Is Your Child Eating Right?-Track Your and Your Child's Eating Habits!

You are working parents with a successful career graph. You have everything in your life-plum account,aesthetic home,valuables-everything else which you need to lead an excellent life. Hold on! Is it all you need? No, the most important aspect of life is 'Health'. It is not wrong to state that health is wealth. If you are not healthy I tell you your wealth doesn't make any sense. It is not your wealth which you have to pass on to your kids but your wisdom on leading a healthy lifestyle. Trust me your kids are going to be really grateful to you but if you pass this valuable wisdom of leading a healthy lifestyle to your kids. This time I will be disclosing another big reality about bad eating habits which have taken a toll over our health. You see if you are not maintaining good eating habits then forget to set any ideal for your kids. For making sure that your kids lead a healthy life you have to take your first step and see to it that you are making significant changes in your eating habits. Over the years I have realized how important role food plays in our life. If there is any answer to your and your child's health problem then it is without any doubt your and your child's eating habits. We all have set parameters for our life but setting those parameters we can't let our health take a backseat. Why be callous about your health if you take yourself seriously? If you are not taking your health seriously then it is evident enough that you are just not bothered about yourself. If this is true then you surely need SHM technique(this is how I define it) to deal with yourself-

Stop there itself,

Have a look at yourself and your family members,

Make Changes in your lifestyle.

Let me start with a real life experience. I got to see a little boy who came at our place after a long gap of time. This little boy hardly ate or drink anything except chips, cold drink. I was wondering what he would be like when he would grow up. The worst part was that his parents never gave a damn to his habits. I mean they were simply not concerned that their child was all the while consuming processed foodstuffs which might lead to further health problems like intestinal disease,liver and stomach infections. A friend of mine related a very sorry story to me about two such kids. She and her husband were invited to attend a dinner party at a city's famous restaurant. There she came across two kids who didn't eat anything at the party. No,they were not on fast. They had grown up on things like Pizza and burgers. These were not the food items which were part of the menu. So, they didn't feel like eating anything. The parents were all praise for their children and were boasting about the bad eating habits of their children. They revealed that their kids were studying in one of the city's best school which had a big Pizza center within their school campus. Children in the school are allowed cell phones. All the child is supposed to do is call up at the number of the delivery boy and within few minutes delivery boy delivers Pizza in the class room itself. The child is not even supposed to walk a bit to reach to the Pizza center and burn few calories. The parents of those kids with bad eating habits revealed that their kids eat pizza and burgers on a daily basis. So, when they go out with their kids for a holiday they have to make sure that they are going to such a place where outlets selling such food items are readily available. I mean now you can very well imagine that this is seriously not a thing which one should boast about. If your children are like this then I must say that you must be ashamed to boast about the spendthrift nature of your kids. You have to realize that no doubt how much you own,how much you and your children can spend on such fast foods the fact is that the more ignorantly you boast the more foolish you will appear. The others might be convinced that you have the strength to bear with the tantrums of your kids but they will also be convinced that you are just not concerned about the health of your kids. Pizza and burgers might be expensive food items for you but in most of the western countries they are ordinary fast food items. For instance, when a famous brand first brought their exotic style hamburgers to Moscow and Beijing, they were accepted as exotic foods for special occasions because they were relatively expensive. In countries like America and developed super powers they have a very different meaning--they are ordinary daily fast food products. Cold drinks,burgers and pizzas are all hazardous for you and your child's health. You must be very careful about the calories which you consume. The products made from refined flours(Maida) are neither good for your or your child's health. Fried foodstuffs prepared at home can be good for consumption but they must not have refined flour as an ingredient in them. If you are baking cakes make sure that you are using whole wheat. I know an aunt who bakes cakes and breads using whole wheat flours. I tell you that her cakes and breads are yummier than those ordinary refined flour cakes and breads available in the market. 

To keep yourself and your children healthy you have to cut down on the things below:

Fried fritters available by the roadside and for that matter available in big fast food restaurants-Either you give importance to your taste buds or your health. I hope health comes first to you. The reason why you are supposed to cut on such food items is the oil which is used in making such food items. I have seen that in most of the places the oil used for making fritters is used again and again. Reused oil is not good for the functioning of liver and heart. 

Refined flour food items like cakes,burgers,pizzas-You must know that refined flour(Maida) is very difficult to digest for those people who have a sedentary lifestyle. Refined flour blocks intestines and even leads to anaemia. It blocks your attempts of reducing weight and it harms your liver. Most of the stomach problems, obesity and constipation is caused by such food products which are made from refined flour. If your child is having constipation then he or she might have boils on his or her face, will complain about stomach pain and lack of appetite. This further can complicate your child's health problems. The children who eat such food items on a daily basis are obese and find it extremely difficult in stretching their limbs. Once in a bluemoon is fine but you need to work out excessively and sweat out to make sure that you digest what you had.

Cold Drinks and Processed juices-This is one big no when it comes to drinking. Opt for fresh  fruit juices without salt and sugar. I mean when you prepare your fruit juice or get it prepared then see to it that you are not adding things like salt,black salt and sugar to your drinks. You can opt for lemonades-yes for lemonades you can add salt and sugar. Cold drinks are not good for liver,stomach and body growth. Processed juices are not so good because you never know the amount of sugar which has been added to your favorite juice which is available in cans in the market.I remember as a child I would carry that big 3 litre bottle of Milton filled with cold drink and share it with my friends at school. All my friends would drink to their fill but there was this one girl who would drink a bit and then say no. I would find her weird then but when I got to know about the facts I made sure not to carry cold drinks. From next time I started carrying home made sherbets made from fruits,sugar and water.

Biscuits,chips and Namkeens-Avoid eating such things wherever you are. You won't die if you won't eat these things. If your friends compel you tell them politely that you are concerned about your health. 

Avoid all Processed and frozen food items- Such foods are not good for health and they can obstruct your child's healthy growth.

SAY NO TO ALCOHOL and PRODUCTS CONTAINING ALCOHOL!-I can't say much on it for you as parents know it better than anyone else.

What you should eat when it comes to snacking?

Eat healthy home made foodstuffs. Snack on fruits, fresh wholewheat cakes,upma,uttapam, idlis, dhoklas, dosa, mishti doi.

One good recipe of Mishti Doi can be with fruits in it. I really love this recipe and Mishti Doi with fruits is my all time favorite desert. Another good snack is Dhokla which is very light to digest.

Hope this would help you and I wish it redefines your child's lifestyle and choices as well.

Children are not so fussy and dumb that they can't make good choices once they are told about the repercussions of their choices. All what children need is direction,they need someone to guide them and show them the way. Once they get to know about the benefits of eating and drinking right foodstuffs. Once again I would like to state that it is you as a parent who is required to take the first step. If you do so your children without any doubt will follow your footsteps.

Yes, I do follow all the above things. I am a vegetarian as well. I believe in eating right and I seriously find problems if I break my regime. By my master's(Sri Sathya Sai Baba) grace I have tuned my body in such a manner that I hardly feel like eating out. If I have to eat out without any choice I make healthy choices.

~Sai Aanchal

image author: Nauzer,
image source:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AnnaPrashan_%28Anna_Prashan%29_-_Hindu_First_Rice_Eating_Ceremony.JPG