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

[Montydoo]

My home made 'ice cream' goes down a treat - it's sugar free fromage frais pureed fruit (banana and pear is particularly nice). I find a cottage pie is a great way of adding 'hidden veggies' carrot, broccoli, peppers and aubergine grated and chopped finely goes down a treat, adds texture and taste and cuts down on cost as you don't need as much minced meat.

[Doobedo]

We always have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. We have a varied diet covering all food types. I like to use vegan, palm oil free and fair trade where possible for myself. I limit processed foods. I limit sugar, fat and salt. I also used herbs and spices. Eg. Turmeric and black pepper are a great addition to many dishes.

[StickChildNumberTwo]

We try and at plenty of fruit and veg (with variable success), and add a multivitamin, particularly as we live in a region where lack of Vitamin D productions opportunities is an issue!

[Estraya]

I do hide veg blended in sauces sometimes but I also cook meals with chunks of veg in and try to get my kids to eat them. They're gradually getting less fussy so I think it's working. I talk to my children about healthy eating and what you need the different nutrients for and involve them in meal planning/cooking from time to time.

[biffyboom]

That was very interesting information about packaging!
My 5yr old takes a daily multivitamin gummy for children, as I do think he doesn't eat a varied enough diet (although I encourage him to try more things often).
I would like to give my 1year old a multivitamin, but haven't seen any for her age group. But, being 1yr, she is still open to eating anything, so has a very healthy and varied diet for now.

[Snufflepiglet]

My daughter has ASD and an extremely limited diet of "safe" foods. Up until recently we haven't even been able to get a multi vitamin into her. She is terrified of trying new things to the extent that we have ended up in A&E when she needed meds. Even the nurses couldn't get antibiotics into her without her being sick and she ended up on an IV. After a lot of therapy and practice she can now swallow tablets so she can take a multivitamin. It's not ideal and would love to increase her diet. We are getting there but it's a very very slow process

[TheClitterati]

My kids always love snacking on carrot and cucumber sticks. So always make sure they have some of those often before a meal so even if they don't eat any veg with dinner with had a bit of a quieter. We use a vitamin d spray during the winter, and I don't overly apply sunscreen. I do think it's okay to be exposed to certain amounts of sun without Wearing suncream especially outside of the summer months.

I use the division of responsibility guidelines with dinner and I have found that this has vastly improved the range of foods my children eat over the last 12 months I've been doing this. They now will often make their own lunchboxes ( they are 11 &8) and will includes lots of fruit and veg peppers cucumbers carrots cherry tomatoes et cetera without even being asked. After years of being quite picky eaters it is great to see the light at the end of the tunnel And that they have learnt themselves what a well balanced diets comprises.

[TheClitterati]

I've been to New Zealand recently and all milk there is in opaque plastic bottles. I guess I now know the reason.

[BeeMyBaby]

Where possible I grate the veg or purée it so they can't taste the individual veg and it just turns into a nice mix with lots of vitamins.

[80sbabi07]

I like to experiment where I can. Its not always easy as our toddler isn't keen on eating fruit, so I improvise such as adding tiny pieces of chopped up banana into his porridge, finely grated carrot added to meatball marinara with other chunky veggies, adding small pieces of spinach into a sausage casserole along with pulses and lentils and mixing potato & swede for mash. He does enjoy lots of different dishes such as a lamb keema and veggie rice so he has variety. He still enjoys a morning bottle too, I give him organic toddler milk which is packed with vitamins and minerals!

[hiddenmichelle]

I "sneak" veg into pasta sauces, but also there is always a bowl of fruit in the kitchen which they can help themselves to. We like making our pizza too and kids tend to put veg on to give it some colour

[burwellmum]

We eat a well balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg. The children are outside a lot and also we eat quite a lot of eggs as mentioned by a previous contributor.

[Sleepybumble]

We give DD a well-balanced diet ensuring she gets all the vitamins and minerals she needs. We also encourage outdoor play and walks all year round

[munchbunch12]

I give mine plenty of the good stuff they like, like carrots, cucumber, broccoli, peas and most fruit, and little bits of other things they are less keen on (tomatoes, kale and mushrooms are especially disliked). I encourage them to mix something they like with something they don't in the same mouthful and give them lots of praise for trying it

[ASREE]

My kids (especially the youngest) absolutely love fruit and veg so I don't need to sneak it into their diet. They do, however, have chewable vitamins every day for a boost.

[SylvanianFrenemies]

I don't force them to eat anything, which I think helps a bit in making them open to eating a variety of foods.

In additipn, my 2 year old always wants to steal my food. So I make sure and have a couple of extra spoonfuls of healthy stuff arranged at the edge of my plate forget to pinch.

[Dizzywizz]

We get out every day, and they eat a balanced diet - especially keen on getting probiotics into them. They take a multi vitamin and mineral. Some veg is hidden in food, but I tell them when they’ve eaten some of it!

[giantdinosaur]

We blitz a lot of veg into sauces & have veg with every meal. Fruit is eaten all day long by our children. And we always do 20 mins in the sun with no cream for vit d (within safe hours).

[FreshAprilStart]

Healthy milkshakes, smoothies and dark green fruit smoothie with some veg. Apple juice to sweeten

[PorridgeAgainAbney]

Multivitamin of calcium, vit D, magnesium and zinc then just as wide a variety of food as possible:
Sauces made of different veg rather than tomato (combo of sweet potato, carrot and beetroot seems to be the most acceptable at the moment),
Always 3 different veg on the side to allow for the constant phases of likes and dislikes,
Fruit with breakfast and lunch,
Seeded bread for extra calcium, protein and fat,
Hummus as a base spread in sandwiches,
Ice cream made from dates, bananas and cocoa powder,
Flapjacks with ground almonds and sunflower seeds added,
Using combination of pastas; wheat, lentil and pea, to increase protein intake allowing us to reduce amount of meat used,
Mixing rice and quinoa to again reduce meat intake.

DS has food allergies so there’s never an opportunity missed to squeeze in extra nutrients, even in treats .

[Quietvoiceplease]

Lots of variety of foods, a range of colours on the plate. I also add lots of things into homemade pasta sauce or casseroles or soups. Nutritious, cheap: there's always lots of vegetables and soya mince added to Bolognese (grate veg and it simply becomes part of the sauce), plus lentils and pulses. We try and rely less on animal protein (though we still eat it several times a week) and more vegetarian food. Ultimately the focus must be on balance. Treats are fine, but there needs to be lots of fruit, vegetables, protein and other healthy foods.
Interestingly, am now caring for my DM who has advanced dementia and who can be difficult to engage with food (except sweet food, which she can eat at speed). So, much like a very young child we're back to easy to eat food, bite sized pieces and hidden vegetables.

[boptanana]

Fruit is always available and if they aren’t keen on cooked veg I will give them small bowls of salad like peppers cucumbers and tomatoes to snack on while they are waiting for dinner.

[buckley1983]

Fortunately my son loves eating fruit & veg.. I thank my lucky stars every day for this!! He can be a bit picky about the kind of fruit he wants - so we have a wide range in the fridge & the fruit bowl & it does all get eaten.
We often make a fruit salad which he really enjoys getting involved with - I think involving kids in food prep like this really piques their interest in nutrition & makes fruit & veg more exciting!
Smoothies are really fun to do too - we just use fresh/frozen fruit, ice & milk or water so no added fruit juice.
As the above poster stated, pots of crunchy veg sticks are great as a starter or a side to dinner - they often get eaten absent-mindedly!

[CopperPan]

My DCs have all been happy to eat fruit and veg, although some of them aren't keen on salad/raw veg. We rarely do puddings, but after meals I will make a little fruit salad, which always gets eaten. I add vegetables to all dishes - bolognese sauce, curries, shepherd's pie etc. But often we have steamed veg on the side, with a meat dish for dinner. If we are having salad, then I do some steamed frozen veg for the DCs who don't like salad. I do give them additional vitamin supplements, especially vitamin D and fish oils.