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10 Amazing Kids Lunch Box Ideas
Feeding your little ones something they like which is at the same time healthy is a tough task indeed. Kids just tend to prefer foods that are bad for them, like junk and processed food. Another problem you might be facing is that of time: as busy or working mothers, it might be hard for you to pack a nutritious meal into their lunch boxes before they head off to school. Luckily for you, this article provides ten children's lunch box ideas that are unique, delicious and healthy.
Easy Lunch Box Ideas & Recipes for Kids
1. Fruit Smoothie
This is a refreshing drink for anyone, especially if the weather is warm. However, make sure you do not replace water with smoothies or fruit juices. The easiest way to make a fruit smoothie is by combining fruits of your choice (ideally bananas, apples, mangoes, custard apples, strawberries, etc.) with milk, nuts, cinnamon and vanilla essence in a blender. Adjust the amounts to get the consistency you desire. It is preferable you sweeten the drink with jaggery or honey rather than refined sugar.
2. Uttapam
Uttapam or savoury bread pancakes have been a staple South Indian dish for hundreds of years. To make them, you will need bread, onions, tomatoes, milk, capsicum, potatoes, chilli powder, masala, and salt. Add all the ingredients together and mix to make a thick glutinous batter. Spread some groundnut or rice bran oil in a heated pan, and pour some of the batter over it. Let the batter take a roughly round shape, then let it fry over a low flame until both sides are honey brown in colour. Uttapams can be served with chutney, sambar or ketchup.
3. Beaten Rice Tikki
One of the most commonly used ingredients in Indian cuisine is beaten or flattened rice; it is used to make several dishes such as Poha, Pulau, Dahi Chura and so on. This recipe will make use of any leftover poha at home to create a tasty snack. Grind the leftover poha you have in a blender. Combine it with cooked potatoes, garam masala, ginger, garlic, chillies, onions, and salt. Shape the mixture into flattened disks or tikkis, then fry them in oil over a medium flame until they are brown.
4. Bread Sushi
One of the easiest snacks to make at home is the completely vegetarian sushi roll. It is incredibly delicious and will have your kids begging for more. To make it, cut off the crusts from wholegrain bread slices, then flatten the bread under a rolling pin. Layer the upper side of the flattened slice with peanut butter, jam, butter, mustard or any condiment you think your child will enjoy. Finally, roll the bread from one end to another, and cut it in half. Voila! Bread Sushi!
5. Veggie Toast
This dish is an effective way of delivering vegetables to your child’s diet. Pick a selection of vegetables such as brinjal, tomatoes, capsicum, onions, and carrots. Cut them into small pieces and fry them in oil with salt, ginger and garlic. Add bread slices to a separate pan, toasting them until golden brown. Decorate the toast with a helping of the veggies in different ways. Add cheese, chaat masala and other flavors to improve the taste.
6. Bread Rolls
Bread rolls are amazing appetizers your child can take to school. Combine cooked potatoes, green chillies, garam masala, coriander and garlic and fry them together in groundnut oil. After a couple of minutes, take them off the stove and add ginger and pudina leaves. Now soak bread slices in water, squeeze out excess moisture, place the mixture above on the slice and fold the bread so it covers the potato filling. Fry the rolls until they are browned on all sides. This dish can be eaten with ketchup or chutney.
7. Veggie Idli
A wonderful variation on the standard idli, the veggie idli is a sneaky but yummy way of incorporating vegetables into your child’s meals. To prepare the filling, combine vegetables and spices of your choice in oil and saute until they are cooked. Add the veggie filling to your pre-prepared idli batter and cook as per usual. You can serve this dish with sambar and chutney.
8. Semolina Dhokla
Dhoklas are a beloved treat in West India. Making them from suji or semolina makes them even healthier. Combine semolina with curd, turmeric, chilli powder, salt, green chillies, coriander and sugar to make a gooey batter. Boil water in a steamer and place the batter in a dhokla stand, allowing it to steam for about ten minutes. You can fry the dhoklas in mustard oil and curry leaves for a unique taste. Adding veggies and nuts will improve their nutritive quality.
9. Bread Cup Pizza
This is a great recipe to get your kids excited about lunchtime. For this, you need a muffin tray. Cut circles out of bread slices and place them in the tray. Mix a variety of chopped veggies with spices like thyme, salt, mustard and garlic and add them to the bread cups. Pour some grated cheese on top and bake the tray for ten minutes in an oven until the bread is brown-tinged. You can serve them with mayonnaise or tomato sauce.
10. Indian Pasta
This dish sounds complicated, doesn’t it? In fact, it is as easy to make as it is delicious. Cook pasta of your choice in the usual way. To prepare the sauce, combine mustard seeds, black gram, red lentils, onions and coriander leaves and fry in coconut oil until cooked. Then mix tomato puree with salt, garam masala, ginger, garlic, and fenugreek, boil the mixture for a few minutes and combine it with the previous concoction. Toss the pasta in the sauce, add a few drops of lime and serve the dish!
There are several ways to innovate in the kitchen. Play around with the kids' tiffin box ideas mentioned in this article, change ingredients, amounts or even methods of cooking to create unique variations that will keep your child happy, healthy and excited for their next meal.
Also Read:
Indian Breakfast Recipes for Kids
Weight Gain Foods for Babies & Kids Read more
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Daily Routine for Kids - Importance, Chart and Tips
A big challenge that parents today face is the lack of routine in the life of their kids. Be it school days or holidays, kids don’t seem to do anything on time as they have too many distractions with technology seeping into every part of their lives. It is very important to cultivate a habit of following a routine to help kids cope with changes in their lives. A routine sinks in a basic level of discipline in their lives and keeps them both mentally and physically engaged. It also challenges them to complete tasks within a stipulated time frame, so they know the importance of time management.
Children who have followed a predictable routine are well equipped to deal with the changes and rise up to the occasion as the edifice to their existence is well-structured. It is, however, important to balance strictness and rigidity in following a routine. It could kill their sense of joy and freedom and destroy their childhood. Parents who incorporate too much routine and structure in the lives of their children eventually destroy the native creativity and spontaneity of the child.
Importance of Establishing Daily Routine for Children
A child’s brain needs constant engagement, stimulation and challenge to be groomed into a well-rounded personality. Establishing a routine should be restricted to performing the daily chores of one’s life and leave some time of the day as unstructured to help kids gain insight into their strengths and weaknesses. Structure and routine should be enforced to help kids take control of themselves, adopt constructive habits to be able to adapt to different situations in life. Here are other benefits of a daily routine.
1. Eliminates Power Struggles at Home
Routine works well in eliminating power issues at home as you don’t need to constantly monitor your child’s activities. (brushing, napping, turning off the TV, meal times). You can avoid constant nagging which helps to not portray you as the bad one.
2. Increases Cooperation from Kids
A routine encourages kids to cooperate and reduces stress and anxiety in the house. Everyone is aware of the flow with each activity completed without any chaos
3. Helps Kids Become Responsible
When kids learn to brush their teeth, pack their bags, do their homework and eat their meals without constant reminders, it inculcates a sense of responsibility in them. They eventually like the fact that they are in charge of themselves. They become competent and don’t rebel.
4. The Concept of “Looking Forward” to Exciting Activities
Kids learn that they will get to enjoy certain activities like going to the park or for a playdate only if they finish their routine chores on time. They manage their time to win some extra time for fun activities.
5. Establishing a Schedule
A regular routine establishes a schedule which works in clockwise precision and helps children fall asleep sooner.
6. Increases Bonding
Incorporating some moments of love and affection with your child will motivate them to do complete their tasks. Snuggle up to them before going to bed or even a tight good morning hug helps you connect at an intuitive level building security and cooperation in your relationship.
7. Helps Parents Find Consistency in Daily Life
Parents who skip routines or trade it off for settling a dispute often find themselves burdened. But when everything is fixed, healthy expectations are floated around and eventually the household runs smoothly.
8. Manage Discipline Issues, Stress and Anxiety
Working parents are often faced with stressful situations with their kids displaying lack of discipline and disregard for rules. But with a routine established, things could work predictably adding a bit of calm to the stressful times.
9. Kids Know What a Day Looks Like
A fixed routine helps kids to know what a typical weekday or weekend would look like. So they are not thrown off guard which induces a sense of security and reduces stress.
10. Reduces Arguments and Discussions
A routine saves you from having length arguments, discussion and justifications for completion of tasks. Your kids will focus 100% on brushing their teeth before breakfast as that is what is expected.
Things to Keep in Mind While Setting Daily Routine for Kids
A structured family life is definitely very re-assuring and research has proved that a scheduled lifestyle leads to a healthy life. But there are certain things that we need to keep in mind while setting a routine for kids. We need to work around the following:
1. Build a Routine that Suits Your Child
A routine should be built around times kids wake up, eat and sleep, so that it comes naturally to them to follow it.
2. Keep Your Expectations Real
Realistic timelines should be set with enough “waste time” for children to adapt to the pattern.
3. Incorporate Everything
Don’t forget to add extras to the routine that your family has, like chore time, personal conversations with each child in case of more than one kid, school clubs and classes.
4. Night-time Routine Should Help Prepare for the Next Day
Ensure night time routine includes preparation for the next day- packing bags, sorting out sports equipment, arranging school clothes to save time in the morning. Get your child to help you with these things as per their age.
5. Get Your Family’s Opinion About the Routine
Get input from all your family members and care givers to sort the routine out. It will help if you take your child’s suggestions into consideration as they may involve themselves in following the routine too.
6. Outline the Objectives of the Routine to Your Family
When you start with the routine, make sure you talk your entire family through it step by step. This reinforces the information and automatically triggers the action within a few days.
7. It is a Team Effort and Includes Your Spouse Too
Remember to have a rota for sharing duties with your partner so that kids know that both parents are equally involved and enthusiastic about sticking to the routine and appreciate the benefits.
8. Offer Rewards as an Incentives to a Tough Task
If you find any hurdles in a particular activity, try to tackle it with reward and appreciation. Night time routines are generally tough as kids are fatigued and a little irritable. Add a reward box to the existing chore in the chart to act as an incentive.
9. Ensure it’s Seen
Most important stick up a chart where it will be visible and they can refer to it.
Sample Daily Routine Chart for Children
It is extremely difficult to juggle several things as a parent and one could do with a head start on how to implement a daily routine for children. The chart below gives you a template to record the routine activities that your children need to do in clockwise precision and settle into a routine. The chart includes basic activities that are a part of a child’s life and you can add your bits as appropriate. Post this daily routine schedule for kids on the refrigerator or an accessible place for them to work through.
TASK
TIME
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Waking Up
Brushing
Exercise
Bath
Dressed to school
Play time after school
Homework time
Help with household chores
Dinner time
Put toys away
Night time brushing
Prayers and Good Night greetings
This chart is not the perfect one and is just an indicator of how you could draft yours around your lifestyle.
How to Encourage Your Kids to Follow Daily Routine?
It is daunting to get into the flow of daily routine activities for kids both for you and them. It is very important to drive home the importance of following the rules and work diligently. It is easy for your child to lose motivation and focus in a day and it is not their fault. A few tips to keep their momentum.
Ensure to Set it Up Properly
Encourage your kids to be involved in setting the routine by asking them to stick the chart and read out the contents.
Use a Friendly Demeanour
Infuse enthusiasm by reminding them every morning in a cheerful disposition. Lecturing will certainly not help.
Set the Momentum
Set the pace by staying with them during the tasks at the beginning for a couple of days.
Review
Make sure to review the checklist every night before you go to bed to create a sense of accomplishment.
Appreciation
Don’t forget to praise them for their effort and achievement as they tick off a task.
No amount of emphasis on the importance of routine will suffice to highlight the benefits. But it is certain that once kids are used to one they will instinctively follow it all the way through to emerge successful in future.
Also Read:
Stages of Child Development
List of Good Habits to Teach Kids Read more
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Maawa Pedha
Maawa pedha is an Indian sweet prepared from evaporated milk called maawa or khoa. Milk is reduced to one fourth of its quantity by cooking on a low flame. This reduced milk, maawa, is further simmered on low flame with milk, sugar, cardamom and saffron to give you those luscious pedhas. We reckon, you’ll find it really difficult to keep yourself away from this sweet course dish.
Serves
Preparation Time
Cooking Time
6 People
5 - 10 Minutes
15 - 20 Minutes
Ingredients
1 cup mawa, crumbled
3 tbsp milk
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp saffron
1 & ½ tbsp ghee
¼ tsp cardamom powder
6 pistachios
Method
Step 1
Add saffron in warm milk and allow it to dissolve.
Step 2
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add the crumbled mawa and keep stirring it on low flame for about 2 - 3 minutes.
Step 3
Add milk and sugar to mawa. Stir continuously.
Step 4
Add cardamom powder and keep mixing.
Step 5
Mawa will start to thicken and would start leaving the sides of the pan.
Step 6
When it forms a large lump, switch off the flame.
Step 7
Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Step 8
Grease your hands with ghee or oil and make small balls out of the maawa mix. Slightly flatten the balls to get the perfect shape of pedha or imprint some designs of your choice. You would approximately get about 14 - 15 pedhas.
Step 9
Place a pistachio at the center of each of the pedhas and serve.
Nutritional Information
Calories
144 K cal
Proteins
5.2 g
Fats
7.5 g
Carbohydrates
14.8 g
Cholesterol
24 mg
Sodium
71 mg
Potassium
259 mg
Read more
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What You Must Check About Your Baby's Diaper Material
It never ceases to surprise us how cute babies manage to look wearing only diapers all day! The diaper is your baby’s constant companion for several months after his birth and this is why you ensure he gets only the best. You have checked the date of manufacture, the packaging, and felt the softness of the material. But there is another very critical thing that you need to ensure. It is this check that can keep your baby safe and away from any skin or overall health problems in the coming days.
Disposable diapers rank among the most thoughtful and practical inventions of all times. Can you imagine life without a diaper? Your baby would never be dry and comfortable and you wouldn’t get even a wink of sleep or rest! Supermarket aisles abound in parents hoarding diapers and they occupy shelf after shelf in your cupboard back home. The very fact that a diaper is your most used baby product necessitates closer inspection.
Here’s What You Need to Make Sure Before Letting Your Baby Use a Certain Diaper
1. Ultra-Soft Material
Babies have extremely sensitive skin. In fact, research has proven that a baby’s skin is way thinner and more susceptible to infection and dryness than an adult’s skin. Since your baby is going to experience skin-to-skin contact with a diaper throughout the day, it is crucial that you only expose him to safe, lab-tested material. Not doing this could mean a cranky baby, a diaper rash, or worse, a skin infection! Huggies diaper-pants, for instance, use ultrasoft material in their products. This means your darling feels no irritation at all.
2. No Harmful Chemicals
One of the biggest reasons behind skin irritation for babies is exposure to chemicals. Your baby is too young and its skin too gentle to handle any harsh contact. Several products in the market, such as anti-bacterial soaps, use a chemical called triclosan. But remember this, what may be perfectly acceptable for adults can turn out to be very dangerous for babies. You should look at a diaper that doesn’t contain any such questionable chemicals. Consult with your paediatrician on this if in doubt. ||
3. Good, But Safe, Absorbency
It goes without saying that a good diaper needs to absorb well. That’s the whole point, right? Yes, but good absorption should also mean that the material the nappy uses to soak is safe. In a Huggies diaper, the padded area contains a polyacrylate crystal combined with wood pulp. This turns liquid into gel and prevents leakage. But here’s the best part - this gel material is totally safe and does not harm your baby in any way.
That said, you should also check the diaper’s design before purchasing. While this may seem unbelievable, boys and girls actually need different diapers. This is because boys wet the front region of their diapers more but for girls, the concentration of urine is in the central region. So, you need to make sure that the extra dry layer is positioned accordingly.
So mommy, have you checked your baby’s diaper yet? Don’t let anything come in the way of your baby’s health and safety, even if that means being slightly obsessive about this. As moms, you know there’s nothing that gives more joy than a well fed and comfortable baby! Read more
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Babyhug plant based disinfectant liquid laundry detergent the best review
Name : Mayawati
Bidve
age& gender of the baby : 19 months old, female
product name: Babyhug plant-based disinfectant liquid laundry detergent.
We all love baby's super soft, delicate skin. Since baby's skin is sensitive
and using harsh, soda-based detergents to wash their clothes can cause
irritation and other skin problems. As a mother of a baby girl, I always worry
about her skin and end up using natural and chemical-free products for her
skin.
often babies suffer from rashes or redness on the skin from wearing clothes
washed with harmful chemical detergents. So here is the solution babyhug has come
up with plant-based antibacterial Liquid Laundry Detergent formulated
especially for little one’s clothes. It does not contain any harsh chemicals.
It is free from dyes& bleach that cause irritation and other skin
problems in babies and also ensures that the baby's clothes are free from germs
and are sparkling clean! what else do we mothers want?
Babies are very delicate as their immune system is still developing, they
tend to get infected easily. Babyhug's liquid detergent has antibacterial
properties which helps to reduce Bacteria effectively. natural plants formula
which doesn’t roughen clothes and makes them soft.
It comes in an ergonomically designed plastic bottle which is easy to handle and is available in two sizes 550ml
and 1ltr. It has a concentrated formula so a small quantity of liquid is also enough. a tablespoon or two of liquid detergent is enough for nearly one
bucket clothes. so it’s very economical.1 ltr of bottle will be enough for
washing enough number of clothes a day for almost 2 months.
Its antibacterial formula helps in reducing bacteria and natural plant
formula is gentle on babies clothes. It balances ph level and has no
artificial colouring. This liquid detergent dissolves quickly in water so does
not leave any residues of detergent on clothes like any powder detergents and
thus saves time. overall it is a very better choice for your baby's
clothes.
First thing that
I like about it is that it’s a liquid detergent and dissolves easily in
water. I’m fed-up with the powder detergents as it leaves residues on the
clothes which can be harmful for babies as they tend to chew their
clothes more often and also the residues of the powder detergents looks bad
on the dark coloured clothes.
It has concentrated formula so you don’t need to use much detergent for
washing those piles of your baby's clothes. It’s a super saver so again it’s
a plus point
Though it is good
at removing stains but it’s not that effective at removing hard stains like
food stains/ oil stains .So performance in terms of cleaning could be better.
Ratings of this
product on the basis of-
1.features: As the company claims It is
antibacterial, it has no artificial colouring,it is mild and non-stimulant.
It contains natural plant formula which leaves clothes soft. So, I’m giving
it full rating in terms of its features.
features:5/5
2.product Design: The design of the product is very ergonomic.
The liquid comes in a vertical shaped plastic bottle. the colour of the
bottle is white and the cap colour is blue. this colour combo looks great.
bottle comes with a handle on it, so it becomes easy to use it. It is
available in two sizes 550ml and 1 ltr bottle.
product Design: 5/5
3.perfomance: It is antibacterial, it has no artificial colouring, it is mild and
non-stimulant. It leaves clothes soft after washing. but it is not that
effective on the stains. It cannot remove oily food stains completely.
Although it is good at cleaning normal dirt and stains and it has mild
pleasant smell which is again a plus point.
performance: 4/5
4.value for money: yes, it is a complete value for
money product. It costs 495 rupees for one ltr bottle and one bottle
can be used easily for upto 2 months. Plus, as mentioned above, it has
many other good features that makes the product worth.
value for money: 5/5
yes, definitely I would recommend this product to other moms.
Read more
POOJA KOTHARI has added a new answer
Trying To Conceive
1 hour ago
Q. #asktheexpert
will women get stomach ache at 40th day of implantation.
which means after 10 days of her missed period
POOJA KOTHARI
Mom of a 7 yr 1 m old boy
1 hour ago
A. The duration of implantation cramping varies from person to person but doesn't last longer than a few days. Some people experience a few minor twinges over a few hours or the course of a day. On the other end of the spectrum, some experience intermittent cramping that comes and goes over one to three days.
Rashmi has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 4 months
1 hour ago
Q. If a diabetic mother is pregnent chance of baby having diabetes?
Rashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 7 m old girl
1 hour ago
A. No it is a very common thing with women to be seen that they are diabetic or they have thyroid during the time of pregnancy but that does not mean your child is also going to have the same problem as these things are not contagious you are not going to pass it on to your child during pregnancy so don’t worry about it
Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
1 hour ago
Q. New born baby is not poop more than 1 week? How to recover that
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
1 hour ago
A. Stool pattern of small children changes from time to time.
It can be more than 7 times per day also and sometimes the child will not pass stool for 10 days also.
The most important thing is the consistency of the stool and if it is Semi solid to solid or semi liquid then there is no need to worry about the frequency axs well as colour as well as the smell of the stool
Also straining and crying while passing urine and stool is very normal.
the crying of the child is due to colic pain and not due to constipationx
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
37 mins ago
Q. hi, I'm 4th month pregnant. my last period date was jan 7th. I was asked to take iron and calcium supplements. after started with those supplements, my body's temperature started increasing. how do I get rid of this. can I stop taking these supplements?
Read moreDr Ghouse
Paediatrician
23 mins ago
A. there is no relation taking calcium and iron and body temperature. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
25 mins ago
Q. 11Weeks on going and the problem is continuously vomiting, body&headache pain.
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
23 mins ago
A. please check the temperature can be a viral infection. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Rashmi has added a new answer
Trying To Conceive
7 mins ago
Q. is it normal to have 2 dominant follicles in Right ovary? Today is my D8 and the size of both the follicles are 20x18mm and 19x18 mm Is it normal.
and left ovary follicles 12x18mm.and ET size 7.89
pls advice
Rashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 7 m old girl
3 mins ago
A. Your doctor would be able to give you better clarity help and advice on the situation that is there so kindly get in touch with your gynaecologist she will be able to clear all your queries whatever you have associated with the things that you have posted
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