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Healthy holiday eating
The authors of The Art of Hiding Vegetables, Karen Bali and Sally Child, give some useful tips on making sure your kids eat healthy food on holiday
Holiday food often consists of fish and chips, sandwiches and ice cream. It can be a great time but can also be stressful, particularly if children are hyperactive due to too much sugar and moody because their diet and routine have been disrupted. Constipation is often a problem too as holiday food may have little fibre. You will probably want a break from being vigilant about their diet and welcome a more relaxed time with your children. Forward planning can help things run smoothly with little effort.
- First of all, be sure to take lots of healthy snacks with you or buy a variety when you arrive for eating throughout the day. Bags of dried fruit, a variety of fresh fruit, salad for snacking and sandwiches, cereal bars, pure fruit bars and flapjacks will all provide nutrition and fibre.
- Try to start each day of your holiday with a healthy breakfast - see ideas above - so that children start the day well. If you are staying in hotels rather than self-catering this can be more difficult and it may not be possible for them to have any fruit or vegetable portions at breakfast, so offer fruit later to supplement.
- Holidays are a great time for picnics. Cakes with hidden fruit can be made in advance if you are not travelling far and removed from the freezer the day you start your holiday.
- When you have chips, whether eating out or takeaway, try to limit to two or three times a week and give children fish and pea fritters with ketchup rather than sausages and pies.
- Order fruit juice for children when you are eating out and take or buy a good supply of small fruit juice cartons for drinks throughout the day. For holiday picnics make high juice squash with some added fruit juice and real lemonade for a treat.
- Take with you a bottle of children's vitamins and a natural laxative like syrup of figs that contains just concentrated fruit fibre. This way you can ensure that if food options are limited, children become fussy or if they lose their appetite they will have some basic nutrition and fibre.
The most important things of all, of course, are for the children to have fun and for you to relax, enjoy yourself and have a rest from the daily grind as much as is possible for parents on holiday.
The Art of Hiding Vegetables - Sneaky ways to feed your children healthy food by Karen Bali and Sally Child is published by White Ladder Press on 15 August at £7.99. It is available online before publication for £6.50 with free p&p. Visit the website to order
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