Here are five delicious and healthy winter recipes for kids. Photo Credit: iStock Images
Key highlights
- It is important to keep your child warm and comfortable when the temperature drops
- Including healthy foods in the diet strengthens immunity and fights disease
- Here is a list of kid-friendly winter recipes that are both healthy and delicious
New Delhi: Winter can be special for the kids as they usually enjoy the weather. However, the cold weather can be dangerous for children who catch colds more often in the fall and winter. Cold weather can also weaken your child’s immune system, making them more prone to disease. Making sure children eat nutritious foods can improve their immunity and fight off infection. Aside from dressing your children warmly, consider adding healthy foods to their diets to keep them healthy and happy over the winter.
When the body temperature drops in winter, we are hungrier, which leads to an increase in appetite. Maybe we’re all looking for tasty foods to make us feel warm and cozy in winter. This also applies to the small children. However, many packaged foods for children are very unhealthy as they are often loaded with refined flour, added sugars, and artificial ingredients. So, fill your child’s tummy with nutrient-rich foods that provide energy and nourishment instead of highly processed foods.
Healthy winter recipes for children
Here are some healthy and delicious recipe ideas suggested by Abhilasha V, Senior Clinician of Nutrition and HOD, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Bengaluru, that you can make at home for your energetic child:
- Healthy pasta and parathas: The combination of carbohydrates, sauce, cheese and a selection of vegetables make this a dream meal for children. Make pasta at home from multigrain / millet-based grains. Add tomato and carrot pureed sauces for that extra diet and complement them with an assortment of interesting colorful vegetables to make them nutritious. Cream or cheese added on top can provide them with the necessary fats for energy and warmth, while adding a little calcium. The same tips apply to making parathas too – experiment with a number of variations like Paneer Paratha, Cheesy Palak Paratha, Beetroot Pink Paratha, Methi or Gobhi or Mooli Paratha, etc. Add some interesting Raitha for a bath and add it helps with intestinal immunity even in winter.
- Soups and soup noodles: Kids love colors and sloppy options without their hands getting messy. Drinking from a bowl with a spoon will keep them warm while also providing some nutrients for growth. Some of the brightly yummy soup ideas are pale yellow pumpkin soup, bright orange carrot soup, green and grinning spinach cream soup, red hot tomato soup, pink beet soup, etc. To keep it interesting, you can add alphabetical noodles / noodles into it to make sure they swallow all the letters and too to learn something.
- Halwas: Besan ka sheera, carrot halwa, pumpkin halwa – everything provides wonderful winter warmth and food in a katori. Add some dry fruits and nuts for your child’s energy levels and add jaggery for the iron punch. The little ones will definitely come back and ask for more!
- Laddoos: To be in India and to stay indoors in the cold winters without laddoos is unimaginable. There are a variety of flavors you can make – like besan ki laddoo, dried fruit laddoo, sesame laddoos, peanut chickki laddoos, coconut laddoos, etc. These energy roundbones are an easy snack and you’re sure to see that they will return again! Store them safely in a jar for weeks.
- Take a break from the boring milk: Children and milk were either friends or enemies. For the latter, it’s time to think about some interesting ways to meet their calcium needs. Make the regular milk season more interesting by having hot cocoa with nut buttermilk or carrot apple milkshake or Haldi Doodh with generous dried fruit or some kheers beautifully made for winter with sabudana, sooji, semiya, millet, etc. For the lactose intolerant little one, convert this milk into Chena, Paneer and wonderful raithas with seasonal vegetables and fruits! Children need their calcium from milk, but it doesn’t always have to be rigid and boring.
Stay healthy, stay inside, and stay fed this winter!
Disclaimer: The tips and suggestions in the article are for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always ask your doctor or nutritionist before starting any fitness program or making changes to your diet.