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

[queenoftheschoolrun]

Lots of fruit and veg, a balanced diet and time outdoors for Vitamin D. We all have Vitamin D tablets too. Oh, and Epsom salt baths, we get through a lot of Epsom salt!

[scarfattack]

Our bodies are really pretty good at extracting what we need even from poor diets. Not that you shouldn't make the effort, but I'm not going to stress about it. I try to ensure they eat the things that are decent but don't focus too much on it if they choose not to. I buy organic - eggs always, milk mostly, fruit and veg sometimes. We do have multivitamins but don't always remember to take them. Maybe averages 2-3 times a week.
Milk - sounds like someone is trying to find something to scaremonger about. I don't leave it in bright sunlight, it's kept in the dark fridge. I usually buy one that has a good shelf life and we get through it in a day or two so I'd say based on what's said above that the degradation of vitamins and minerals is minimal. Things like this cause additional little worries that are, in the grand picture of our life, not really significant. You're better off having decent milk produced in the first place from well subsidised dairy farms with animals in the best conditions the system allows rather than worrying what packet it all goes into after it's harvested.

[RomaineCalm]

Again, a balanced diet and time outdoors every day. DC have two portions of fruit at breakfast (e.g. a smoothie and some blueberries on cereal) and a healthy snack (a handful of cherry tomatoes).
Fingers crossed there is some beg served with school lunch.
It's easy then to ensure that dinner has some veg and some fruit as a snack.

[MadameJosephine]

DD loves fruit and veg but she’s underweight and eats like a bird so I supplement with a daily multivitamin and ‘big milk’ which is supplemented with extra vitamins. I’ve also told her school that she only needs sunscreen if she’s going to be outside for longer than 10-15 minutes

[MakeTeaNotWar]

Mine eat lots of fruit and love broccoli, sugar snaps, cucumber so I'm not too worried. We probably spend too much time indoors though

[arseabouttit]

My children have grown up eating fruit and veg from when they were weaned. They eat a wide variety with nearly every meal and I try to ensure we follow the "rainbow" advice. They also enjoy making plant based smoothies at home. They also consume milk, dairy products, grains and sometimes nuts and seeds now they are older. I supplement with a high quality fish oil (from bare biology) and from time to time age appropriate vitamin supplements but not daily - because I forget. They spend lots of time outdoors doing sport at school / after school and at the weekends. Therefore They get some sun exposure daily but in summer they wear sunscreen if they will be out for long periods. They seem pretty healthy and no. 1 son is extremely tall with healthy bones. Not sure he is deficient in any thing despite degradation of products due to light.

Light protective packaging sounds great but we would like to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we consume so I hope it's not a plastic product. I would rather supplement than have more single use plastic in the house. It's a battle between healthy bodies and a healthy planet. (Not getting into air miles / carbon footprint etc)

[GetKnitted]

broccoli, peas, spinach, sweetcorn, carrots, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, butternut squash.

I do sympathise with families / children who struggle with veg, but the constant message from home and school that vegetables are really important, along with not over cooking the vegetables

[cuppycakey]

Well my DD is 21 now but still has a propensity to only eat beige foods!! I persuaded her that she could get rid of the odd grey hairs she is getting in her very dark hair, by taking B12 so now she takes B12 every single day!!

[WowOoo]

Veg on the table while I prepare their dinner. I put celery, cucumber, carrots, red pepper on a plate and carry on. By the time meal is ready they've already had some of their 5 a day. Fruit in the fruit bowl so they can snack on that too.

[Sierra259]

Fortunately my 2 DC like fruit and veg, so we have some with every meal and encourage fruit or crudites for snacks. Juice is only for weekends here, so they drink plenty of milk and water during the week. They also really like the fruity multi vitamins.

[HoustonBess]

Actual food

[SuzCG]

A no-nonsense approach to food & eating & diet in the first place. Food was never something to be played with or made a game. I made everything fresh when they were babies/weaning so they got the taste of real food and thankfully it's paid off. They are both really good eaters and rarely turn their noses up at anything - lots of people comment when we are eating out about how lovely it is.

I'm not crazy about how we eat - just try to keep a healthy balance and ensure that there is some good stuff with vitamins/minerals within every meal. But treats are very much allowed - as exactly that - a treat, not all the time.

We all take a multi vitamin/mineral tablet every day also - as a little boost.

Fortunately they go to a school which believes in kids being outside for a period every day (regardless of weather). At weekends either we go for a nice walk with the dog to get our dose of natural light or I will send them out into the garden to play for a while.

A common sense approach should see healthy kids.

[AVT5]

My kids like the chewable jelly vitamins. They don't have them everyday though as we have a good balanced diet. Make sure there's a good amount of calcium/protein/veg/fruit etc everyday

[Tigger83]

My son eats mountains of fruit and veg and would pick fruit over sweet treats and day of the week. I make sure most of his meals are packed full of veg too where possible. Every morning I give him vitamin drops. We get outside for at least a couple of hours daily and at least 15-30 mins without sunscreen.

My ds is dairy and soya free so I make sure he has a calcium fortified nut milk daily and it's made me be really conscious of what he eats. I also broadly follow blw which helps.

[ifigoup]

Fruit and veg plus the occasional spoonful of Haliborange syrup leftover from when he was a baby when I remember.

[pearldeodorant]

Sounds really silly but giving vitamin drops in the bath every night. It's so routine now we could never forget!

Also a small glass of milk at bedtime and we walk to school so (hopefully) get our dose of vitamin D.

[PashleyB]

They have a multi vitamin, fruit and veg with nearly all meals and I hide veg in tomato sauce when we have it

[del2929]

aside from the usal fruti and veg available to them during the day i buy wellkid peppa pig vitamins for my LO . the easiest way by far. she absolutely loves taking them

[goldenretriever1978]

I give my children multivitamins to err on the safe side but also lots of fruit and fresh air.

[purplepandas]

Whizz up heavy veg laden sauces for my veg avoiding DD in particular. It's a necessary pain as she hates most veg annoyingly.

[NotPennysBoat]

Mine are veg haters, but I ALWAYS put a small amount on each of their plates regardless and SOMETIMES they will eat them! Needless to say, a multivitamin supplement is a must, and I'm hoping they'll improve as they get older.

[ohdannyboy]

I make my own tomato sauce for serving with dishes, home made soups with all sorts of vegetables and a clove or garlic, purees with crusty vitamin rich wholemeal bread goes down a treat. We love fruit smoothies and I will make these into ice lollies in the summer. I offer chewable vitamins in the winter months when our immune systems are lower, and we are indoor longer.

[HotChocolateLover]

I don’t bother with trying vegetables they don’t like and instead focus on vegetables (and also fruit) that they actually like. It’s a bit more expensive but there’s less wastage overall and I know that they are eating the goodness.

[Mammatino]

We eat well, we try to make sure our DS is informed about the right choices but we don't stress it or get worried if he wants to eat chicken nuggets. We take supplements in the winter and try to get out and about. We also have fun growing tomatoes MD things to encourage him to eat more. I also get him involved in meal planning and cooking where possible.

[Blossom28]

Fortunately I can convince my son to try new things simply by saying that they are either ‘healthy for your body’ or, ‘healthy for your brain’. He has a fascination with how his body works, and so for example I can explain to him that his body is made from water, and that it needs to be ‘filled up’ every day. He counts up to his 5 a day, and if he hasn’t done it he needs to go and grab a banana. I have always explained the benefits of every food, and so he feels proud of himself when he eats something which will help his body. So rather than focusing on ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food, he just knows the value of each food and can choose for himself.