This post is sponsored by Hivita Vitamins
I feel a strong sense of responsibility when it comes to my kids to make sure they are eating good food amongst the other stuff.
Having had 3 kids now I do understand this is not always easy. Different kids like different things and making everyone happy all of the time seems impossible (unless it is nacho or burrito or taco night lol)
My eldest daughter strangely does not like pasta or rice. No matter what I do she just refuses to eat it. She will eat the mince/ veggie sauce from spaghetti bolognaise straight but if I mix it with some pasta she refuses. I decided when the kids were little that I did not want to make healthy food a battle ground and negative experience (although we do still have to put our foot down sometimes) but I wanted to encourage them to enjoy and understand about food and why it is important. This is easier said than done but we are getting there.
There are a few little hacks I have come up with to get more fruit and vegies into my kids which have worked a treat which I will share below …
1) Freshly squeezed juice. I know this can be a little bit of effort but my kids LOVE a fresh juice. The great thing about making your own fresh juice is you decide what is in there. I always put fresh carrot and lemon and sometimes celery into my kids juices which they don’t really notice when you add orange and apple or watermelon or pineapple. In the summertime I often turn our fresh juices into iceblocks and the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I find batching works really well so I make 2 – 3 litres of juice in one go and we are set for the week.
2) Grated vegies into meals. I don’t know what I would do without my trusty grater. Some vegies have very subtle flavours like zucchini and mushrooms. Where ever I can I finely grate vegies into meals to boost my kids daily intake. For me this includes spaghetti bolognaise, burrito and taco mince, pasta bakes and nachos. It is amazing what you can get in there with a bit of sauce and some fine grating.
3) Make it fun. This can also take some effort at times but if you are wanting your kids to at least attempt some new food you may have better success making it fun for the first time. Also offering it to them with a few other things does not make it seem so daunting. Below are a few ideas I have done in the past for fun for the kids.
4) Bowl of carrot, tomatoes, celery and cheese. Every afternoon at about 5:30pm just before dinner when the kids are complaining they are hungry and are watching TV while I cook dinner I give them both a bowl of carrot, snacking tomatoes, celery and cheese. I think because they are watching TV and not really thinking about it they eat it all up every.single.night!
5) Smoothies. I have found smoothies to be a great way to get some good stuff into my kids. Our current favourite is – milk, yogurt, banana, frozen berries, Chia Seeds (I put these in as they have no flavour and the kids don’t notice) and a dash of honey. I have also turned these into ice blocks during summer which the kids love after school.
If all of this fails or some of it works but not as much as you would like then vitamins are a good added boost to your kids daily vitamin intake.
This winter my kids started taking Liquivita for kids. Miss 5 has been susceptible to colds and flus in the past so I thought it can’t hurt to increase her uptake of daily vitamins. Miss 5 recently got a cold and I don’t know if it was related to taking these vitamins or not but it seemed to be less intense and a shorter duration than normal.
Liquivita for kids is formulated for fussy eaters to help fill nutritional gaps and support a healthy immune function. It supports healthy growth and development, is naturally flavoured with a blend of pineapple and mango so it has a taste kids love. It has no added sucrose or glucose (most other multivitamins for kids have sugar) or any artificial ingredients and is proudly Australian made, owned and formulated.
Hivita Liquivita for Kids is available in all good chemists and health food stores and is also available to buy online here (free shipping for all orders over $50.00)
Exclusive Reader offer:
Hivita Vitamins are offering all School Mum readers 30% of all purchases at https://hivita.com.au/ before 31/08/2015 plus free shipping for orders over $50. Just enter code: SCHOOLMUM
Hivita has a multivitamin for every stage and phase of your life including:
- Stress Relief has one of the highest levels of B3 on the market plus added vitamins and minerals to help relieve nervous tension, stress, tiredness and mild anxiety. It also provides an energy boost and mood lift – perfect for parents feeling overwhelmed
- High Strength Daily B: Great for a daily energy boost plus provides strong antioxidant support and stress relief
- High strength Daily C + Zinc: A high dose of vitamin C with a high level of Zinc to help support healthy immune function and protect against cold and flu
- High Strength Daily D + Iodine: Special blend of high dose Vitamin D with added Iodine for bone and thyroid health and a general feeling of wellbeing
- High potency Men’s multi: a comprehensive one-a-day tablet for energy, performance, reproductive health, immunity and stress relief
- High potency Women’s multi: a comprehensive one-a-day tablet for energy, stress, mood, PMS, heart health and antioxidant support
- Hivita Liquivita: a naturally flavoured liquid multivitamin for people that don’t like tablets.
- Menosoy for menopause: helps in the relief of hot flushes and menopausal symptoms with the added calming effects of Passion flower
COMPETITION
Thanks to Hivita Vitamins we have a Philips Airfryer to giveaway. I have an airfyer and think it is fantastic and is a much healthier way to cook for my fussy eaters.
Enter below for you chance to win one for you family …
Philips Airfryer Valued at $329 RRP
