In the era when junk food is ruling the healthy eating methods, it is the wellbeing of younger ones that are suffering the most. The consequences of putting taste to health have delivered negative impacts on the health of the children. The fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, hold a significant role in the health of your child. Children should eat fruits and vegetables to fulfill the bodily demands of different nutrients.
To form a habit among children to eat fruits regularly, we, at the playschool in Ahmedabad, have made sure to give our students a fruit break before lunchtime. We also follow this routine in online classes and give them a special recess for it.
Consuming fruits and vegetables specific to a season helps your child to obtain more nutrients. Be it the greens for winters, summers, or rainy, imbibing the habit among children to eat seasonal delights will help them to absorb a lot many benefits.
Learn about what different seasonal food items have got to give your child:
Fruits and vegetables to consume during summers
The hottest season of the year makes your child crave to devour coolants to quench their thirst. The following fruits and veggies will help them assimilate the necessary nutrients needed in summer.
Melons
Both muskmelons and watermelons have high water content to keep the body hydrated as well as contains fiber, which is good for digestion and prevents constipation. Watermelons proffer energy, cleanse toxins, strengthen eye muscles, and shield them from damage; whereas muskmelons are rich in potassium, and regulate blood pressure and control blood sugar.
Bottle Guard
Bottle guard, or say Lauki regulates body weight. Use it to make soups or vegetables to make a serving rich in calcium, magnesium, Vitamin A, C, and folate. It also works well for high blood pressure, keeps the heart-healthy, and is considered an excellent blood purifier.
Cucumbers
The versatile summer fruit is rich in water content, antioxidants, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. Cucumbers consist of 96% water and serve as a healthy option to keep yourself hydrated. Its immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties make it useful for heart health too.
Mangoes
The king of summer fruits, mango, is love for all children. The fruit is rich in calories as well as fibers and possesses as many as twenty minerals and vitamins. They also have a good content of Vitamin A and C, potassium, as well as a pigment, zeaxanthin, which helps to protect the eyes by filtering out harmful blue rays. But beware, your child should not overdose it, as it can cause inflammation, which can further lead to digestive problems and skin issues.
Litchis
Litchis are another reason to love summers. The juicy, sweet fruit is an excellent source of potassium, polyphenols, vitamins and helps regulate blood pressure and sodium levels. Litchis are also rich in antioxidants, boost immunity, prevents cancer, and reduce inflammation.
Summer Tip – Saladify
Blend cucumbers, beetroot, tomatoes, and vegetables of your child’s choice with amaranth leaves, rocket leaves, basil, as well as other summer herbs, and top it off with yogurt dressing to make a nutritious summer salad. Alternatively, you can also use fruits, nuts, peppers, mint, or coriander leaves to make a delicious meal. Combine the varieties to make the salads appealing, as well as a pack of all the nutrition.
Fruits and vegetables to consume during winters
Winter is a time when an individual has the most choices to eat. The variety of fruits and vegetables help the body to swallow diverse nutrients. Have a look at what you can make your child devour in winters:
Orange
The tangay fruit is a rich source of Vitamin A, B, and C, and holds fiber, calcium, and potassium. An essential fruit for vision, this fruit also helps to lower the risk of oral and lung cancer as well as demotes blood cholesterol.
Grapes
This sweetest juiciest ripe fruit contains vitamins A, C, B6 & K, fiber, manganese, iron, potassium, folate, and calcium, as well as it is beneficial for the well-being of the heart, boosts nervous health and immunity of your young ones.
Pear
Along with the boosting of immunity, this green sugary fruit is good for hair & eyes, lessens up skin allergies, restores blood vessels, repairs wounds, regulates blood pressure, and is prescribed during heart ailments. Loaded with nutrients like Vitamin C, A, fiber, potassium, and folic acid, this is a perfect pick for your child’s fruit time.
Pomegranate
The lavender and red fruit is a pack of antioxidants, great for skin and liver, strengthens the immune system, supplies energy, and is a rich source of Vitamin C, iron as well as potassium.
Amla
An immunity fighter for flu, common cold, and other viral infections and a great source of vitamin C, Indian Gooseberries are beneficial to your child in different ways.
Chikoo
A favourite of all children, this chocolaty fruit delivers Vitamins A, B, C, and E and helps in boosting immunity, promotes eye health, and keeps a check on heart ailments.
Guava
Delivering a variety of nutrients, this luscious fruit is loaded with Vitamin A, B, C, E,and K, iron, potassium, calcium, copper, phosphorous, manganese, copper, selenium, and zinc. The consumption of guava aids in the absorption of iron, improves eyesight, helps in the functioning of the heart, and prevents cell damage induced by free radicals, thus building immunity as well.
Pineapple
This exotically juicy fruit is a rich source of Vitamin C, fiber, manganese and will help your child to boost immunity as well as in the formation of bones.
Fenugreek Leaves
Methiparathas are favorite of all the children studying in kindergarten in Ahmedabad. The calcium-rich leaves are also a great source of phosphorous and iron. They are not only good for hair health but also regulate blood sugar and bad cholesterol.
Cabbage
Chop cabbage in fine long slices and serve it saying ‘Maggi-vegetable’ and look how the name will impact your child eating. A powerhouse of Vitamin K with a few other essential vitamins, manganese, fiber, potassium and folate, this veggie builds immunity and reduces cholesterol and BP.
Spinach
Devoured in various types of dishes, these leaves possess a variety of benefits too. From strengthening immunity, building red blood cells, preventing anemia, to ensuring healthy bones, skin, teeth, and blood vessels, spinach has it all. Neither is spinach vegetable nor are parathas a wrong choice as they are a pack of the richness of vitamin A, C and K, folate, and iron.
Ginger
The medicinal traits of ginger and garlic aids in building sound body resistance to uphold winter cold and flu, as well as lowers bad cholesterol and helps build immunity.
Sweet Potato
Stacked with nutrients like vitamins A & C, complex carbohydrates, fibers and potassium, this energy-providing vegetable helps to lower cholesterol, maintain blood sugar level, regulate BP, boost immunity, promote digestive health, and improves vision.
Carrot
A great source of Vitamin A, also filled with fibers, Vitamin C & K; this vegetable is quite beneficial for eye health, improves metabolism, promotes immunity, and builds blood cells. Your child will surely relish carrots in the form of halwa.
Winter Tip – Soup & Parathas
Boil all the vegetables available in your refrigerator to make soup. Make sure to add ginger and garlic to it, which further helps to keep running nose at bay. Add pepper and black salt in the making. Surprise them by garnishing the soup with cream in different forms.
Alternatively, stuff the vegetable in parathas and serve them. Children tend to eat more amount of vegetables this way that too without complaining about the meals.
Fruits and vegetables to consume during monsoons
The rainy season is the time when children catch most infections. For this reason, it is essential to keep an eye on their hygiene as well as eating habits. While eating the same dishes mostly at home may sound uninteresting to them, there are yet a few delights for them to make monsoons enjoyable.
Cherries
Children love to see those cherry boxes bought at home. The low-calorie fruit helps your body in numerous ways such as fighting infections, soothing inflammation, lowering bad cholesterol, reducing high blood pressure as well as uric acid level, also possesses anti-carcinogenic properties.
Plums
The darkly-rich, damned purple fruit is a rich source of dietary fibers, potassium, copper, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K. It strengthens the immune system, shields against cancer, assimilates iron, cures constipation, and prevents anemia.
Jamun
The delightfully juicy fruit is a pack of potassium, iron, folate, and vitamins, which are of extreme help in the rainy season. Jamuns are great for the health of kidneys and liver, reduces blood sugar levels, treats diabetes, as well as gastric dysfunctions. The luscious fruit can be devoured raw or in the form of juice.
Pumpkin
A powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, pumpkin is an excellent vegetable to boost immunity and treat cough and cold. It further possesses antioxidants that protect cells and fight free radicals. Porridge, soup, or cookies are the best ways to feed pumpkins to toddlers.
Garlic
A home-made remedy for many medical conditions, garlic is a pack of numerous benefits for your child. Include garlic in your child’s diet, especially during monsoons, when the body is sensitive to most infections. Apart from treating cold and flu, garlic also promotes bone health in growing children.
Monsoon tip – Delightful Fritters & Soups
Fritters & soups are a grab-on for children. Use ginger and garlic in preparing vegetable fritters and fry them in light oils such as olive or corn oil. Pumpkin soups with ginger and garlic are also a great help in maintaining health in monsoons.
Fruits and vegetables to consume throughout the year
Banana
A favourite of most children, this fruit holds a lot of nutritional value. It consists of Vitamin C and B6, fiber, potassium, calcium and a lot more components. Moreover, it is a rich source of energy, reduces the possibilities of muscle cramps, controls blood pressure, promotes cardiovascular health and regulates sugar levels.
Kiwi
A rich source of Vitamin C, the over-the-year-available fruit additionally possesses fibers, antioxidants, and potassium. Consuming the fruit helps children with the normal functioning of the cell and brain, maintain BP, and ensure proper fluid balance, muscle contraction, and nervous health of the body.
Apples
Justifying well the proverb of keeping the doctor away, the healthy fruit, packed with vitamins A, B-1, B-2 & C, potassium, phosphorous, calcium, iodine, and iron, are much essential for the child’s overall bodily growth. Moreover, it possesses antiviral properties that inhibit the bacteria attack in the mouth, strengthens gums, and cleanses teeth.
Ladyfinger
Favourite of all children, this vegetable is a bundle of nutrients that helps to control BP, prevent the risk of heart ailments as well as anemia, reduces cholesterol, and looks after bone and health of teeth.
Beetroot
An excellent source of folic acid, vitamin A, B & C, and minerals like potassium, calcium, and iron, beetroot is essential to lessen the risk of osteoporosis, anemia, and heart ailments also lower fatigue.
Wrapping up
Children intend to devour varieties when served uniquely. So before you place their plates on the dining table, make sure to garnish the fruits and veggies attractively so that their interest in eating healthy dishes develops, and their body gets all the needed nutrients. Thus, serving the best to your children studying in the best preschool in Ahmedabad.
