The Only Reason Why My Teenager Eats Vegetables

 

I bet that you’ve read the title of this article and thought “what’s the secret?”! 

It is unfortunately not uncommon for teenagers and children to dislike vegetables. Most vegetables have either a plain, bitter or metallic taste and are not received the same way by the developing tastebuds of children and teenagers as by adults’.

There are A LOT of foods that I now eat and enjoy as a middle aged adult that I wouldn’t even look at when I was a child or a teenager. I remember on many occasions being forced to eat my vegs, only to end up in the toilets at the end of the meal, throwing them all up. 

My teenage son is not a fan of vegetables, and I can’t really blame him for this, considering my story. I have never forced him, again, remembering my story and how painful psychologically it was to be made feel there was something wrong with you for not eating or liking vegs.

However, I’ve always tried to “skilfully” sneak a vegetable or two in his food, mostly failures, I have to admit, but one success - my “special mash” is boiled potatoes, with either boiled broccoli or spinach (occasionally I might dump a carrot as well), butter, a little bit of milk all blended together, and half a pack of grated cheese. By its colour, it is obvious there are greens in there, but since it’s “special” with loads of cheese (he’s always loved cheese), it makes it all better. When he was little and until recently, that would be the only way he would eat vegetables willingly.

However, in the last year or so, he has become more and more passionate about Japan and its culture (hopefully at some point he’ll get to Zen practices 🤣). We have been watching some Japanese anime series on TV and very often we would see characters eating “ramen”. To me, it looked like a “made up” meal, but by researching online I discovered that it was a genuine Japanese traditional dish. Searching for recipes - there are many if you google “ramen recipes” - I realised that some of the ingredients were unfamiliar to me, but that I could easily reproduce something that would look like and taste like ramen.

It is now a MUST weekly meal that we have twice a week (because I cook bigger quantities so there is always leftovers for the next day - time saving!) and a favourite of his - and he is fully aware there are vegetables in there; he even eats the soft boiled eggs even though “he doesn’t like eggs”! But you see, it’s Japanese, so if it’s Japanese, it’s delicious!

I hope this little story would have brought you a glimmer of hope and inspired you to try and find creative ways to help your children and teens eat more vegetables painlessly (both for you and for them) and wilfully.

As a bonus, here’s my recipe for my Ramen-style dish: - it is about 4 servings

Ingredients: mince beef (about 250g), 2 stock cubes (beef or vegetables), 1 courgette, 2 peeled carrots, 1 peeled parsnip, 1/4 small white cabbage cut in thin strips, 1 pack of noodles (I now prefer using thick rice noodles usually for Udon as I am gluten intolerant, but you can use normal flat noodles. I did on this first attempt on the photo), 1 soft boiled egg per person, pinch of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder, 1 tablespoon of ghee, 5 to 10 mushrooms depending on size (chopped in thinnish slices, whatever you can safely manage - I like using chestnut mushrooms since I have very limited access to the “real” type)

I peel my vegetables (skin off, then carry on peeling the whole vegetables - it’s quicker to cook and the taste is not as isolated and noticeable as when you chew chunks), then place them with all the ingredients (apart from eggs) in a big stew/casserole dish, and cover it all with boiled water from the kettle. Put on medium heat for about 15 minutes with a lid covering the dish (I leave a tiny bit of a gap to let some of the steam escape). I mix it with a wooden spoon once in a while to separate and spread the noodles.

10 minutes before it’s done, I boil some water in a kettle and, in a saucepan, I place my eggs and cover with the boiled water. I leave on medium heat for about 6 minutes and place my eggs in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes to cool the shells and outer egg, then peel the shells off.

Once the Ramen is ready, fill in the serving bowls, cut the eggs in 2 and place on top of the “soup” - et voila! Enjoy ❤️❤️❤️

You can obviously replace the beef with any other meat - or fish - you wish, or if you are vegetarian or vegan, pulses would be very nice as well, or meat alternatives such as quorn or tofu. And of course, any vegs will do as well ❤️❤️❤️.

Food - You Become What You Eat (Part 2)

Welcome back to Part 2 of this article. This week we are going to focus on what your body needs to function.

WHAT YOUR BODY NEEDS

Your body needs fuel to function, just like a car needs petrol to run. Different parts of our body will need different nutrients, which is why it is so important to have a varied diet

Vitamin A is essential for healthy skin, infection protection, in the assimilation of proteins, vision; it is also a powerful antioxidant and immune system booster.

Vitamin B1 is vital for energy production, brain function, digestion, and is also an antioxidant.

Vitamin B2 helps turn fat, sugar and protein into energy, repairs and maintains healthy skin, regulates body acidity, helps with red blood cells formation and is essential for hair and nail growth.

Vitamin B3 helps with energy production, aids in balancing good sugar, assists with digestion and cleanses toxins.

Vitamin B5 is also an important actor in energy production, controls fat metabolism, is essential to the brain and nervous system and helps produce anti-stress hormones, as well as healthy skin and hair.

Vitamin B6 is essential for protein digestion and utilisation, brain function, hormone production; it is also an immune system booster and helps control allergic reactions.

Vitamin B12 is needed for protein assimilation, helps blood carry oxygen, is essential for energy and nerves, deals with toxins and helps with DNA synthesis.

Folic acid (Folate) is critical for the foetus to develop the brain and nerves in pregnancy stages, assists in blood red cells formation, protein utilisation and nerve and brain function.

Biotin (Vitamin B7) assists with healthy skin, hair and nerves, and is essential in childhood for general development.

Vitamin C strengthens the immune system, makes collagen, keeps bones, skin and joints healthy, firm and resistant, is an antioxidant, detoxifies, increases absorption of iron, magnesium, copper and potassium, speeds wound healing, protects against cancer and heart diseases.

Vitamin D maintains strong, healthy bones by retaining calcium, increases immunity and protects against osteoporosis.

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, protects cells from damage, helps the body use oxygen, improves wound healing, fertility, retards aging and boosts the immune system.

Vitamin K controls blood clotting, protects against osteoporosis, and is essential in the calcification of bones.

Calcium promotes healthy heart, clots blood, improves skin, bones and teeth, promotes healthy nerves, maintains correct acid and alkaline balance.

Magnesium strengthens bones and teeth, promotes healthy muscles, heart muscles and nervous system, and is essential for energy.

Phosphorus forms and maintains teeth, builds muscle tissue, is an important component in DNA and RNA, maintains the PH of the body and aids metabolism and energy production.

Potassium helps with removing waste products from cells, maintains fluid balance in the body, promotes healthy nerves and muscles, helps insulin secretion, maintains heart function, stimulates gut movement for proper elimination and is highly involved in metabolism.

Sodium maintains water balance and blood PH, prevents dehydration, helps nerve function, muscle actions, energy production, as well as moving nutrients into our cells. Sodium intake is important but should be controlled (no more than 6g a day but at least 5g as deficiency and over-consuming can both bring health concerns).

Boron is essential for muscle building, bone structure and brain function, and also helps prevent post-menopause osteoporosis.

Chromium forms part of the glucose tolerance factor, balances blood sugar, reduces cravings, helps protect our DNA, stabilises insulin function and is essential in the synthesis of fats and proteins.

Cobalt prevents anemia and aids in the synthesis of our DNA.

Copper is vital in the formation of barriers around nerves to protect them, is required with iron for oxygen to be transported in our blood, is involved in the production of collagen in bones, cartilage, skin and tendons, gives blood vessels, skin and lungs their elastic properties, and is a possible anti-inflammatory for arthritis.

Iodine protects against toxic effects of radioactive materials, and is a powerful antiseptic for water purification.

Iron is a component of hemoglobin (red blood cells); it transports oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from cells, is vital for energy production of connective tissue and brain neurotransmitters, and plays an important part in preserving the immune system.

Manganese helps with healthy bones, cartilage, tissue and nerves, stabilises blood sugar, promotes healthy DNA, is essential in the reproduction of red blood cells, and is required for brain function.

Molybdenum helps rid the body of uric acid, strengthens teeth, detoxifies the body from free radicals, petrochemicals and sulphates, and is an antioxidant.

Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that protects us from free radicals and cancer, reduces inflammation, stimulates our immune system to fight infections, promotes healthy heart, and is needed to maintain a healthy metabolism.

Silicon also stimulates the immune system.

Sulphur (or sulfur) disinfects blood, helps resist bacteria and toxins, stimulates bile excretion for digestion, and is an important part of the chemical structure of amino-acids.

And, finally, Zinc is a major component in over 200 enzymes in the body and DNA; it is essential for growth and healing, controls hormones, aids stress ability, promotes a healthy nervous system, and is vital for energy.

As you can see, there is a multitude of nutrients (vitamins and minerals) essential to our body's optimum functioning. While many good quality supplements are available to meet your body's nutritional needs, food is always a richer, better quality and more satisfying option.

Whole natural foods will be the best source for all these nutrients to be absorbed in our body and do their job.

If you are limited due to specific diets, allergies or financially (after all, not everyone can afford the best quality foods and in a wide variety), ALWAYS choose foods that contain the maximum variety of nutrients to meet your body's requirements and ensure your good health.

I hope this week's article has given you a better understanding of how complex and varied our body's needs are, and will help you select your foods with more awareness and purpose.

In our Part 3 next week, I will focus on the food industry and food industry standards, and how dependent most of us have been for pretty much all our lives on their influence for our food choices.

Until next time...