Paediatric Dietitian Skye Swaney shares how to best support your child’s immune system this flu season

By Skye Swaney

The recent wave of COVID and other illnesses hitting our country has once again reminded us of the importance of maintaining a strong immune system. Supporting our immune systems and those of our families puts us in the best position to fight these viruses and to allow for a quick recovery if we do catch something.

One of the biggest factors impacting our immune function is what we eat, particularly nutrient dense foods such as fruit and vegetables. Given that a recent survey revealed that over 80 percent of children aren’t reaching their daily vegetable intake, it looks like there’s a lot of room for improvement.

But with recent fresh food shortages, inflation and flu-season in full swing, along with the usual issues of fussy eating and endless demands on our time, getting kids to eat more vegetables is much easier said than done.

As a paediatric dietitian and mother of two, I know it’s no easy task! But over the years I’ve built up a solid set of tips to help parents like me who struggle to get their kids eating enough veg.

Skye Swaney’s tips to help protect your children during a COVID resurgence

Make veggies fun

A slice of cucumber might not look that appealing to a child, but a cucumber star or flower is a whole lot more appealing. Cutting veggies into shapes, sticking a toothpick in them or adding a dip to a plate of veggie sticks can make a huge difference.

Add veggies wherever you can

Add finely cut, grated or pureed veggies to pasta sauces, fritters, soups, stews, curries, smoothies and whatever else you can think of. Then try to serve these ‘hidden veg’ dishes with a side of veg so your child has the option of trying some vegetables on their own and also gets used to vegetables being part of a meal.

Reduce the bitterness

Many of the most nutritious veggies are quite bitter. We often don’t notice it as adults as we’ve gotten used to it over time. But broccoli, for example, can actually taste quite bitter to a child. Try reducing this bitterness by sautéing and roasting vegetables rather than steaming or boiling and toss in some melted butter.

Include veggies in snacks

Vegetables don’t just have to wait until dinner, including them in snacks can be an easy way to up your child’s veg intake. Snacks such as veggie muffins, soft veggie sticks with dip and mini wraps are great ways to get a little more veg into the day.

Involve kids in cooking as much as possible

Kids are generally much more likely to try something they’ve helped to prepare and they can learn some valuable life skills in the process!

Give younger kids simple tasks like measuring ingredients, mashing potato or chopping using a kid-safe knife.

Model the behaviour you want to see in your child

Role modelling is a huge part of raising veggie lovers. If your child sees you eating and enjoying vegetables, they’ll be much more likely to try them and learn to like them.

Frozen can be just as nutritious

Your freezer can be a lifesaver when you’re pushed for time or fresh produce is too pricey. Frozen vegetables often get a bad rap but they’re actually just as nutritious as fresh and mean that you’ve always got vegetables available. Frozen meals are another great timesaver, either cook large batches of meals and freeze in portions for quick and easy meals or look out for nutritious, veggie packed ready-made meals you can pop in the freezer. My family use Go! Kidz meals, which are nutritious, full of veg and always popular with the kids.

Keep offering them!

If your child still won’t eat veg, remember, it can take many exposures to a food before a child accepts it so don’t give up! Continue offering a variety of vegetables, even the ones they don’t eat or say they don’t like. It certainly won’t happen overnight, and can feel like it’s never going to happen, but then one day they just might just surprise you!

Skye Swaney is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with over 14 years experience and a Go! Kidz Ambassador. During her career she’s worked as a clinical dietitian at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, as Senior Dietitian at the Healthy Kids Association, as well in her own private practice and as a consultant dietitian to schools, day care centres, non-profit organisations and the food industry.