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Wellness
From quinoa to haldi doodh, here's what celebrity moms are adding to their children's meals
Children can be pretty difficult when it comes to what they like to eat, and every parent knows the struggle of trying to add healthy, nutritious foods to their repertoire. Celebrities like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shilpa Shetty Kundra often speak about their diets and must-haves in interviews, but what do they feed their kids? We culled out quotes that could give you some insight.
“I think my topmost advice would be to start young and to involve kids in all the process of making these home remedies because I think it is just about getting them excited about things that the kids most benefit from,” confirmed Rajput Kapoor. “I give my kids things like amla juice and haldi doodh regularly and we started all this when they were really young,” she shared. The former contains a high amount of Vitamin C which can help boost immunity. Amla also helps control blood sugar levels and improves digestion. Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant too.
Kareena Kapoor Khan, in an interview with her nutritionist, pointed out that her son Taimur loves home-cooked foods like khichdi, idli and dosa. “Every month I alternate it. Whatever fruits and vegetables he should be eating in the month... he quite enjoys it,” she shared. A food that Kapoor Khan has recently added to Taimur's repertoire? Spinach. "Today, he actually had saag for lunch and he normally didn't like it but I have been shoving it down his throat. So now he's got used to it. So he actually ate the whole bowl." Spinach is rich in Vitamin K and folate, which is important for bone and eye health.
Shilpa Shetty Kundra is a fan of buffalo milk, considering it to be a must-have in her son Viaan's diet. “Children need the right kind of food and atmosphere at home to multitask. They not only have to go to school, complete assignments, write examinations but also take part in several extracurricular activities,” she shared. “I make it a point that Viaan drinks a glass of buffalo milk instead of cow’s milk since it is richer in calcium and iron,” she shared. Another trick she relies on? Making smarter swaps. “Parents should replace the much-loved fries with healthy tapioca fries; oily chips can be swapped with soya chips; and aerated drinks can be replaced with lime juice.”
Twinkle Khanna also has the same idea. “Sometimes kids want a hamburger, but I'll fill it up with a quinoa tikki,” she shared. “We eat makhana instead of popcorn, we even take it to the movie theatre! I also mash up a lot of vegetables and put it in the aata, so they don't realise they are eating vegetables,” she confirmed.
Karisma Kapoor likes to make meals interesting for her children, Samaira and Kiaan. “I cut vegetables in different kinds of shapes. Just recently, I did that with broccoli and carrots. My kids love to eat vegetables when they are cut like that because they look interesting,” she shared in an interview.
A celebrity nutritionist on how to teach children to make healthier food choices