Parents can be total worrywarts when it comes to their child’s gut health, such as constantly checking the colour of their stool as odd colours can indicate issues within their system1.
This is why gut health is extremely crucial in children, it is the key to boost absorption of nutrients into their bodies – a known fact because the healthy gut bacteria improves the bioavailability of nutrients from food, while keeping the toxic waste and bad bacteria out2.
It goes without saying that food has a large influence on their gut health because like they say, you are what you eat. But, we know getting an adequate amount of nutrition into your child’s body can be a tricky feat. So, here are five quick recipes that can improve gut health and ultimately aid nutrient absorption in your kids.
1. Mango Madness Yogurt Pops by The Hyperbiotics Cookbook
These frozen treats are super simple to make. Plus, what kid doesn’t love a good popsicle? You can treat them to this as dessert after lunch or dinner. This includes yoghurt, which is a good source of probiotic cultures that can improve gut health3.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of plain organic yoghurt
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup of frozen mango
- 1/8 cup pure maple syrup
How to: combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, then spoon the mixture into foiled muffin cups. Cover each cup with foil and insert a popsicle stick in the middle. Freeze for at least 5 hours. If you have popsicle moulds, you can put the mixture in these too!
2. Apple Gummies by Kids Eat by Shanai
Definitely, a fun way to get in some good gut food, you kids will love this little treat. You can add these during their lunch meals and make different flavours to keep them interested. A study in Frontiers in Microbiology actually found that apples contain 100 million bacteria that can benefit the gut4.
Ingredients:
Orange Gummies
- 3 apples
- 2 carrots
Red Gummies
- 3 apples
- 2 carrots
- ½ beetroot
- ¼ lemon
Gummies:
- 1/cup of juice
- 2 tablespoons of gelatin
- ½ tablespoon of honey
How to: To make the juice, roughly chop the fruit and vegetables and process it through a juicer. If you do not have a juicer, you can blend it with ¾ cup of water and strain to remove pulp. To make the gummies, pour half the juice into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin in. Heat the remaining juice in a saucepan and turn it when it starts to boil. Add honey to the bowl over the warm juice and whisk. Pour in the mould and refrigerate for about 2 hours to set.
3. Banana Smoothie by BBC goodfood
Bananas are packed with prebiotics that will help activate the probiotics within the gut5. One of the easiest ways and most delicious ways to get bananas into your child’s diet is via a smoothie. You can add these to their lunches or as midday snacks.
Ingredients:
- 500ml unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons of almond butter
- 6 prunes
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 small ripe banana
How-to: Blend the ingredients together, then pour the mixture into your kid’s favourite bottle to drink! It is that easy. These smoothies can also be kept for two days in a fridge.
4. Green Juice by Momtastic
We are sure you have probably heard about green juice – it’s a smart way to get those greens in your kids’ system! This recipe uses pears, which contain prebiotic fibre that acts as food for the good bacteria within the gut6.
Ingredients:
- 6 – 8 pears
- 64 cucumbers
- 1 lime
- A handful of kale or silverbeet
How to: Chop all the ingredients with the skin on. Throw it into a juicer or blender and enjoy!
5. 10 Minute Veggie Stir Fry by Clean Food Dirty Girl
Rich in prebiotics, this recipe is an easy one that you can whip up as a side dish for your kid’s lunchtime – its main ingredient is cabbage, which hosts insoluble fibre that fuels the good bacteria in the gut7. Plus, this also takes little time and requires ingredients you probably already have stocked up.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup onion
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 cup celery
- 2 cups cabbage
- ½ teaspoon of sea salt
- Black pepper (to your taste)
How to: Heat your skillet and stir the onions until they turn brownish. Add 2 tablespoons of water and keep stirring. Add another 2 tablespoons of water when the onions stick to the pan. Cook them further for about 6 to 7 minutes, adding water if needed. Then, add the mushrooms, celery, cabbage, sea salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Cook for 4 to 5 more minutes and stir until veggies are soft to your liking.
Another option to improve your child’s gut health?
Alternatively, parents can supplement their kids diets with Dumex Mamil D-GestPro+, which is packed with prebiotics that can improve a child’s gut health.
Mamil® D-GestPro+ is an affordable solution for parents who want to improve their child’s gut health. It is a sucrose-free formula that contains a prebiotic mix for children up to the ages of nine-years-old.
Mamil® D-GestPro+’s formulation contains:
- A unique prebiotic mixture: It is formulated with a unique Oligosaccharide mixture GOS/IcFOS (9:1) that increases good bacteria and helps maintain a healthy gut flora.
- Milk from grass-fed cows: It is sourced from cows that are predominantly grass fed, which means it is high in protein, calcium and vitamin D.
- DHA*: This is a key component that is essential for your child’s growth and brain development.
**Mamil® Step 3 contains 96mg DHA content based 3 servings per day
Need more information on Mamil® D-GestPro+? Visit Dumex Mamil’s website!
References
1 (2017, April 7). The Poop Palette: What Do All of Those Colors Mean?. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/04/the-poop-palette-what-do-all-of-those-colors-mean
2 (2019, June 26). 5 Tips To Improve Gut Health And Absorption Of … – NDTV.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.ndtv.com/health/gut-health-5-tips-to-improve-gut-health-and-absorption-of-nutrients-from-food-2059660
3 (2018, April 12). The Best Probiotic Foods for Your Gut Health | TIME. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://time.com/5236659/best-probiotic-foods/
4 An Apple a Day: Which Bacteria Do We Eat With … – Frontiers. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01629/full?fbclid=IwAR1kDZwK-bkALmQzUCuJR4UBH3n3ui6HaYPPmK-u7RzPTx3BTNzWMnlqTUI
5 (2016, September 15). What do you know about bananas? – Adventist Health. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.adventisthealth.org/blog/2016/september/what-do-you-know-about-bananas-/
6 Gut Health – USA Pears. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://usapears.org/gut-health/
7 Cabbage you will love – UMass Medical School. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.umassmed.edu/nutrition/ibd/ask-Nutritionist/cabbage-you-will-love/