What to do if your child is a fussy eater?

Scene :

Early morning, child ready for school on the table for breakfast and fussing over it. Mom hysterical as she’s getting late for work too and the kid might miss the school bus. Daily to go through this scene is an ordeal for moms.

I shall share a few tips which helped me.

Set an example:

My child isn’t a fussy eater as we all are foodies and she has always seen that all adults in the home enjoy the homemade healthy food. So first thing is to start eating healthy to develop this habit in your child too.

Do not feed semi-solid food:

Also, most mom’s have a habit of feeding smashed food to a one-year-old child as well. I recommend once the kid is over 9 months and starts having solid food, stop giving semi-solid food. The gums are strong enough, even if the child has fewer teeth. So for example, if the child is eating chapati, immerse it in cooked dal for 10 minutes and feed the child once it softens after a few minutes. Same to be done for rice.

Do not remove separate food for the child:

If you don’t eat too spicy food at home then make a habit to not remove separate food for the child without spices. Develop the taste in the child. If one always feeds blend vegetables and dal to the child, he will never develop the habit of eating the regular food.

Have One meal together as a family:

Most important at least one meal of the day together with the family. Never feed the child before the other members of the family. Let him join each one of them. This way the child learns table manners and develops liking for different cuisines.

Variety is the spice of life:

Try to find out what all the food a child likes to eat. If a child likes fruits, then make different types of smoothies. Don’t need to mention you just need to google for a recipe. And add honey instead of sugar. It makes it tasty and is very nutritious too.
If the child doesn’t eat vegetables but likes cucumber, carrots and tomatoes. Make salads.
I will not insist on any processed food, so complete no-no for cereals. Its loaded with sugar.
Instead of serving the child bread, any form white, brown or wheat , develop a habit in the child to eat parathas. Again very healthy. Most kids like cheese, it can be added to any kind of paratha to make it interesting.
Another good recipe is our very own halwa. It can made either from sooji or whole wheat atta. But i recommend halwa made from rajgira flour. It has a very high content of iron. Again very healthy and filling for the child. Small portion can also provide valuable nutrients.

Also if any food served with ketchup makes it tempting for the child. So lastly sharing the recipe of homemade tomato ketchup without any preservatives. This is my mother in law’s tried and tasted recipe which my husband and sister in law used to enjoy as kids.

Recipe of tomato ketchup:

Ingredients:

2 kgs tomatoes
2-3 gms ginger
10-12 pieces of garlic
4 to 6 dry red chilles or 1 tbsp of red chilli powder
1 tbsp salt
6 to 7 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar or cedar vinegar

Method:

1. Rinse the tomatoes.
2. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
3. Roughly chop garlic and ginger. Can avoid garlic and ginger if one doesn’t eat. But i recommend adding it as it helps build immunity.
4. Halve and de -seed the red chilles.
5. Take a pot or cooker add about 4 liters of water and add all tomatoes.
6. Add garlic, ginger, salt , vinegar and sugar. Mix well.
7. Put on medium flame, keep stirring occasionally.
8. Once the tomatoes soften, blend the mixture when warm.
9. Make a smooth puree.
10. Make sure there is no watery part remaining in the puree and is thick enough.
11. Strain the puree. Strain well.
12. Let it cool, then pour the ketchup in a sterilized jar.
13. Keep it refrigerated as no preservative has been added.
Hope this will help you all make the food interesting for your child and would try this mother’s recipe at home. Hopefully, your child will like it too.