Pizza party
My eight-year-old daughter refuses to eat fresh fruit or vegetables. We’ve tried many ways to tempt her but she only wants to eat processed food. We’d like to try some healthy recipes but are worried she’ll end up demanding nuggets and chips. What can we do?
If your daughter has friends who aren’t picky eaters, it’s worth inviting them around for tea. Peer pressure is a good way to encourage children to try new foods. Pizza is a big hit with most children, so why not organize a pizza and smoothie party for your daughter and her friends? Buy ready-prepared pizza bases and put on different veggies, such as sweetcorn, strips of pepper and sliced mushrooms, then let the children choose their own toppings. Put some vegetables on your daughter’s plate at each meal so she gets used to seeing them. Tell her that she only needs to eat one small mouthful, and once she’s done that she can leave the rest. Child psychologists have found that when children become familiar with a new food they are more open to trying it, but you may need to serve the same fruit or vegetable at as many as 10 different mealtimes before a child feels comfortable eating it.
Banish breakouts
My teenage son suffers from acne but won’t go to the doctor for treatment. Are there any vitamins or diet tips that may help?
Unfortunately for most teenagers, spots and acne are part of growing up. Although foods such as chocolate or fried foods are often blamed, there’s no scientific evidence to suggest they cause or make acne worse. However, an unhealthy diet will affect the body’s immune system and increase the possibility of infections, including skin problems. So, it makes sense to encourage your son to eat a healthy diet containing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Some evidence suggests that taking zinc supplements may be helpful in treating skin problems like acne, too.
Fussy eater
My 12-year-old daughter is a vegetarian and loves pasta. The problem is that she’s a really fussy eater and won’t touch food such as kidney beans or peppers. Can you suggest some recipe ideas for meals that would give her a balanced diet? As a family we eat plenty of fresh food and try to avoid processed meals.
Encourage your daughter to log on to the Vegetarian Society’s website where they have an area especially for young people which explains how to eat a balanced vegetarian diet. The society also produces an excellent booklet called Parent and Teenager guide to Vegetarianism which you can download from the website or order by calling 0161 925 2000. In the meantime, you could try to encourage your daughter to eat foods such as chickpeas by using houmous in sandwiches or serving it as a dip with vegetables.
A good start
I want to give my daughter a healthier start to the day. We try to avoid the cereals high in sugar and salt. Can you suggest some healthy alternatives to porridge and wheat biscuit cereals to liven up breakfast, please? Sally Baldwin, Bangor, Wales
Why not try jazzing up porridge by adding some dried fruit, such as raisins or dried cranberries, or stirring in some mashed banana and a pinch of cinnamon? As a special treat you could add a teaspoon of cocoa powder or a few chocolate chips. An alternative to porridge is home-made muesli made using oats as a base and then adding a selection of dried fruit and nuts. You could also make small pancakes adding muesli to the pancake batter. Serve with yogurt and dried fruit compote.