This is a sponsored post for Cenovis
One of the first things I realised when Biggie embarked upon a career of picky eating was: I wasn’t alone. Plenty of mums and dads were right there with me knowing their kid wouldn’t touch a spear of broccoli with a ten-foot-pole, or would scream the house down when presented with a piece of cheese.
While I realise it’s a pretty normal stage for kids to be in, it can be disconcerting to look back over what they ate that day and see there are huge gaps in their nutrient intake. And while we’ve had success with eating something other than sandwiches, fruit, and yogurt (FINALLY OMG), we’re still a long way off yet. Hell, even I take a multivitamin because I find it hard to get all the required vitamins and minerals from diet alone. And I’m a washed-up old broad who stopped growing a long time ago – my kids are still little, still forming bone and brain tissue and goodness knows what else that requires adequate nutrition.
I have already had great success with flavour-free sprinkles in food (Benefiber in their Weetbix will soon get a toilet-shy kid moving!), so I was interested in trying a similar multivitamin version. For kids aged 1-7, the recommended dose is one teaspoon of Vita Sprinkles in their food once a day. My kids eat like sparrows, so one teaspoon in their dinner would be total overkill. I put in a little bit each meal and across the day they would have the full dose. The sprinkles are recommended for kids up to age 12.
The Vita Sprinkles contain:
*Vitamin C and Vitamin A to help support the immune system
*B Vitamins to assist with energy production
*Vitamin B1 to help maintain healthy brain function
*Calcium and Vitamin D3 for healthy bones and teeth
*Iron, which may be important for fussy eaters who have inadequate iron intake and may help maintain healthy brain function
*Iodine, which may be beneficial for normal brain function and learning ability.
It is almost too easy – it has gone into spaghetti, yogurt, smoothies, milk, and cereal, and the kids have eaten it no trouble. You could add it to casseroles, soups, stews, drinks, pureed fruit – all sorts of things. I just leave the containers near the bowls in the cupboard, and am reminded to pop a bit in every time I make a meal. A little sprinkle for a lot of peace of mind!
Cenovis also are inviting families to post pics of their leftovers on social media with the hashtag #shareyourleftoverswithcenovis, for the chance to win movie ticket giveaways. Not sure they’d want to see my leftovers though, they’re rarely…photogenic…
Is your kid a bit averse to a healthy diet? Have you had much success with kid multivitamins? TELL ME ALL YOUR SECRETS!
(Always read the label. Use only as directed. Vitamin supplements should not replace a balanced diet. Pens are not bikes.)
Danica Burrows says
July 17, 2014 at 9:48 amI wonder if they have a version of this for fussy adults… I would buy by the barrel*!
(*note: barrel size: small)
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 9:59 amHA you crack me up. I know. Yesterday I ate three biscuits for lunch.
Kim Dean says
July 17, 2014 at 10:43 amHey there.. You mention that you are not stoked with the gummy versions, is there any particular reason why? I ask because I literally just started looking into vitamins for my little one who eats EVERYTHING. Oh except replace EVERYTHING with NOTHING and throw EVER on the end there.
A friend recommended a gummy version to me but I haven’t done much of my own research yet. Thanks 🙂
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 11:08 amhahah oh man DO I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. Ok the gummy versions just seem a little odd? Like “here’s your daily dose of health packaged in a sugary, artificially coloured candy package!”. I’m not against sugar or artificial colours by any means, but as a vitamin? weird. Also, I assume they contain gelatin, which I try to avoid being vegetarian. I could be wrong, i’ve never checked the ingredients.
Lilybett and Boy says
July 17, 2014 at 12:06 pmI have a bottle of the gummies and Dear Boy thinks they’re lollies – which is great because it means he’ll happily gobble it down – but not so great because they’re coated in sugar; he’ll try and filch more than one; and he thinks lollies are now an every day food.
I had a look on the Nature’s Way website and it’s really very tricksy – the adult gummies list gelatin, sugars, etc but the kids products only show the vitamin list and then a brief ‘contains sugars and traces of gluten’ at the bottom. I am assuming the kids version have exactly the same pastille ingredients.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 12:23 pmOne of my kids also eats a really boring powdered tablet that you chew. I thought she’d hate it. She thinks its great. KIDS ARE WEIRD.
(meanwhile, thanks for the clarification!)
Christina Howes says
July 17, 2014 at 3:16 pmI totally agree with the sugar coated lolly! I thought it was weird too!
Reannon @shewhorambles says
July 17, 2014 at 10:48 amWhy can’t they just eat the food ? Why do they have to be so flipping fussy? Does my head in!!!
I’m a big believer in vitamin supplements. My teenager rules the kingdom of fussy eaters, has done since he was two! I take them & my big kids take them but the toddler hasn’t ….yet. He is veering into fussy eating territory so I’ll keep this in mind for him.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 11:06 amYou know, I was thinking of you when I wrote this. And how much you must have agonised all those years. And how this probably would have been really useful back then! I think you’re amazing. And one of mine sort of started eating better, then the other one flatly refused and stopped eating properly. Can’t win!
Reannon @shewhorambles says
July 17, 2014 at 5:52 pmWhen I think of all the time spent worrying over food, crying over food battles & convincing myself I must be a shit parent cause my kid doesn’t eat I feel sick. I look at my 14 year old now & I know that yes a person can survive & thrive on cereal & peanut butter….I still wish he’d eat the goddamn food I make though!
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 8:28 pmungrateful little bugger 😉
Rachel @ Mother Far from Home says
July 17, 2014 at 11:13 amIf these are powder and last longer than one month in the fridge I’ll take it. The other ones I’ve bought expired after a month but I never used them that fast because half the days I forget!
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 11:34 amhahah yep that’s what attracted me too! I forget all of those damn things.
Lilybett and Boy says
July 17, 2014 at 12:09 pmAre you raising veggo kids, Stacey? My boy refuses most meat and I’m wondering how to get protein into him – he’ll eat nuts and seeds and tofu (if it’s been pan fried and is crispy) but I’m wondering if there’s enough protein in those and his dairy products. We definitely need to work on the iron intake.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 12:18 pmThey don’t eat meat at home, mostly because we don’t have it. I don’t think they eat meat out of it, I don’t know, but I’ve never given it to them. I also don’t think of food in its broken-down nutrition benefits that way – so perhaps I’m not the one to ask! Maybe give Katie 180 an email? She’s looked at our diets and given them the OK, maybe she can help ease your mind x
Bronnie - Maid In Australia says
July 17, 2014 at 2:28 pmI haven’t had any luck with supplements for the kids except for those fish oil ‘smoothies’ that taste like smoothies. My son would take them when he was 11, but his sister, two years younger wouldn’t. But my nutritionist friend looked at them and said they had artificial colours and additives that were bad for him. Now he will take the tablets which is good, and multivitamins, but he’s 13. I still can’t get my daughter to take any supplements, ‘lolly-like’ or otherwise. I’m flat out even getting medication into her when she needs it. Luckily, they are both good eaters so I hope they get most of their nutrition from food! I do think she needs some kind of supplement at the moment as she’s very run down at the moment, and I’m currently managing to get a probiotic like I take into her. Fingers crossed.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 8:28 pmOh good luck! I know how it can be x
thyme and me says
July 17, 2014 at 2:58 pmMy almost 3yr old has just started with the fusspot food bizo! She pretty much eats peanut butter toast for breakfast, lunch & dinner. My 11 month old eats twice as much as her.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 8:30 pmha yep, that’s how it is here. Number two was a great eater until recently, now she’s even worse than her sister ever was! Damn peanut butter sandwiches!
Christina Howes says
July 17, 2014 at 3:14 pmHey there, we have spoken (written) about my son and his fussy eating before! So in the last few weeks we have been giving him a multivitamin. The Bioglan Gummies. Honestly I am doing it for insurance because I know how much he doesn’t eat and I feel like at lease he is getting a multivitamin. I have an appointment for him with a dietitian to hopefully go through some practical options without judgements..I hope..otherwise I am heading out of there! My kid is sick ALL. OF. THE. TIME. and I think it’s because of his crap diet! Anyway, we’ll see how this appointment goes.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 8:32 pmIh good luck with your appointment! I think if I was super-worried and had no other alternative, I’d do gummies too. No judgement from me! Nothing worse than when they’re sick, my youngest is a bit like that x
Hugzilla says
July 17, 2014 at 3:57 pmPretty sure we are borderline scurvy here with my two year old, so I can totally relate to this post.
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 8:32 pmwe’ve been rockin’ scurvy for nearly two years straight!
The Whole Life Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 8:52 pmWe used to go great with all sorts of nutritious food here then Miss A discovered her independence. She went from vegetarian to carnivore within a month and what were once her favourites (and healthy to my standards) she wouldn’t even let our cat use in her litter tray. I hide all matter of healthy things where I can. I won’t be beaten!!
Veggie Mama says
July 17, 2014 at 9:03 pmHaha same! I’ve been relaxed but determined. It paid off! (well, it’s still a work in progress) but now the second daughter has decided everything I make is never going in her mouth…
Pinky Poinker says
July 18, 2014 at 9:06 amWhat a great idea. I should buy some to sprinkle on my teenage daughter’s Maccas when she isn’t looking! I wish it had been around when my kids were little.
Veggie Mama says
July 21, 2014 at 4:53 pmHaha I like your style…
The Plumbette says
July 22, 2014 at 11:24 amThis is cool. I’ve struggled with Esther but she is slowly getting better and she will eat my pumpkin soup for dinner which is pretty much pure veg! I do give Esther the gummies because I thought they were great too. Anything to get added nutrients into my daughters meals is better than nothing in my eyes.
Veggie Mama says
July 23, 2014 at 11:35 amI ain’t judging!