Parents, if your kid actually gets excited to see a fresh juicy mango or can’t wait to dig into that oversized watermelon, count yourself lucky. While there are a select few parents that are blessed with unfussy eaters, most parents have to struggle to make sure that bite of fruit actually goes into their child’s stomach, because most will just spit it out.
Children can be fussy eaters, no matter how hard you try. From hidden strawberry pieces in their favourite cake to a dash of watermelon juice in your kid’s go-to canned juice, parents go through a lot of trouble to get those essential summer fruit nutrients into their child’s daily meals. Alas, children are like sniffer dogs that can create havoc at the slightest smell of something unfamiliar in their all-time favourite meal.
As a parent, you know the importance of summer fruits. While your child will be throwing tantrums to go outside in the scorching heat, you’re going to be stressing about putting layers of sunscreen. While your child will be waiting for the clock to strike four so he or she can rush outside to play, you’ll be running around your kitchen to make that perfect lemon water to help your child stay hydrated. See, your parents know that it is important to give your child particular fruits in the summer, but do you really know why they’re important?
Fruits help your children fight the heat and stay hydrated, especially in summer. Juicy plums, luscious strawberries, mouth-watering melons, and delicious mangoes are all summertime fruits that you should include in your child's diet. These fruits help fight infections, they provide a cooling effect to your child’s body to help beat the heat, they’re packed with multivitamins, minerals, macronutrients, micronutrients, and even fiber, and these amazing fruits ensure that your child’s energy levels are never low. In this article, let's talk about three particular fruits that we all know are beneficial for your children – lemons, strawberries, and mangoes.
Lemons are an excellent source of Vitamin C. Yes, we all know that. But do you know why vitamin C is essential for your child? Vitamin C is rich in antioxidants, which helps protect our little ones and even your, cells from free radicals. It also boosts your child's immune system – lemons have anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties to protect your little ones from all those germs that surround us. To top it all, vitamin C even supports iron absorption. Vitamin C is crucial for healthy development – it promotes the growth of bones and teeth. And we all know the importance of healthy bones, especially considering how many falls and tumbles those little ones take on a daily basis!
That tingle of acidity coupled with that mouthful of juiciness, who doesn’t love strawberries? Let’s start by saying that strawberries are rich in everything good; they contain antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, quercetin, and even anthocyanins. First and foremost, strawberries are the best way to protect your child from a very common childhood disease called scurvy. Also, strawberries promote good eye health by keeping the retina and cornea safe and healthy. The quercetin in strawberries is known to reduce inflammation, prevent infection, and most importantly, reduce the risk of cancer. With one in six deaths due to cancer in 2018, according to research published by the WHO, we can all agree that prevention is better than cure, and what’s better than early prevention? Considering strawberries also help in digestion and boost immunity, it’s safe to say that these are basically all-rounder fruits.
There are some kids who get too excited to see a mango, they don’t even wait to take the skin off. All they want to do is just take a big bite out of that juicy mango. If your child is one of those, consider yourself lucky because mangoes are the fruits of paradise. Mangoes are rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and even glutamine acid. The vitamin A in mangoes is beneficial for eyesight, the fiber in this heavenly fruit promotes good digestion and the water content keeps your child’s skin healthy and glowing. The glutamine acid in mangoes promotes brain functioning and works as a memory booster. And, since these fruits are rich in pectin and iron, it reduces the chances of cancer and anemia in kids. Maybe it’s time to change the saying to, a mango a day keeps the doctor away?
In a blender, add some chopped mango slices and chopped strawberries. Add lassi, milk or curd, depending on your child's favourite milk product, and blend. Add ice and serve chilled!
Chop some kiwi, melons, mangoes, and strawberries and mix them together. In a bowl, add some sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Drizzle the mixture on top of the salad and ta-da, it’s ready.
In 3 cups of chilled water, add two whole lemons, 1 cup of freshly sliced strawberries and a cup of mango juice. Add sugar to taste. Maybe some mint for garnishing, as long as your child won’t reject anything green.
In a blender, mix 2 frozen bananas, 1 cup of sliced mangoes, and the juice of one lemon. For a more citrus taste, add some lemon zest. Blend well till the mixture is smooth. Serve immediately – your child will love this homemade sorbet! You can even make a strawberry sorbet the same way.
Every child loves popsicles, so why not make them healthy? In homemade lemonade or in flavored yogurt, add some sliced fruit and put it in the popsicle mold to set. A few hours later, your kids will be suckling on their favourite homemade popsicles!
Other than that, you can use fresh summer fruits as cereal toppings. Whatever cereal your child loves, just throw in a few spoonfuls of fresh fruit. You can do the same thing with your child’s favourite ice cream too. Ah, the nostalgia of strawberries and cream. If your child doesn't like fruits, strawberries and cream will change that. All you need is some whipped cream with a dash of sugar and a bowl full of freshly cut strawberries – just mix and serve. Even a mango hot chocolate fudge is a great way to ensure your child eats fruits. No, not an actual fudge, the old-school vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce combination. Just add a few slices of cut mangoes, maybe a few more fruits, and your child will gobble it all up in seconds. And, if you can make homemade ice cream, you will basically get the parent of the year award!
But, if your child still absolutely refuses to place even the tiniest piece of fruit near his or her mouth, we have yet another solution! The Meadbery Kid’s Combo pack is a pack of 60 multivitamins gummies and calcium gummies (30 each) that your child will gobble up within seconds. These gummies provide all the nutrition value of the real fruit, without the hassle of force-feeding the real fruit! The only bad news is that the recommended dose is one gummy a day each – try saying no to those adorable faces when they ask for more of these delicious fruit gummies!
