Pictured: Lunchbox Chocolate Muffins (with hidden veg) and Easy Ganache Icing from my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes ebook. 

Below are four popular kids meals and how you can give them a boost! Just making a few of these changes, one at a time, can make a big difference to your families health.

DEALING WITH FUSSY EATING? WE CREATED THE FUSSY EATING BUNDLE  TO HELP AS MANY PARENTS AS POSSIBLE INSTIL POSITIVE EATING HABITS IN THEIR CHILDREN AND PROVIDE LIFELONG JOYFUL A RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD, THUS CREATING PEACEFUL, STRESS-FREE MEAL TIMES. FIND OUT MORE HERE.

Porridge

Why it’s already good …

Oats are rich in the B-complex vitamins and anti-oxidant vitamin E. They also contain soluble fibre which helps to keep you feeling satisfied as well as help the digestive system along. Soluble fibre also provides a food source for beneficial bacteria in the gut.

How you can make it better

Soak oats overnight in warm water and yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk to neutralise phytic acid. Phytic acid is found in the outer layer of grains and blocks the absorption of essential minerals which can lead to deficiencies.

Grind up some flaxseeds and mix through the porridge to provide a good ratio of Omega 3’s. These are relatively tasteless.

Once cooked, mix in some butter or cream, whose fat-soluble activators provide the catalyst for mineral absorption and they make it super tasty!

Ensure you add a natural sweetener like pure maple syrup, raw honey, or a sprinkle of rapadura sugar rather than a highly refined, processed sweetener.

Top with blueberries which are full of antioxidants and research suggests that in addition to protecting against heart disease and diabetes and improving brain function, they may also help reduce visceral “toxic” belly fat—a type of fat that has been linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Add cinnamon to stabilise blood sugar and for extra natural sweetness.

Grab my Pimped up Porridge recipe here.

Spaghetti Bolognese/Meatballs

Why it’s already good

Great source of protein –  the building blocks for our body.

Tomatoes contain lycopene, a nutrient in cooked tomatoes that has been shown in laboratory studies to slow the growth of – and even kill – prostate cancer cells. It may also combat heart disease and diabetes.

How you can make it better

Cooking the tomatoes with good fat, like olive oil, helps the body absorb more lycopene.

Buy the best quality mincemeat you can afford, preferably grass-fed or organic because what the animals are fed, and whether they have access to sunlight and pastures make a big difference to their vitamin and mineral composition.

We all know this one, but it really works! Add shredded vegetables like zucchini, carrots, mushroom and, if you can get away with it, kale which is one of the most nutritious plant foods in existence!

Swap to whole grain spelt pasta (spelt is an ancient grain) which is high fibre, high protein, wheat-free and lower in gluten than regular wheat pasta.

Here is a delicious recipe for Summer Baked Meatballs with Kale and Juicy Tomato Sauce

Scrambled eggs on toast (great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!)

Why they’re already good

Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods on earth and a complete protein source and a great source of vitamins and minerals, including the super absorbable ‘heme’ iron.

How you can make it better

Try adding in poached eggs, soft boiled eggs, and eggs over easy into the repertoire. Leave the yolks nice and runny. The less you cook eggs, and the lower the temperature used when cooking, the better access you have to their nutrition. This is because high heat kills off lots of vitamins and minerals.

Use a good quality sourdough bread for the toast. Sourdough is fermented, digestible, and promotes the growth of good bacteria in the gut, giving the whole immune system a boost. Look for long-fermented sourdough (48-hours pref) made from stoneground (or equivalent wholegrain) flours.

Add a good spread of grass-fed butter to the sourdough (as well as to cook the eggs in)  as a source of good fat. The greener the pastures, the more Vitamins (A,D, and K) the butter will contain. Or you can use avocado, another beautiful source of good fat which contains a rich array of heart-healthy ingredients.

Try to layer the toast with some baby spinach and slices of tomato both full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants or fry up some mushrooms, all make a tasty accompaniment to eggs.

Always make sure you go for good quality pastured eggs. Some of my favourite brands are shared here. 

Simone is a veritable encyclopaedia on all things to do with fussy eaters, and in our expert interview for THE FUSSY EATING BUNDLE, she shares some very insightful and extremely helpful effective strategies to combat fussy eating.

I’m so thrilled to have her on the blog sharing some of her expertise here for you all as well.

Family Meals and Fussy Eating- Guest Post by Simone Emery from Play with Food.

First thing first, I want to thank Brenda for having me here today! I love Brenda’s honest approach to health and wellbeing for the entire family.

Here’s a quick and succinct guest post all about conquering fussy eating stages with your child. My experience and studies in children’s feeding almost make it too hard for me to quickly tell you in a nut shell what to do about fussy eating. However, I can endorse one tool that is essential to get you on track, the family meal.

To effectively have a family meal we need to clearly set up a definition for it.

A family meal does not mean an elaborate roast joint with a million vegetable-laden side dishes, a painstakingly crafted dessert and everyone you are related to over 4 generations sitting down and eating together.

It can simply be just 2 people (you and a child) having a toasted sandwich together at the table.

I consider that the majority of my meals with my kids are family meals. Even if we only sit together on a picnic rug at the park to have a yoghurt that is still a family meal. Your role at the family meal is to be the provider but your children have control over pretty much everything else from the toddler years going forward – how much they eat, what they eat, how they clean themselves, how they motor plan getting the food into their own mouth. Yes, you provide it all but try and let them control it.

A family can, by understanding and playing out their roles effectively in family meals, raise children to be competent, healthy and joyful eaters.

If your child is particularly fussy with a smell, texture, temperature, sound, colour or any other visual aspect of a food increasing their exposure to it via the family meal will help you iron out the root cause.

Here are my tips for holding a successful family meal that appeals to even the fussiest of kids.

Engage the child in some movement before the meal to help them organise or reset themselves.

• Everyone should sit with a 90 degree angle at the hips, knees and ankles. (Special chairs, foot rests or booster seats may be required).
• Decide on the environmental cues that will help your child concentrate on eating (eg. turn TV off, sit in a well-lit area, use a familiar placemat).
• Family style meal serves where everyone takes something from each plate provided – they can put it on their plate or onto their learning plate. Do this instead of plating up for the child in advance. It also saves on waste!
• Try to offer a preferred food, a carbohydrate, a dairy, a fruit, a vegetable and a protein.
• Use this time as a great chance to connect with your children. Eat with purpose and concentration.

Want to raise healthy eaters who eat a wide variety of food? Grab The Fussy Eating Bundle for just $49 by midnight 31st July Sydney time and get your  5 Amazing Bonuses for FREE! FIND OUT MORE HERE.

Simone is a mother of 2 little girls and lives in Sydney. She runs Play with Food. Play with Food offer food experiences to children and their families that aim to delight the taste buds and imagination. Her aim in these is to help families have happy mealtimes. Get her guide “The ABC’s to happier and healthier family meals” via her website.