My teenager doesn't eat dry fruits at all. I feel at least almonds are a must for a student. What is the option?
I would advise don’t force them to eat dry fruits if they don’t feel like eating. Ideal way to eat almonds is soak them in water overnight and ask him/her to eat first thing in the morning with Almonds peeled off. The taste will be better that way. You can also get some food preparations(dishes) that have almonds as part of the food itself. Hope that helps.
What can be given to toddlers in their tiffin, which is easy to munch and nutritious at the same time for breakfast?
Best thing is to provide them with fruits in the snacks. Fruits are the best thing to have first thing in the morning before intake of any other solid foods. Provide some variety like poha, upma, idli etc for breakfast tiffin.
My 11 year old son needs a sweet in his plate with both his meals. Either a small piece of chocolate or an indian sweet. He eats healthy - like dal , paratha , rice , veggies and curd. How okay is it to have a sweet with the meal?
It is related to “high sugar Hunger”. It is ok to eat sweet, but not chocolate or readymade sweets. If possible, replace the chocolate with Jaggery or home made sweets using jaggery. That would be the best thing to give children in the meal sweets.
Is beetroot , amla and tomato a good combination to give as juice?
All these are healthy things. However, as long as kids are ok to eat salad of these things, avoid the juice. Dress the salad with some salt or jeera masala and decorate it before giving.
My daughters, who are 13 and 10 don't like normal food items (roti sabzi dal bhaat). They always want something new and fancy and create ruckus over it and makes my wife's life at times miserable. (Well they are sweet angels as well). Their school is day boarding and from breakfast to mid afternoon meals is provided by the school. Kindly help how to inculcate more healthy eating habits in them and get more contentment on our dining table.
This is a common question for most of the parents. I am glad you asked it. Here are some of the ideas and tactics that can be used:
-Make it Fun to eat – Decorate
-Act & focus on your vocabulary – Praise the Food
-Take your kids along with while purchasing the Fruits & vegetables
-Ask them to make a decision – Do you want first or second or both?
-Ask what would you prefer for dinner today? (other than junk food)
-Influence your behaviour – Lead by example (or ask Elder kid to inspire)
-Provide Points for finishing the healthy food – Exchange something they love with the points accumulated.
-Include your kids in the food preparation in the kitchen – And praise while eating – wow, it is so delicious that it is made by <Kid’sName> Take a photo and promote it to friends and Family for praising the activity performed.
Is the jaggery ,ghee and chapati rolled good for morning breakfast?
Yes it is fine. Only if the milk is not there along with these rolls. Milk and Jaggery are the opposite foods and must not be consumed together.
My sons are underweight and short. Which all good items I can introduce in their diet?
Height is something that can be generally defined by the DNA. However it is necessary to add the balanced diet necessary for their growth. Must include Fruits, Vegetables and good sources of Proteins.
Good evening sir, my son is 8 years old. He is a cricket freak and goes for rigorous coaching right after school. My questions are: 1. He likes sweets too much and demands it after every meal. How far is this correct? 2. Which type of food is a must for him considering his cricket?
It is ok to demand more sweet – This is specifically because his body needs more carbohydrates. As he is playing on a daily basis, he would automatically crave for more food. Avoid the ready made sweets and sugar based sweets, instead increase the jaggery and ghee combination instead. Foods with Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats balanced in the diet is must for all meals.
My son is deficient in iron. He is six years old but he is not eating dates and spinach. What can I do further ?
Spinach, Eggplant (Brinjal), Jaggery, Peanuts, beans are the good sources. If he doesn’t like spinach, try other sources please. Also, supplements of iron can be prescribed by his doctor and it is perfectly ok to consume that.
My son is 6 years old. He likes to play all the time on the ground or on cycle. Are fruit milkshakes good for him? And how much time should he take to finish the given juice?
Please always avoid mixing the milk and fruits. If it is milk, then only milk, fruits should be part of another meal/snack time and vice versa. Fruits should be preferred over the fruit juice as fiber is not lost and helps in good digestion.
My son is a big fan of drinking milk. I have managed to reduce it from two cups to one cup. He is six years old. But he still wants to drink milk first thing in the morning should I allow him? Because these days cow milk is discouraged. What to do?
One cup of milk is fine and more than enough. He might be deficient in calcium. Increase the calcium rich foods across all other meals and his milk craving will reduce automatically.
Which milk should be preferred for kids?
Go for A2 cow milk, if not then, just any desi cow milk.
Is it a fact or myth that soaked and peeled almonds have higher nutritious value than roasted ones.
Roasted one tastes better. Soaked and peeled almonds are best.
My sons, 13 years and 8 years old, leave for school at 6.30am daily.They have half a cup of horlicks with water. What else can I give them early in the morning?
I would recommend giving some fruits or solid food for breakfast. Fruit can be Apple, banana, Chikoo, or any seasonal fruits. Solid breakfasts can be Poha, Upma, Idli or any other breakfast items you or your kids prefer.
It is ok not to have anything early in the morning. You can send an apple, or banana or some whole fruit in the bag that will help them to eat it when they are hungry. In the morning generally we don’t feel hungry due to some hormones produced by the liver. Don’t force them to eat.
I have a confusion regarding a balanced diet everyday. Does it mean that kids must have proteins, vitamins, carbo antioxidants etc on a daily basis or should they have a single day fixed for one kind of food eg one day of protein food other day carbohydrate rich foods etc.
Please don’t worry about the contents of the food, ideally, general guidelines would be :
Increase Fruits intake and variety, Increase Vegetables intake and Variety, Increase local and seasonal fruits and vegetables with different colors. All of these above along with your regular normal conventional food preparations at home.
My 13 year old son doesn't want to have any green vegetables, pulses. What should I do?
This age is difficult to force them to eat something. Instead, inspire something by doing a few things yourself. Also, give them reasoning based on the facts about the positive effects of those healthy foods. And ultimately leave the decision to them.
-Make it Fun to eat- Decorate
-Act and focus on your vocabulary – Praise the Food
-Take your kids along with while purchasing the Fruits & vegetables
-Ask them to make a decision – Do you want first or second or both?
-Ask what would you prefer in dinner today? (other than junk food)
-Influence your behaviour – Lead by example (or ask Elder kid to inspire)
-Provide Points for finishing the healthy food – Exchange something they love with the points accumulated.
-Include your kids in the food preparation in the kitchen – And praise while eating – wow, it is so delicious that it is made by <Kid’sName> Take a photo and promote it to friends and Family for praising the activity performed.
Is it ok to give whey to kids as a source of protein?
I would not recommend it unless his doctor has asked for it for any specific reason. Instead include natural sources of the proteins like milk, lentils, legumes, variety of dals, Chana etc.
Can you please enlighten more on incompatible foods. For example milk and fruits, any other food items specifically that shouldn't be given at the same time?
Milk – Fruits – Jaggery – Onion- All these are opposite Foods (Viruddha Aahaar) and must be avoided in any preparations.
What are the vegetarian sources of proteins which can be included in daily diet?
Here are some protein Rich foods that you can include: Milk, Yogurt, Peanut butter, Tofu, Beans, lentils, legumes, Cheese, Quality vegetables, Nuts and seeds, Quinoa, oats.
I have observed that children these days are overfed under the garb of nutrition getting influenced by catchy advertisements leading to childhood obesity. My neighbour's 8 year old son weighs 68 kg. How to guide them regarding nutrition? Kindly advise.
Yes I agree. Obesity in children sometimes can be hereditary. However, it is very rare. I completely agree with you that children must not be overfed. Actually, children know when they are full and parents should understand and respect that whenever they say they don’t want to eat any further. Another reason is that children use more part of their lungs than adults and sometimes need little energy from Food.
I have a 2.5 year old daughter. What are the options of giving liquids to make it Healthy and tasty too?
Include steamed vegetable crush added with some salt would be ideal.
Are fruits and curd bad when kids are down with cold and cough. Or is it just a myth?
It is just a myth. As long as they are not taken from the Fridge, both of these can be served in the cold. In fact, Vitamin C from the fruits can help to recover from the cold faster. Avoid Bananas. Kindly avoid the curd and buttermilk after evening for kids or adults.
Which food is good for prevention of hair fall?
For hairfall there can be multiple reasons. If you want to get aid from diets, here are some of the things you can include: Green Peas, Oats, Walnuts, Nuts, Seeds, Broccoli, etc.
How can we incorporate intake of Vitamin B12 and D3 for teens as vegetarians?
B12 sources(for vegetarians): Milk, Un-filtered water (boiled and cooled down).
D3 sources: Eat calcium rich foods plus expose the skin for 10-15 minutes between 10 am to 3 pm during the day. This is ideal for Adults and Kids both.
Dipen Makati – Healthy food habits for your child
Dipen Makati – Healthy food habits for your child
Dipen Makati is a Certified Trainer, Life Coach and Nutritionist. He is certified in Food and Health from Stanford University. Dipen also has a Diploma in Nutrition from Fab academy, USA. Dipen has transformed his own health and now is on a mission to help 10 million people to transform their health and fitness.
He has delivered multiple seminars on this subject too. Dipen is a self-motivated, amazing transformational leader. After 12+ years of corporate experience, he is now helping individuals to achieve their personal goals by building the habit processes which he has learned from the world’s best international trainers, speakers, and coaches. Dipen is on a mission to help and transform the lives of 10 million individuals.