Healthy Homemade Snacks to Boost Immunity

In this ever-changing world, the risks of bacteria and other viral diseases have become a common threat worldwide. I am always thinking of ways to boost my kids’ immunity. These are my favorite healthy homemade snacks to boost immunity!

Why Is It So Challenging To Get Kids to Eat Healthy?

Each child has their own personality and preferences just like any adult has. Some are more cooperative when it comes to food, eating whatever you put before them. However, in my case as in most others, getting your kid to eat what you made can be a nightmare.

They tend to be very picky, sometimes taking a bite out of a snack, and then refusing to eat it. Mothers go through a lot of physical and mental stress over their children’s eating habits, especially because they want to munch on Oreos and Doritos, but refuse to eat their greens.

View Post

I believe that our kids don’t eat healthy foods, because unhealthy processed junk is all they see around them anyway. It’s marketed spectacularly, with catchy music and the best animations. For them, homemade, healthier snacks are just not fun.

How Can You Convince Your Child to Eat Healthy?

1. Do not give your children too many options to choose from. If you do so, make them choose amongst healthier homemade foods, maybe making them think one is more delicious than the other.
2. Do not force your child to eat what you make. Try to make foods that they like or prefer to eat. For instance, if your child doesn’t eat yogurt but likes ice cream, you can make sweet yogurt and call it ice-cream.
   Obviously, this won’t work with all foods, but you know the old saying: Fake it till you Make it! Or in this case, Make it, then Fake it.
3. Try to make eating fun for them by adding elements of color and shapes in their food. Happy egg faces work wonders for me.
4. Make delicious, homemade snacks that combine what they love with what they need.

1.    Ginger-Carrot Turmeric soup

This delectable soup is the best snack to fill up your kid’s tummy as well as boost their immune system, courtesy of its nutrient-packed ingredients.

The red carrots contain vitamin A and vitamin C that helps build antibodies, the first line of defense of the immune system. Moreover, vitamin C helps your body to utilize iron and prevent infections.

The ginger in the soup contains compounds that have antioxidant, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties. They help your body fight anything, from inflammation to tumor cells, often the basic causes of chronic diseases.

Turmeric is renowned for possessing healing properties and is an integral ingredient of the dish. According to a research journal published by Public Library of Science, a compound named curcumin in turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties that help boost immunity.

You know what’s the best part?  The recipe to make this soup is super easy and quick. Boiling two carrots with a small piece of ginger and a pinch of turmeric powder will give you a nice mixture, that you can then blend with some spices of your choice to make your kid’s a fantastic snack on the go.

2.    Yogurt-Cucumber Soup

With the core immunity boosting ingredient, yogurt, this soup is refreshing as well as healthy and fulfilling.

Yogurt is a probiotics-rich form of dairy that has various benefits. It arms your body’s defense system against any diseases and infections. This soup also contains garlic, which possesses allicin, which deactivates viruses such as influenza.

Th star ingredient of this delicious snack, however, is the cucumber. Cucumber is a treasure trove of vitamins, containing vitamins A, B, C, and K, and is also rich in manganese, potassium and copper that can do wonders for your heart, bones, and muscles.

To make the soup, you just need to add a garlic clove, and a cucumber to a cup of yogurt and blend them all together. Voila! Your kid’s go-to snack is ready to be served!

3.    Spinach Salad with Black Beans and Lime

Spinach is an incredibly iron-rich vegetable – remember Popeye and his magical spinach can that grew him to twice his size in minutes?

This leafy green contains nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E, commonly known for fighting infections and simultaneously helping your blood cells to replenish in order to boost your immune system.

The other core component of this salad, black beans, are undoubtedly one of my favorite foods to have: My guilty pleasure is boiled black beans with tons of ranch on top!

They possess anti-inflammatory characteristics and are an excellent source of protein, helping maintain healthy bones. They are also incredibly filling, and keep you energized for long, which makes them great for active kids!

The salad’s final ingredient, lime, doesn’t just pull the entire dish together, but also serves as an excellent source of vitamin C antioxidants. It helps enhance your immunity levels against any antigens and infections, especially against the common flu and cold. Given the precarious situation following the COVID-19 outbreak, this is incredibly essential!

To whip up this light and healthy salad, mix boiled black beans, freshly cut spinach and lime juice, and add dressings of your choice. You can also add other immunity boosting ingredients such as carrots.

4.    Sweet Potato Garlic Air Fries

Sweet potato is often a kid favorite. Not only is it delicious, but is also an excellent source of nutrients. It is rich in beta-carotene, a plant-based compound that converts into vitamin A in your body and preserves brain, skin, and eye health. Sweet!

The garlic in the fries makes them as tasty as the McDonald’s your kid loves, with the added benefits of being an antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial agent that fights against viruses and other forms of microorganisms.

These sweet potato fries are healthier if made in an air fryer than those fried in oil. Besides, with the delicious garlic mixed with the sweetness of the potatoes, your kids won’t even notice the difference!

5.    Apple Oatmeal

This snack can double down as an incredibly nutritious breakfast by combining a fruit with a classic morning staple.

Oats are an incredible source of nutrients such as fiber and help strengthen your digestive system. They also contain beta-glucan that augments the infection-fighting system of your blood cells and boosts immunity. Moreover, it is also rich in selenium and zinc – two vital nutrients that resists infections and helps you stay strong in fighting antigens.

Similarly, apples are a rich source of fiber and natural sugars, two things that a kid absolutely needs for development.  However, a lesser-known fact about the super fruit is that it contains quercetin, a plant pigment flavonoid that aids in enhancing immunity.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?

To make apple oatmeal, boil your oatmeal and shredded apple together until it becomes soft. To add more flavor to it, you can use cinnamon powder, honey, and Greek yogurt.