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Adding fiber to a child’s diet do take a bit of sneaky planning. Experience has taught me two things concerning children and fiber. Firstly: if you give them a choice between white and whole-wheat bread they will always opt for white. So, do not give them a choice. Buy only whole-wheat. Secondly, certain forms of fiber such as legumes (lentils, beans etc) are shunned at sight. Best to hide them and sneak them in. What a child doesn’t know cannot upset him.

Serve favorites such as hot dogs and hamburgers with whole-wheat rolls. If possible make your own hamburger patties and add finely grated carrots and liquidized beans to the patty mixture before cooking it. Serve lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes with it.

Serve whole-wheat pastas and add grated carrots to the pasta sauce. Whole-wheat pastas taste just as good as normal ones. Instead of heaps of cheese, add some corn. It looks just like cheese and tastes quite nice. Cheese can be substituted with whole-wheat bread crumbs. It makes a wonderful, crispy topping.

Air-popped popcorn is a excellent source of fiber. There are cookies on the market that is loaded with fiber and topped with a thin layer of chocolate and caramel (digestive cookies). Raisins and dried fruits are also good choices. Serve different pieces of fruit on a stick. For example pieces of orange, apple, banana. Smoothies are excellent for kids who struggle to get fruit in. Instead of ice cream of milk one can add ice and a little bit of prune juice. One can even put in a bit of oat-bran. Cereal bars are normally crammed with fiber and can become firm favorites with kids.

Whole-wheat muffins can be baked at home with added raisins, grated carrots as well as grated apple (with skin and all.) Handy pre-mixes work wonderful and the kids enjoy to help bake them. Normally if they contributed to the food they are keen to eat it. Some breakfast cereals are enriched with fiber and can even be put into a lunch box without adding milk.

Brown rice is very high in fiber but not all kids like it. Be sure to cook it till it is nicely fluffed out. I normally soak mine in boiled water for at least a hour before I start to cook it and add salt only three quarters through the cooking process. Mixing it with a bit of white rice may make it more acceptable to young taste buds. Baked potatoes with skins on is also a wonderful source of fiber. When making stews, add a bit of oat-bran to thicken the sauce.

Adding bran and pureed apples to cakes and other bakes is another way of sneaking in some fiber.

One should never underestimate the value of educating our children about healthy options. Somehow our explanations of what is good for our bodies will carry weight over time. Even a funny little rhyme like “The whiter the bread, the sooner your’e dead” sticks and make them think twice about a slice of white bread.

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