Good Meals Don’t Have to be a Chore

Good food does not have to keep you tied to the kitchen and, if your child is going through a fussy or hunger-striking phase, you will save yourself much anguish by keeping meals very simple and spending the time sharing other activities with your child – like looking at a book, playing a game or going out. Sandwiches made with wholemeal bread and filled with peanut butter, yeast extract, cheese, tuna fish, meat paste, pâté, ham, bacon, tomato or whatever your child likes in the savoury, not the sugary, line, together with some pieces of fruit and a drink of milk or some yoghurt make a well-balanced meal. If he will not eat sandwiches, just cut up pieces of bread and butter and something like cheese or ham for him to eat with his fingers, or try egg or baked beans on toast with fruit to follow. In winter you can toast sandwiches and offer a cup of soup and wholemeal toasted fingers to dip in it if he is able to manage.

If you cook only in the evening, you can freeze a portion for him to have at a later date, but be sure to defrost quickly by standing the container in cold water, and then heat thoroughly to boiling point before allowing it to cool enough for him to eat. If you save a portion for the next day, cool it quickly and keep it covered in the fridge, again reheating to boiling point. Do not save cooked food longer than twenty-four hours in a fridge or reheat more than once for a young child – if he does not want it, throw it away and do not be tempted to heat it up again for tea.

Most young children have a particular time in the day when they are hungry and eat well – do not necessarily expect him to want a full-sized meal every time, but capitalise on his favourite eating session, whether it is breakfast, lunch or tea, and feed a variety of types of food. For example, if he always eats a large breakfast you can give protein in the form of egg, bacon, baked beans on toast or anything else he likes rather than just let him fill up on two bowls of cereal. If he does not eat much fresh fruit then offer this at his hungriest time too. If you suspect he eats well at a certain meal because he is especially fond of what is offered, such as cereal, do not cut this out completely, but feed slightly less, and include other foods or fruit that he may be less likely to take on other occasions.

Avoid very spicy food like fried onions or chilli powder for babies under a year, and do not feed whole nuts to children under five because of the danger of choking.