Every parent wants to provide a healthy, nutritious, delicious diet for their child. There are easy ways to add vitamins, minerals and fiber to a child’s diet with tasty foods that they will love to eat.
Chopped Zucchini
Zucchini provides a variety of nutrients such as vitamin B and C in addition to iron and calcium. However, children often avoid this vegetable due to its texture. To sneak this into a child’s diet, you can chop zucchini up in small pieces to add to store-bought spaghetti sauce.
Ground Flaxseed
Adding fiber to your child’s diet is important for their digestive health. Ground flaxseed adds a crunchy texture to soups and salads along with magnesium, iron and calcium. The nutritious fatty acids in ground flaxseeds are fantastic for brain and skin health.
Raw Spinach
While children are usually disgusted by cooked spinach, the raw leaves make a delicious salad ingredient. It is also possible to use raw spinach leaves on sandwiches and hamburgers, instead of iceberg lettuce. Spinach contains vitamin A, C and B in addition to iron, magnesium and calcium.
Fruity Yogurt
If you are trying to find ways to strengthen your child’s teeth, then adding calcium rich foods to their meals is essential. Pure yogurt with fresh chopped fruit tastes great while providing nutrients such as vitamin C from strawberries along with calcium from the dairy product ingredients.
Fresh Blueberries
Getting antioxidants from dark colored fruit is a good way to remain healthy. Blueberries are easy to toss on top of bowls of oatmeal and plates of salad. Families can also add blueberries to baked goods such as homemade muffins, cobblers and pies. You can also buy dried blueberries and give them to your children as “fruit snacks.”
Sweet Potatoes
Brightly colored sweet potatoes are more nutritious than white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are interchangeable in many recipes that list white potatoes. This vegetable is easy to bake, boil and fry. Sweet potatoes add vitamins A, B and C along with the minerals calcium and iron to meals. You can slice and bake them to make sweet potato fries and chips.
Your children don’t have to grow up thinking that fruits and vegetables are necessary evils. Regularly presenting them with delicious and nutritious foods as special treats will help grow a strong desire for more healthy options.
Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max. Information credited to Saddleback Dental Centre Edmonton dental clinics.