Most children are fussy eaters when it comes to eating homemade and nutritious food. Yet, one item that most kids eat without making a fuss is bread. They can consume bread in any shape, even the toasted version with salt or chaat masala sprinkled on top.
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A basic and modest piece of bread has many uses to create treats that your kids will enjoy eating. It serves as a nourishing snack and a flexible ingredient to use in the kitchen without making a mess. Here are some ideas to consider.
Bread Pakora
Most kids love bread and potatoes. How about serving them a combination of both? Prepare a spiced mixture of boiled potatoes, chopped onions, and fresh coriander. Encapsulate small balls of it in a bread slice and deep-fry it. You can also air-fry the bread pakora and make it healthier by replacing potatoes with sweet potatoes. Serve these crispy delights with ketchup or chutney and every family member will go gaga over it.
French Toast
There is nothing easier to make in the morning than a batch of French toast. You need to prepare a delicious mixture of beaten eggs, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, sugar, and butter. Dip bread slices in this mixture and toast on a grill pan. Add lots of butter for the finish and pack these toasts in the lunch box. Not just your children but their friends will also savour the delight, hence, pack a few extras.
Bread Pizza
Making pizza at home might take you hours but not if you are using bread as the base. This recipe will take you hardly 10 minutes. Keep the toppings, like onion, tomatoes, olives, jalapeno, bell peppers, and corn, ready. Toast the bread on one side and spread pizza sauce on it. Add grated cheese or a cheese slice, arrange the toppings that your child loves so much, top with some extra cheese, and cook on a tawa or toss the slice in the oven.
Chicken Burger
Instead of buying a chicken burger from a fast food chain that uses a lot of oil, sugar, and salt to prepare the snacks, you can make it at home. The first step is to prepare a mixture of minced chicken, shape it into small patties, and either shallow-fry or deep-fry them. Slice a bun in half, add all your child’s favourite sauces, layer the patties with lettuce, onion slice, tomato slice, and a few other vegetables, and serve. You can also make corn, pea, aloo or paneer patties as well.
Chilli Cheese Toast
Another quick and easy recipe to look forward to is chilli cheese toast. You can pick multigrain bread slices for this as well. Spread a thin layer of butter on each slice, add chopped onion, tomatoes or vegetables of choice. Top it with a lot of cheese and toss the slices in the oven. Bake until the toast gets crispy and the cheese melts all over the surface of the bread. Sprinkle a small amount of chilli flakes on the top and enjoy with ketchup.
Bread Poha
You can make bread poha instead of regular poha. If your fridge has bread that's about to go bad, put it to good use. Soak the slices in water, squeeze out the extra, and break them up in a bowl. Cook onions, ginger, turmeric, and green chillies in hot oil. Add the bread pieces, salt red chilli powder, and fresh coriander. Mix everything and put a lid on the pan. In 2-3 minutes, your bread poha is ready to eat. Your kids will love it with some fresh juice.
Sandwich
Bread comes in handy to make all kinds of sandwiches, both veggie and meat-based. No need to order grilled sandwiches online when you can whip them up at home. Spread some pesto, pizza sauce, hummus, or other tasty spreads on the bread to keep it moist. Fill it with paneer, veggies, chicken, tuna, fish, or mutton. Throw in some fresh greens and grill the sandwich. This healthy snack lets you sneak nutritious ingredients into your kids' diet.