“Mama don’t give roti sabji for lunch please. All my friends bring brownies, pasta, sandwiches in the lunch box.” “Omelet! Not again!” “I am bored of parathas for breakfast, can you make noodles for us please.” This is what I go through every morning. Well … before COVID came.
Last year, my family shifted to United States. My kids (7-year-old sassy princess and 5-year-old Minecraft punk) have been going though a major cultural change which is clearly reflecting in their eating patterns. They are in love with milk and loopy cereals. The one with marshmallows… Yes, I know they are full of food colors and may be 50% of it is sugar. But what’s the option? Kids want what they want – Parenting rule 101 😊.
Due to the pandemic, kids have been home for a year now. Here is our humdrum routine. I wake up, get the kids out of bed, they do their morning routine and straight sit on the dining table – looking for breakfast. I am one of those fortunate moms, whose kiddos are morning people. But all their morning enthusiasm is linked to their morning breakfast. If they don’t like the breakfast, they get grumpy. This is the reason why I dread making any mistakes.
I literally make a list of breakfast options for every week. Bread is obviously number one of my list. 1st because it is ready to eat…duh… All I have to do is probably toast it and spread peanut butter, jelly or the holly Nutella. What is this craze with Nutella guys? Kids are wild about it! So yes.. I go with the flow. 2nd option is probably methi parathas… obviously it requires preparations. I generally make the dough using yogurt and no water. Kids love it! 3rd is fermented food – idli, dhoklas, dosas. Again it needs lot of work. Fermentation is very slow in winters and makes my options more limited.
I can go on with my breakfast list (corn flakes, oats, veg noodles, French toast, etc…) some healthy and some not so healthy. But my point is why is it so difficult to find healthy ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options. Be it in India or America or any part of the world…. especially for kids.
2 years back in India, my daughter would drink milk, grab a cookie/banana or a khakkhara and would run to catch the school bus. She never had time to sit and have breakfast. Her school offered lunch and I as a working mom of two, had no time to even think about the several breakfast options.
There is no shame in accepting that we all women need help in kitchen sometimes. How many times have we ordered food online or just made some instant noodles because we were too tired to cook? How many times have our kids skipped a meal because they didn’t like what they have on their plates? How many times have we hogged on vada pavs or samosas or bhajias while being on trips with kids? How many times have you woken up 5 am in morning to make theplas, parathas, missi rotis and puran polis for road trips? If only there was a traditional, healthy…. yet tasty ready-to-eat breakfast option… hmmmm…
When I heard about ready-to-eat Kanda Poha and Upma. I thought it was ingenious. The process of simplifying the long breakfast preparation routine is mind boggling. Here we are spending 20 mins in preparation… and this one is ready in 2-3 mins.. just add some hot water… why didn’t I think of that? Would have been a million-dollar business to pitch on SharkTank. Dreamer me… 😊.
These days different kinds of Indian ready-to-eat and packaged meals are even served on national flights. I myself had packed more than a dozen ready-to-cook Indian meals and snacks before leaving for US. And yes, there are many options – local and national food brands. Yet many of us still have apprehensions. Doubts about nutrition? Fear if it’s healthy enough.
Malnutrition is still the fundamental risk factor for 68 % of the deaths among children below the age of 5 in India according to one of the studies conducted in 2019. The Food and Nutrition Security Analysis report (2019) by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and The World Food Programme states that Maharashtra is one of the six states in India with high levels of stunting and underweight children. Undernourishment is prevalent in not only rural but also major urban cities. Looking at the current eating patterns of urban kids, it’s clear that kids are more and more leaning towards sugary or oily snacks. The busy daily routine of kids and parents are making things more complex.
Everyone desi or no desi people I have met here in US have their own take on Indian food. All of them love it (for sure) but they think it’s too spicy or oily. Is it really? Restaurant style cuisine is not cooked in Indian kitchens everyday. In fact, there is no other cuisine in the world that is not only healthy but has the diversity of food cultures within the same country. Indian meals include carbs, fats, proteins, grains, vegetables, spices and herbs, milk products, etc.- all collectedly contributing towards a balanced diet.
Coming back to our topic – Healthy Snacks and Breakfast Options for Children. Indian parents are more and more educated about child nutrition and development these days. Western food culture has brought bread, jam, butter, sugar cereals, cookies, noodles, oats, etc in our Indian breakfast and snacking menus but the spirit of Indian cuisine remains the same.
Yes, we all mothers take short cuts every now and then, but child’s nutrition is still very important to us. We have healthier options even when it comes to packaged food! It’s just that we haven’t tried it yet.
With COVID 19 and it’s economic impact, it has become more and more important to support local business and brands. “Atmanirbhar Bharat” is a dream for all of us but it can be only achieved if we all citizens support and buy local products.
One of such local brands that I would love to suggest is Dhanashree Gruha Udyog. If you live in Mumbai, do try and taste Dhanashree Gruha Udyog‘s healthy ready-to-cook, locally made products. They deliver all over the world. Here’s their website www.dhanashreefoods.com. These handcrafted products are also available on Amazon.
About Durga Singh
Durga Singh is the founder of Pregnancy to Parenthood – a community driven digital parenting blog. Corporate marketer turned parenting blogger strongly believes that a powerful parenting community can help each other in accomplishing parenting goals.
Durga’s 10+ years of experience in strategic digital marketing makes her a force to be reckoned with. The Mother of two energetic kids has been taking a roller coaster ride of parenthood with her loving husband. Durga Singh started Pregnancy to Parenthood by writing innocent letters in her pregnancy journal to her first unborn child. She wants every new mom or dad to know that they are not alone in this dynamic journey of parenthood. As a parenting community, they are committed to learning and researching new areas of childcare and development with industry experts, educators, and health professionals. For more information visit www.pregnancy-parenthood.com.