Healthy food need not be boring food, writes Karen Anand, gourmet and chef
Humans are a difficult lot. We do not like to be told
what to eat and when to eat it. This is because we do not eat prescriptively but by taste. Taste ultimately rules
everything. We hear of the great benefits of the Mediterranean and Chinese diets with their large intake of fruits,
vegetables and fibre and small amounts of dairy and processed (junk) food.
But do people in these countries eat their vegetables
and pasta, or steamed fish and rice, and proudly shout from
the rooftops about how much fibre they’ve consumed that
day? Hell no! They eat their fruit and noodles and stir-fries because they taste good and because that’s what they
have always eaten. Our traditional Indian diets have, on the whole, been pretty healthy, with a good amount of
vegetables and natural fibre. Prosperity has ruined everything, similar to the case of Europe in the 18th
century; we are now eating more refined sugar, oil (in the form of fried foods) and junk. Even the simple thali
has been transformed to include less fresh vegetables and fruit and more fried, refined cereal-based snacks,
spice and sweets.
If you are exercising for 2 hours a day or walking to
work, your body can probably cope with the excesses. Even a
fit person has to change her diet once she gets into a
sedentary mode of living, as is the case with pregnancy. You need to be aware of what you take in, and when. Just as important
as your diet is also your mental well-being. Most of the time, you can’t physically rush around anyway because of nausea.
And that is part of the role of nausea. If you are vomiting,
toxins are being thrown out of your body. Take sickness as a
sign. Eat small amounts of food every 2 hours. This way, it is
easy to balance your diet between things that are good for
you (fresh fruits, raw vegetables, vegetable juice, dry
fruits, sprouts, nuts, seeds, coconut milk-based dishes) and the
junk you might crave.
Bringing up healthy babies is another matter. Be calm
and be brave. Listen to your convictions and to common
sense. Breastfeed as much as you can and add solids at 6 months, beginning with mashed banana and then
graduating to steamed apple, mashed potato and cereals such as nachni.
I not only followed this but also prevented my boys from having any chocolate, sweets and soft drinks until it
was time to go to birthday parties. Then you have very little
control. People called me cruel. I am proud to say that I have
two big, healthy hunks now who go out and ask for nimboo pani
instead of cola, because they like it. A soft drink
here, a hamburger there surely can’t cause irreparable damage,
you might say. And you would be right. Anything in
moderation usually doesn’t. But with kids, junk tends to become a
habit that even adults enforce upon them. How often have you heard people say, “The kids
can have pizza while we
eat dinner”? Let’s not underestimate our children. We
owe them a healthy start to make their lives richer, more aware
and more vital than many of our own. And the first step is
to try and change our own eating habits. There is no point
depriving children of cola if they see you drinking it every evening.
Feeding children healthy food can be a frustrating experience. So what are concerned, even nutritionally
conscious parents to do? Firstly, don’t panic, because
you’re not alone. Picky eating habits; like many quirks of
childhood, usually don’t last long. Understanding the origins of
finicky behaviour may be helpful. It may be that children are simply not hungry at mealtimes. This usually gets ironed out
when you start cutting down their snacking. Or, they may
associate mealtimes with parental pressure. Insisting that Johnny cleans his plate or else he’ll have the same
thing for
dinner, almost invariably results in resistance. Food,
especially for a child, cannot be forced. Unfortunately, many of us have
to learn the hard way. Keep your perspective. It’s a lot
more important in the long run for your child to regard
mealtimes as potentially pleasant than to eat two more chapatis.
On the other hand, giving in too much to fussy children
by readily offering alternatives may avert an imminent
battle, but it won’t broaden their food acceptance. Perhaps the
best route for parents is to provide a wide variety of wholesome foods and to encourage, but not force, your children to
try them. Just because your daughter says she doesn’t like
peas today doesn’t mean she won’t like them next week,
next month or next year, or in some other dish. I found our
little boy lapping up leftover spinach (yes spinach!) soup one
day. It may have been that he was genuinely hungry, or maybe
the soft leaves appealed to him more than a mashed-up
vegetable. I was so overjoyed that I didn’t really bother to stop
and analyse. Parents of fussy kids — and let’s face it,
most of them are fussy, at one time or another — have to learn
to develop patience, fortitude and creativity.
Bringing children up is hard enough. Feeding them has to be worse. Should you let them be? Should you force them
to eat what we eat? How do we, without endless guilt pangs, ensure that they get a ‘balanced diet’? Rational
verbal persuasion usually gets you nowhere with little
monsters. They sit there, listen and then do just the opposite. Sounds familiar? Why not take advantage of a child’s natural
curiosity by focusing it on food? Many parents I’ve met have
learnt that even the most reluctant eater will eat something
prepared by himself — a clear case of pride. Even if they peel
their own cucumber or half attempt to roll a roti,
it’s their own achievement. There is nothing quite like watching your formerly disdainful vegetable pusher proudly announce,
“I made the salad today”.
Even the most reluctant eater may eat something prepared
by himself
Although it may seem like a lot of trouble to have your
kids participate in this way, it does seem to work. You may even want to go one step further and let your child suggest
or even plan a couple of meals each week. This may mean that you have to initially swallow a lot of pizza and macaroni,
but it’s worth it in the long run. They are much more likely to
then accept what you suggest. Conversely, young diners will
take in a wide variety of foods and flavours if that is the
norm in their homes.
Presentation influences children’s receptivity to
certain foods. Nicely cut (preferably raw) vegetables, lots of
fresh fruit, jellies made from fresh juice, animal-shaped
breads, dry fruits, nuts and pumpkin seeds made into an alternative TV munch to wafers, all make for good, clean, healthy
fun foods. For those foods that remain stubbornly on your
child’s “yucky” list, try sneaking them into popular dishes.
Add finely chopped vegetables to the tomato sauce in pizzas, or
blend a little bean curd or paneer into cheese
spreads. The more you cook for kids, the more you’ll come up with your own
little nutrient-packed “secret weapons”.
But the best ingredient of all may be your own sense of adventure, mixed with liberal doses of tolerance and
humour. No matter how guilt-ridden we may be, remember children are great imitators. They may not eat what you
do initially, but they will soon learn. I remember being
tapped on the back (for a change) by another mother outside my son’s school one day, with the words, “My son tells
me that you give yours brown bread sandwiches and he eats them. You’re so
lucky!”, I smiled but didn’t tell her
that he had no choice. If your children see you tucking into unhealthy, soft
white bread all day long, why should he or she be
expected to eat brown? However if they see you enthusiastically preparing and eating everyday meals, and enjoying the
experience, rather than rushing through the whole thing
like a dreaded chore, don’t be surprised to find future
healthy gourmets in your midst.
