? For instance, what do they buy in canteen during recess time in school? What do they love to eat there? When you can’t see them, you can’t be in control, can you? Uh-oh…...
BUILDING HEALTHY EATING HABITS
Luckily for parents, information particularly on health and nutrition, are readily available these days through internet. Hit the ‘search’ key and you can find out all the nutritional information that you need on a certain type of food. You can even find out the cholesterol, carbohydrate and fat content of the dish that you’re planning to prepare.
With all the nutritional information at your fingertips, yes, you can feed your kids - even the pickiest and choosiest of them all,properly.
* Start them early.
If you want your kids to eat healthy food, start building healthy their eating habits early in life. If you want your kids to eat healthy, you should start feeding them healthy food, right at the beginning, introduce vegetables to their palate early - lettuce in sandwiches, tomatoes in pasta sauce, etc; so that when they get older, it won’t be difficult to make them eat vegetables.
* Be consistent.
It’s not enough that you introduce vegetables to your kids early in life. It is important to follow through and consistently serve vegetable dishes in their growing up years. Make each meal a balanced meal with rice, meat or seafood, and vegetables. On weekends, when there’s more time for the family to bond and enjoy your dining experience together, why not make start your meal with a salad or soup, then serve the viands with rice, and end your meal with a light and fruity dessert?
* Practice what you preach.
Be a good example to your kids. If you want them to be eating vegetables and fish on a regular basis, you’ve to enjoy eating them too. You cant convince them with mere words. They have to see you eating healthily so they can follow the example you set.
HEALTH IN A LUNCH BOX!
That, however, goes only as far as home-cooked meals are concerned. But what about the school meals that your kids have to take during school days? What can you do to make sure they’re eating real, healthy food and not just indulging in junk food readily available to them?
* Send them to school with healthy tapau everyday.
It’s important that you set aside time every morning to personally prepare your kids’ tapau. Draw up a weekly menu guide on what tapau you can send your kids to school. Take into consideration what they like and what you think will balance out the health factor and taste profile of such dishes. Make sure too, that you personally prepare their tapau, knowing that you prepared the tapau will motivate them more to eat it than if the maid prepared it.
* Try to incorporate healthy ingredients into their tapau.
If they like ham sandwich, for example, you can probably line the bread with lettuce and slices of tomatoes. If your kids like fried chicken, either bake it of fry it in healthy oil. If they like burgers, incorporate chopped tomatoes into them. For the bread, how about introducing whole meal bread instead of usual white bread.
* Make their tapau attractive.
Feed their eyes as well as their tummies. For them to truly enjoy their tapau, it has to be a feast for the senses. If your kids like burger, why not have them in star-shape? Package their tapau nicely, for example, you can wrap it nicely in greaseproof paper with design on the outer side, much like what fast-food restaurants use for their burgers.
* Add juices to their tapau.
Add a pack of fruit juice, too, to discourage them from buying soft-drinks from the canteen.
* Give words of encouragement or praise when your kids finish their tapau.
If they come home with an empty lunch box, encouraging words such as ‘I see you’ve finished your food. Very good. You’ve made me very happy’.
Sometimes, all it takes to make kids eat healthy and real food is a little encouragement. Make it available to them, put some personal touch into it, make it look attractive and encourage your kids to enjoy eating it and - VOILA! Whoever says it’s difficult to get picky eaters to eat healthy must be a bit wrong.
HOW TO CLEAN PIG'S TRIPE
1. Invert tripe (inside out) and rinse under running tap. Rub 3 spoons of tapioca flour all over, both inside and outside, rinse.
2. Rub 2 spoons salt all over on the inside and outside, rinse. Trim off fatty linings at the edge, rinse.
3. Heat tripe over low frame in oil-less wok until dry.
HEALTH TIPS
Diet & Digestive Problems
At some time in life, a lot of people suffers from digestive problems or duodenal ulcers. Fortunately, treatment can be effective. If you always have attacks of gastric, it is important to cut down the amount of acid in your stomach and eat frequent small meals rather than having one big meal. This way, the stomach is not allowed to become empty. In Eastern medical theory, sensible eating for digestive problems is strongly recommended. One should eat food that heal digestive problems instead of those which irritate them.
The person with a ‘cold stomach’ have symptoms like pain in the pit of the stomach or signs of diarrhea. Sufferers should consume warm food like spring onions, ginger, chives, garlic, pepper. For a person with ‘weak stomach’, eating red dates, ‘huai shan’, fox nuts, lotus seeds can help. But a person with ‘warm stomach’ should take cooling food such as pears, lotus root, sugar cane or honey. If there is a fullness sensation in the chest, take radish or tangerines or drinks brewed with tangerines’ skin. They can regulate the stagnation feeling. Not eating well may be the direct cause of many health problems as poor nutrition weakens the body’s ability to resist illness. Continued care is necessary to prevent the digestive problems from returning as eating right helps the sick get well.
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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