Kids And Nutrition Healthy Eating Habits
12-18 months
Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
Cooking Time: 10 Minutes
Makes: 1 Child Portion
Cheese and ham pit-zas
Pitas make a nice crisp base for pizzas-or pit-was! Try my tomato sauce on page 183 or use a good-quality store-bought sauce. If you only have large pitas, then warm and split one as described in the recipe, and just use one-half. Another good pizza base is a split toasted English muffin. For a vegetarian version, omit the ham.
1 small, round pita bread (about 3in diameter)
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1⁄4 cup shredded mozzarella or Cheddar cheese
½ thin slice of ham, cut into thin strips
1 tsp sliced black olives (optional)
2–3 fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Warm the pita bread in a microwave for about 10 seconds, then carefully split in half to give two thin rounds. Place the pita halves on a baking sheet, crumb side up. Spread tomato sauce over the rounds and scatter on the cheese, ham, and olives, if using.
3. Bake until the cheese has melted and the pita is crisp 9-10 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting each pit-za into four. Scatter a little-torn basil on top to garnish, if desired.
Variations: Toast the pita halves under the broiler, then add the toppings and continue cooking under the broiler until the cheese melts.
For hungry toddlers or older children, use the whole mini-pitas.
12-18 months
Packed lunch ideas
Lunchbox 1
• Cheese or ham sandwiches
• Carrot and cucumber sticks
• Pita bread fingers and hummus
• Fruit yogurt
• Apple slices and grapes
• Smoothie or 100% juice
Lunchbox 2
• Cheese slices cut into shapes plus strips of ham packed into containers
• Mini-rice cakes or unsalted crackers (lightly butter them first, if you like)
• Blueberries or quartered grapes • Oatmeal raisin cookie (or fruit yoghurt)
Lunchbox 3
• Tuna mini-sub-fill a split hot dog bun with 2–3 tbsp drained canned tuna, 2 tsp thick plain yoghurt, 1⁄2 tsp ketchup, 2–3 drops of lemon juice, and 1⁄4 tsp sweet chile sauce (optional)
• Carrot sticks
• Cottage cheese and pineapple container (or fruit yoghurt)
Lunchbox 4
• Cream cheese and fruit wrap-spread 1-2 tbsp cream cheese over a flour tortilla and scatter on small pieces of dried apricots or add a thin layer of good-quality fruit spread. Roll up and cut into 3-4 pieces.
• Cucumber sticks
• Mini-muffin (or fruit yoghurt)
Lunchbox 5
• Peanut butter on a mini-bagel
• Potato salad with chopped ham or chicken
• Apple slices
Lunchbox 6
• Cheese sandwich on whole-grain bread
• Melon and strawberry salad (cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces)
• Fruit yogurt
Lunchbox 7
• Pasta salad with chicken, lightly cooked broccoli, and corn, and a dressing made with 11⁄2 tbsp light olive oil and 1⁄2 tbsp each of honey, soy sauce, and lemon juice
• Probiotic yoghurt drink
• Mini-pack of dried fruit
• Fruit and oat bar
If your child is in a day care facility that requires a packed lunch, or you’re out and about, it can be difficult to come up with ideas. Here are some great lunches that cover all the requirements for a balanced meal.
Flavours from around the world
Family meals offer a great opportunity to encourage your toddler to try new foods and to experiment with new tastes. Too many people assume that babies and toddlers want bland, tasteless meals, when, in fact, most of them love to try new flavours, and have sensitive palates right from the word go.
My toddler’s food seems a little bland. Do you have any ideas to help me spice it up?
The idea that you can’t add herbs and spices to a toddler’s food is long outdated. It’s absolutely fine to experiment with different flavours and textures, to make your toddler’s diet not only more exciting but to introduce her to a more varied diet.
Some little ones might find hot spices difficult to manage, but focusing on more fragrant options, such as coriander, lemongrass, thyme, cardamom, cinnamon, dill, and oregano, are all good options. Consider adding some fruit juice, such as lime, orange, apricot, or even grape, for flavor, or seasoning with a little ground black pepper, some wine (as long as it’s cooked at a high enough temperature to evaporate the alcohol), a little mild curry paste, coconut milk, sweet chile sauce, soy sauce, or garlic. Consider offering some unusual combinations, such as adding fruit to meat or vegetables to puddings; not only will you be bumping up her nutrient intake, but you will be adding flavour, texture, and fibre to old favourites.
The greater the range of flavours to which your toddler is introduced in the early years, the more expansive her palate will be.
How can I encourage my toddler to try new tastes?
The great thing about hungry toddlers is that they’ll normally eat what’s put in front of them. So when your little one is tired out from the time at the park, nursery school, or a play date, have a bowl ready, full of whatever healthy, new tastes you want your child to try.
Dining out
Eating out with your toddler can be fun, but it’s a good idea to make sure you arrive at the restaurant well before her usual dinner time and to avoid busy periods, which can result in delays. Bring along a selection of finger foods and some distractions, such as crayons, to keep her busy while she waits, and ask for her food to arrive as soon as it’s ready.
12-18 months
What are some good ways to introduce new spices and other tastes?
If your toddler is used to plain purées and bland meals, she may be a little more reluctant to try new tastes. Little ones also have an amazing ability to spot anything that looks different, such as a sprig of dill, or a sprinkling of chopped basil, and may pick out the offending items. At the outset, try using herbs and other spices to flavour food while cooking, and then strain them out before serving. Another option is to purée them into a sauce, so they are not immediately obvious. Once your toddler is accustomed to the taste, you can leave in increasingly larger bits of seasoning, until they are accepted. I find that pesto is popular with little ones; see the recipe opposite.
There are many ways to make meals flavorful, and encouraging an appreciation of different tastes will help your toddler to develop a healthy approach to food in general.
My toddler wants to eat the same food as the rest of the family. Which are family meals appropriate?
Good choices include pasta dishes, such as spaghetti bolognese, lasagna, and macaroni and cheese. Consider trying chicken satays with rice, tiny beef burgers, fish cakes with potato wedges, and a fish pie with a cheese sauce. Simply make sure that salt is kept to a minimum, and everything is cut small and cooked well for your toddler to manage without choking.
Are restaurant meals appropriate for my one-year-old?
Introducing your toddler to different tastes at restaurants is an excellent way to encourage both an appreciation of food and a wider diet. Every different culture uses unique herbs, spices, and other flavourings and, in reality, none of them is inappropriate for little ones. While we might balk at offering a toddler a spicy Indian meal, children around the world are brought up on the similar fare with no ill-effects. I would, however, avoid foods that have high levels of fat, sugar, or salt, are deep-fried or raw or contain MSG (an additive).
Did you know…?
That child love to try food from different cultures? Take your child out and let her try delicious stir-fries, grilled chicken satays with peanut sauce, mild curries, thin-crust vegetable-topped pizzas, spaghetti bolognese, lean chicken kebabs, grilled fish, and breaded fish balls. A word of warning, though: if your child suffers from food allergies, it is often difficult to avoid cross-contamination in some restaurants, so when in doubt, steer clear.
