"When your serve a meal with words like 'healthy', people tend to reject it, be it an adult or a child. They hear the word healthy and they refuse to eat. What I do is alter one part of it. You cannot force food on Indians; it's a part of their legacy," said the Michelin Starred Indian chef and restaurateur, Vikas Khanna.
Khanna says that children should not be stopped from doing anything. All we need to do is engage with them more and provide substitutes for their favourite food.
"If they love Maggi, let them have it. Just replace it with atta (wheat) noodles. Do you know that in Ladakh people have been eating whole wheat pasta as their meal since a long time? The regular pasta should be changed with the wheat one, that's all," says Khanna, who has also hosted the popular television show 'Master Chef'.
Smita Gyan Srivastava, author of ‘Fun Food for Fussy Little Eaters’ says that children get scared when they see a plate full of pulses, veggies and roti. Their meal should be divided and sometimes innovated to help them consume the nutrients with a dish that looks tasty.
