Many children have the bad habit of being picky eaters, disliking vegetables and only eating meat. Some children are unaccustomed to certain flavors in vegetables, while others find some vegetables have coarser fibers that are difficult to chew. However, without eating vegetables, children are prone to nutritional imbalances, constipation, obesity, vitamin deficiencies, and other issues, which can affect their normal growth and development. So, how can you get children to eat vegetables willingly? Nutritional guarantee for intestinal cleansing
Vegetables are an important source of nutrition for the human body. Vegetables contain vitamins A, B, C, carotene, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, selenium, and abundant dietary fiber. The above nutrients are particularly important for the growth and development of infants and young children. Green leafy vegetables contain large amounts of vitamin C, which can prevent scurvy. Vitamin A can protect vision and maintain the normal metabolism of respiratory tract epithelial cells, reducing respiratory infections. Calcium is the main substance for bone and tooth development. Iron can promote the synthesis of hemoglobin and stimulate the development of red blood cells.
The human gut contains hundreds of millions of microorganisms, which ferment food residues to produce harmful substances. Vegetables rich in dietary fiber act as the body's "clean-up crew," keeping children's bowel movements regular, quickly expelling harmful substances from the body, and stimulating gastric juice secretion to increase the contact area between food and digestive juices, aiding in human digestion and absorption. Getting to know the two major camps of vegetables
Did you know that vegetables can also be divided into "two major camps" by color, and their nutritional components are different? Therefore, when planning meals for children, both types of vegetables should be included to ensure a balanced intake of nutrients.
Dark green and orange-yellow vegetables: Spinach, amaranth, rapeseed, bok choy, mustard greens, water spinach, etc., also including green cauliflower, carrots, pumpkins, etc. These vegetables are rich in carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B2, and various minerals, which are important nutrients for children's growth and development.
Light-colored vegetables: Chinese cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, onion, eggplant, loofah, potatoes, etc. They are rich in vitamin C and bioactive substances, which are beneficial for improving immune function, but they have lower levels of carotene and minerals.
Use your creativity to come up with clever ideas
Preventing children from becoming picky eaters should start from infancy. Although infants over 3 months old begin to secrete digestive juices, they have no teeth or their teeth are not fully developed, and their gastrointestinal digestive functions are also not fully mature. Therefore, vegetables must be consumed in the form of vegetable juice or puree to avoid indigestion and diarrhea.
The specific method is to wash and chop the vegetables, then put them in a bowl of boiling water, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes. After cooling, strain them and press the vegetables through the strainer with a small spoon to make a puree. A little salt can be added to the puree for the baby to eat, or it can be mixed into congee or rice cereal. For older babies, you can change the cooking methods, such as chopping celery, chives, and onions and mixing them into pork puree to make dumplings or buns; or you can chop carrots and Chinese cabbage and mix them with meat puree to make meatballs, which are then cooked in chicken broth. For children who don't like stir-fries or stews, you can give them some raw vegetables, such as cold cucumber salad or vegetable salad.