Tips And Recipes For Your Fussy Eater To Avoid Digestive Problems

Picky eating can be a stressful food-related issue for parents. Fluctuations in a child's appetite and preferences are normal like they are for adults. It's important to strike a balance between encouraging children to listen to their body cues and explore their preferences and ensuring that they are being exposed to various foods and set up. Hence, a healthy relationship with food would develop as they get older.

Give your child a chance to try foods again and again, even if he or she does not like them at first.

Tips to help

• Try again: Wait a couple of days before offering the food again. It can take more than 10 times before your toddler might like it.
• Mix it up: Mix new foods with those you know your child likes.
• Be silly: Make funny faces with the food on your child's plate. It might help your child get excited to eat it.

Try a variety of tastes and textures

Giving your child foods with various tastes and textures can help them learn to accept and enjoy them.

You can let your child try a variety of textures, including:

• Smooth (strained or pureed).
• Mashed or lumpy.
• Finely chopped or ground.

Start with smooth or mashed foods first and then move towards finely chopped or ground foods as they get older. This can help your child develop chewing skills, as well as fine motor skills like pinching and picking up food with their fingers.

Recipes:

1. Bell pepper pizzas

We all love a good pizza. So do the kids. What if you could say goodbye to the carbs-filled crusts, and your kids would still love every bite? Try out this bell pepper pizza.

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a sheet tray, drizzle halved and cored peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon sauce onto each pepper half. Sprinkle it with Mozzarella and Parmesan and top with pepperoni (optional). You can use tomatoes instead of pepperoni or any other topping of your choice (make sure it's healthy!).
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the peppers are crisp, tender and the cheese is melted.
• Garnish with parsley before serving.

2. Cauliflower tots

Kids are not big fans of cauliflower. If we're honest, neither are most of us. So, here is a delicious recipe-cauliflower tots - a fun snack for your little ones.

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a food processor, pulse steamed cauliflower until riced. Place riced cauliflower on a clean kitchen towel and squeeze it to drain water.
• Transfer cauliflower to a large bowl with egg, Cheddar, Parmesan, panko, and chives and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon about 1 tablespoon mixture and roll it into a tater-tot shape with your hands. Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until tots are golden.
• Meanwhile, make spicy ketchup: Combine ketchup and Sriracha in a small serving bowl and stir to combine.
• Serve warm cauliflower tots with spicy ketchup.