Share the ways you get vitamins & minerals into your children with Noluma

[EllieMumsnet]

This activity is now closed

We all know that vitamins and minerals are vital to the human body and help us grow, see properly, help make bones, muscles and organs stay healthy. However the difficult part is ensuring that you and your children have all the right vitamins and minerals in your system...especially with vitamin D, as we live in a fairly sun-deprived country . Therefore Noluma would love to know all the ways you ensure your children are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Here’s what Noluma, the authority in light protection of packaging, has to say: “Scientific research shows that packaged goods can be negatively impacted when exposed to indoor lights such as retail lighting or LED lights in the kitchen. This causes the quality, freshness, flavour and more importantly, nutritional qualities to deteriorate. So if you think you are giving your children a glass of milk and getting those valuable nutrients into them this way, you might want to think again! Unless the milk bottle or carton comes in light protected packaging, chances are the product has degraded before it reaches the ‘use by’ date. This is especially true of see-through glass bottles. Here at Noluma, we are the only authority in light protection technology that certifies packaging using our patented state-of-the-art assessment process. We are uniquely able to measure all types of packaging for its ability to protect against damage due to both natural and artificial light, and to stop content change due to light exposure. Visit lightdamageisreal.co.uk to find out more”

Do you sneak vitamins filled fruit and veg into their meals? If so do you have any recipes or techniques you could share? Or maybe you don’t need to and your children are very good at eating lots of fruit and vegetables? Perhaps you like to make sure they’re outdoors as much as possible so they’re getting lots of great sunlight? Or maybe you know of some child-friendly vitamin supplements that help your children get all the nutrients they need?

Whatever your tips and tricks are for getting vitamins and minerals into your children, share them on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

[BollockyBagels]

As a pescatarian household I'd like to think we eat a healthy range of meals. When I have a glut of vegetables I'll make industrial quantities of bolognese/chilli with Quorn or lentils and freeze in pots. Another shout out to the power of the mighty egg here. As long as you have eggs in the house, you can rustle up a quick and nutritious meal.

[PickAChew]

Both of mine have restrictive diets so I just feed them what they will eat and hope for the best, really.

[Samah09]

I ensure the children have cheese and yogurt at home. I take sliced fruit to school to school so the children can eat it in the park before they go home and have dinner. I often use quorn and the children know the difference and very often cu veg finely and cook in sauces so is so soft and in the tomato sauce that they dont notice and cant pick out the vegetables.

[borntobequiet]

I can’t even remember what I fed my kids. Some fresh, some processed, some junk. I was poor(ish) and it was the 80s so not the range of rubbish available today. I think I gave them vitamin tablets on and off. They ate at mealtimes with few snacks, are healthy adults.

[JeanieJardine55]

My older two had smoothies, hidden veggies and a multi vitamin in an effort to make sure they got enough. Ds3, however, eats anything so if I offer a balanced diet he eats it.

[daisyduke66]

A good diet - mine were always keen on their fruit and vegetables. Multivitamin in form of the chewy variety was never a problem either.

[NCB2019]

I try to give a balanced diet.

A lot of the time raw veg works better than cooked veg. They will happy eat pepper slices when raw but not when cooked!

They like crudités with houmous and tatziki to dip.

Also when I do give them cooked veg they prefer it steamed so they eat more. Like carrot and broccoli. They still won't touch cauliflower even though they see me and my DH eating it.

For meals like bolognese I use a special chopper that makes very, very small cubes of onion, courgette, mushroom and carrot. This then easily mixes in with the mince and tomatoes and they love it.

I've stopped doing toast as a pre bedtime snack instead they get fruit with Greek yogurt.

[NCB2019]

I do also give them a Bassets chewy vitamin tablet as a boost. It does also contain omega 3 which is important as they don't eat much fish except fish fingers!

[kateandme]

have fruit available at all times.dont make it "a thing" they have to have but just part food is food and is all nice.as soon as you put the healthy or needed or have to label on things they wont want it or will wonder why?and it will be offered as pudding sometimes.add it tothings like banana split and crumbles and pies and tarts too.

vegetables are just vegetables.again they arent seen as a forced thing just part of rhe meal.we do it very basically most of the time and the kids love them.carrots and peas and brocoli are the faves.so we try to include oone they like when we can.
there is veggies added to most dishes too.from spag to pies they are just there.so never singled out and therfore not seen a s problem.
let them know how good veg is for their birght skin and eyes and hair and keeping them able to run around all the time.
let them choose which they want in the supermakart.
give them a colour and get them to choose todays fruit and veg for that colour.make it exciting.
i havenothing against the chewable vitamins.
we are getting into more grain and lentil foods now too.

try to let them play out when they can.
go for walks.
lots of national trust property visits with their big land spaces they are brilliant.

[Lleeaahh1992]

I try to give them as much of a balanced diet as possible and I also give them multivitamins and children's calcium tablets. I grate carrot and mushrooms into lots of meals ( along side peppers onions and butternut squash but don't grate them I just chop them ) and I add finely chopped spinach to most meals. Also i have found that if I put fruit onto skewers, my children eat it more than if it's in a bowl so I do that, also I try to add banana to their breckfast of a morning (not every single day though ) .

[beethebee]

I don't keep any drinks in the house except water, milk, coffee and tea. The DC almost always choose milk.

Also 2 fruits every day for school and extra veg in lots of things like enchiladas, pasta etc

[JulesJules]

I do meals with lots of veggies in, especially soup - can get all the veg they wouldn't normally touch into soup!

Red pepper and carrot sticks and hummus for snacks.

They walk to school.

[Bigsighall]

Blended veg into sauces and soups. Fruit always available

[regularbutpanickingabit]

We try and eat a balanced diet across the week but the older kids are generally great at that whilst the youngest is very fussy and doesn't have a great appetite. Any mince dish is great at hiding a ton of veg, especially when I blend it up for the little one, and they all enjoy making their own smoothies so we do that at weekends. Getting them to make their wraps is also a good way to get them to learn how to make good choices. I just stick bowls of protein, veg, dips, salad etc on the table and they choose what they want. All seem to eat a lot more variety than they would do if I asked them what I should make for them!

They are all at different life stages and all need more guaranteed vitamin intake so I make sure they all take supplements each day. They have different ones depending on age, stage and need.

All do lots of exercise and so get outdoors every day.

[misskatamari]

We eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and are lucky that they are generally pretty good at eating them. A balanced diet, with whole grains and proteins helps too. They also get the occasional "sweetie vitamin" when I remember lol

[Smilingsophie85]

We buy the vitamins that look like sweets and my daughter thinks she's getting a super sweet treat every morning!

[ThenBellaDidSomethingVeryKind]

Chewy multivits for the kids every day. I leave a fruit bowl out and accessible. I try to cook from scratch as much as possible, and use good quality produce if I can. In the summer, we make an activity out of growing fresh veg, and I also take the kids to pick your own places, so vitamins become fun!

[crosser62]

Chewy multi vitamins, smoothies, veg with meals, fruit bowl full, varied and within reach.
Outdoor play as much as possible.
Nutritional education, mine know what foods are healthy and what foods are unhealthy.
Drinks on offer are milk or water and smoothies occasionally.

I have in the past fried up various veg popped it into the blender and mixed it into pasta sauces for example.
It’s about being inventive some days.

[Jaderice21]

multi vitamin everyday and a horlicks before bed aswell as lots of fresh fruits and veg x

[IWouldBeSuperb]

Lots of time outside - whatever the weather, a full fruit bowl and vegetables/salad with lunch and dinner, and a daily multivitamin for anything that's missing!

[PickledChicory]

I really try and get the kids to eat a balanced diet and I always encourage them to try new things. Who knew my kids would like rhubarb compote! Soups, smoothies and pasta sauces are great ways to give them a boost. My kids are good at eating fruit and we have found veg, generally raw which they enjoy. My eldest who is fussy does take chewable vits too.

[voyager50]

I make sure he has plenty of fresh fruit, especially a daily banana as well as a range of veg throughout the week.

Sometimes we buy cheese and tomato pizzas and he creates his own toppings - he always wants red peppers which are full of vitamin C so this helps as he feel he is choosing his own food but I know he's getting something good for him too on something not quite so health as a compromise!

[BringItIn]

I make smoothies with fruit, green veg, a liquid vitamin supplement, and ground linseed. This covers a fair few bases and we try to ensure the rest with a reasonably varied (mostly plant-based) diet.

[Enigma222]

I give vitamins to my children after the evening meal. It has become part of their routine. And they always want it because they know about the benefits of having vitamins.

[emphasisofmatter]

Both of mine are good at eating a variety of fruit and vegetables, so we manage vitamin intake through diet mainly. We also spend loads of time playing outside!