As parents we all want our children to enjoy a variety of nutritious food, but we also know that this is often easier said than done. These smart strategies will help your toddler develop lifelong healthy eating habits, so that their body and brain can mature to their full potential during this time of rapid growth and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A child\u2019s relationship with food is largely formed by their parents and caregivers, mirroring their food preferences and relationship to food. So, the first positive step you can take is to look at you and your family\u2019s own snack and mealtime habits. Are you preparing and eating healthy meals? If not, put effort into addressing what and how you eat. Studies show that most of our unhealthy snacks and meals are consumed outside the home \u2013 another reason to make healthy home-prepared meals and snacks a priority, rather than convenience foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Healthy foods needn\u2019t be bland and unappetising. Get creative with fruit and vegetables when preparing and presenting meals. Use sliced veg to make a face on top of a homemade pizza or ask your child to help you thread fruit kebabs. Explore the Recipe<\/a> tab on our Squish website for inspiration. It is packed with recipes that include 100% Squish Fruit and Veggie Purees <\/strong>\u2013 they\u2019reguaranteed to make your little one smile\u2026 and gobble them up! Try this Sweet Potato, Apple and Cinnamon Stack<\/a> that with a little fruity imagination turns into a cute piggy, or these impossible-to-resist Bananasicles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can take a toddler a while to get used to different textures and flavours, which is why adding a new taste to something they already enjoy can be an effective way for them to get used to something new. Squish 100% Fruit and Veggie Purees<\/strong> offer a simple and convenient way to do this. Simply add a squeeze of Squish 100% Veggie Puree<\/strong> to a favourite like scrambled egg or mash. All Squish purees have a convenient resealable lid, which means you can just use what you need, then pop the rest back in the fridge for later. There are a whole variety of flavours, from fruity favourites like Mango + Banana<\/strong> and Summer Berries<\/strong> to our full veggie range, including Butternut + Carrot<\/strong> and Mixed Veg<\/strong>. The Squish range is free of preservatives, colourants and flavourant,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 plus, there is no added starch or cane sugar \u2013 which means you\u2019ll be making a naturally good choice for your child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re heading to a restaurant, try not order a meal for your little one from the children\u2019s menu \u2013 they\u2019re usually high in carbs and fat with little nutritional value. Rather look at the starter options on the regular menu and pick a healthy option from there. Or better still, pack a container into a small thermal flask with some ready-cooked pasta and top it with Squish 100% Veggie Puree.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And make sure your menu choices are healthy too \u2013 remember, your little one is watching and learning from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As often as possible, try sit down together with your toddler to enjoy a family breakfast or supper. Let your child try foods off your plate and praise them when they try something new. Remove all distractions too \u2013 make sure the TV is off and that your phone isn\u2019t distracting you. You could also let them serve themselves. It is these small good eating habits \u2013 mindful eating, portion control, a variety of flavours and textures \u2013 that all work together to set your child up for a lifetime of healthy food habits and a positive attitude to food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As parents we all want our children to enjoy a variety of nutritious food, but we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-6mnths","odd","has-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3211"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3215,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3211\/revisions\/3215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/squish.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}