10 Simple Ways to Increase Nutrients in Your Child’s Food (Especially for Fussy Eaters)
Hi I’m Sammy,
Your Good Farm in-house nutritionist. Here to bring you essential information on nutrition, diet and permaculture gardening - in a bite size, easy to understand, science-backed way.
When we worry about our children’s diets, the focus often lands on what they refuse.
While food variety is important, trying to force children to eat unfamiliar foods often creates more stress around mealtimes, for both the child and the parent.
Another starting point is to look at the foods your child already accepts and ask: how can I make these foods more nutrient-dense?
If your child happily eats rice, toast, pasta, porridge or smoothies, there is often far more opportunity there than many of us realise.
At the same time, persistent fussy eating can sometimes point to deeper issues worth exploring with a nutritionist or integrative practitioner. Nutrient deficiencies, gut dysfunction, blood sugar imbalances, sensory sensitivities and nervous system dysregulation can all play a role.
So rather than overhauling everything at once, these are some simple starting points.
1. Cook rice in broth instead of water
For children who love plain rice, this is one of the simplest changes you can make.
Using bone broth, broth concentrate or a powdered broth instead of water adds minerals, collagen, glycine and extra flavour without dramatically changing the meal.
If your child tolerates it, you can also add a small amount of dried turmeric while cooking for additional nutritional benefit.
Choosing organic rice where possible may help reduce exposure to pesticide residues and other agricultural chemicals commonly used in conventional grain production.
For children recovering from illness, poor appetite or gut issues, this can be an easy nutritional win.
Good Farm Shop cooks organic rice dishes in home made chicken broth which you can find in the Kids Collection
2. Cool your carbs
When foods like rice, potatoes, pasta and oats are cooked and then cooled for around 12–24 hours, a portion of the starch converts into resistant starch.
Resistant starch acts as a fuel source for beneficial gut bacteria and supports the production of short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, which play an important role in gut health.
The good news is these foods can be gently reheated and still retain much of that resistant starch.
For some children, especially those with more sensitive digestion, these types of fibres are best introduced gradually, as larger amounts may not always be well tolerated initially.
Simple shifts like this can help support gut health while still using familiar foods.
3. Add protein to porridge
Many children start the day with breakfasts that are high in refined carbohydrates but low in protein and fat. Think sweetened cereals, white toast with spreads, fruit-only smoothies or plain porridge. These options are often quick to digest and can leave children hungry not long after eating.
Porridge on its own can also fall into this category, as it’s relatively low in protein and fat and may not be particularly satiating.
Adding protein and healthy fats can make it far more sustaining:
- collagen peptides
- egg yolk stirred through while cooking
- nut butter
- chia seeds
- hemp seeds
- cream or butter once served
Switching to organic oats may also help reduce exposure to glyphosate residues commonly found in conventional oat production.
We have some great options for kids breakfasts and snacks here:
4. Upgrade toast into French toast
If toast is a daily staple, it can easily become more nutrient-dense.
French toast made with eggs, milk, cheese and sourdough adds protein, healthy fats and more satiety than plain toast alone.
Serve with berries, yoghurt or nut butter for additional nutrients.
5. Loaded bolognese
Bolognese is often one of the easiest meals to build extra nutrients into.
You can add a variety of vegetables and chop them as finely as needed depending on your child’s preferences.
It’s also an easy meal to add:
- bone broth
- liver powder
- finely chopped broccoli, spinach etc
- lentils
- even a small amount of anchovies for added minerals and omega-3 fats (without creating a fishy flavour)
For children who are sensitive to texture, blending sauces can help make these additions less noticeable.
Switching to organic tomato paste, canned tomatoes and passata can also be a relatively inexpensive upgrade, particularly as tomatoes are often heavily sprayed crops.
If you haven't yet, try the Kids Hidden Veggie Ragu. It's one of our most popular dishes for kids and adults love it too.
6. Use liver powder
Liver is one of the richest food sources of iron, vitamin A, B12, folate and zinc. You can think of it as nature’s multivitamin, alongside eggs, providing nutrients many children are often lacking.
For children who struggle to eat red meat or some seafood, a small amount of liver powder can be an easy way to bridge the nutritional gap. It can be mixed into:
• meatballs
• mince dishes
• whisked into eggs for scrambled eggs or French toast
• bolognese
• burgers
• pasta sauces
Our primal ragu has liver and kidney mixed in you'd never know, neither will the kids.
7. Add more healthy fats
Children need adequate protein and healthy fats for growth, development and stable energy, yet many modern diets are heavily weighted toward fruit and other carbohydrate-rich foods.
They also help slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream and support better energy regulation between meals.
Healthy fats are essential for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and supporting hormone production and nervous system development.
Simple ways to include more healthy fats:
• add avocado to breakfasts, lunchboxes or smoothies for creaminess and satiety
• add cream or butter to hot porridge or stirred through oats after cooking
• use butter or ghee liberally on vegetables, toast or melted through hot meals
• include olive oil generously when cooking
• whisk an egg through hot salty plain pasta for a simple protein and fat boost
• use nut and seed butters in porridge, smoothies or paired with fruit
• cook with animal fats such as tallow, butter or ghee
• add coconut milk or coconut oil to curries, baking, smoothies or oats
• include full-fat dairy where tolerated (yoghurt, cheese, kefir) as part of meals or snacks
• serve eggs more often (scrambled, boiled, omelettes, egg muffins) as a naturally balanced fat and protein source
• introduce olives early and regularly to build familiarity with those flavours and healthy fat content
8. Blend vegetables into familiar foods
While children should still be exposed to whole vegetables over time, blending vegetables into accepted meals can help fill nutritional gaps in the meantime.
Think:
- roasted pumpkin blended into pasta sauce
- spinach in smoothies
- zucchini, beetroot, legumes into baked goods; muffins and cakes
- cauliflower blended into mashed potato
9. Build balanced smoothies
Smoothies can quickly become fruit-heavy, sugar-dominant meals if they are not balanced with other macro-nutrients.
If a smoothie is being used as a meal rather than a snack, it’s important to include a source of protein and healthy fats to support satiety, stable energy and better blood sugar balance.
This might include:
• full-fat natural yoghurt
• kefir
• collagen peptides
• avocado
• nut butter
• chia seeds
• hemp seeds
• coconut cream
Switching from flavoured yoghurts to full-fat plain yoghurt can significantly reduce added sugars and unnecessary additives while improving the overall nutrient profile.
If using berries, choosing organic where possible may help reduce pesticide exposure. Recent Australian testing and regulatory reviews have highlighted that some conventionally grown berries, including blueberries, can contain multiple pesticide residues. In some cases, levels of certain chemicals such as dimethoate were high enough that a typical serving could exceed daily safety thresholds for young children, particularly when intake from other foods is also considered.
A high-quality whole-food-based multinutrient powder may also be considered, particularly where a child has limited dietary variety or a restricted range of accepted foods.
10. Timing of snacks and food pairing
For many children, snacks make up a significant portion of their daily intake. The quality and timing of these foods can have a meaningful impact on energy, mood and metabolic health.
What and how foods are paired can significantly influence blood sugar stability. Frequent spikes and crashes in blood glucose over time are associated with increased risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, a condition that has been rising in Australian children alongside increasing intake of ultra-processed and high-sugar foods.
Life is also about balance. Treats, carbohydrates and more fun foods have a place, but pairing them thoughtfully can help reduce blood sugar volatility and support more stable energy.
For example:
• having buttery eggs or another protein-rich breakfast before heading to a birthday party
• eating a well-balanced meal with protein, fat and fibre before having ice cream or dessert
• pairing fruit with nut butter, yoghurt or cheese rather than eating it alone
• including protein and fats in snacks rather than relying on sweet, refined options
For many children, snacks also become an opportunity to either stabilise or destabilise energy between meals. Replacing ultra-processed snacks with more nutrient-dense options can make a difference, such as:
• boiled eggs
• fruit with nut butter
• full-fat yoghurt
• cheese
• hummus with vegetable sticks
• nuts (where age-appropriate and safe for chewing)
• leftover sausage
• jerky
Final Note
If you are at the beginning of your child’s food journey, one of the most helpful principles is to keep their flavour palate broad from the start. Children who are regularly exposed to overly sweet foods can develop a strong preference for sweetness, which may make savoury, bitter or more complex flavours less accepted over time.
Where possible, limit overly sweet yoghurts, packaged snack foods and refined carbohydrates, including common rice puffs and teething rusks often given as first foods, while regularly offering a wide range of flavours such as natural tart yoghurt, kefir, olives, grapefruit, pickles and sauerkraut.
It is also worth reflecting on whether your own food preferences and patterns may unintentionally shape your child’s. Children learn what is “normal” through repeated exposure, and early food experiences can strongly influence long-term preferences.
From a broader clinical perspective, persistent fussy eating, strong carbohydrate cravings or highly selective food choices can sometimes reflect underlying physiological drivers. For example, gut dysbiosis may contribute to increased sugar and carbohydrate cravings, micronutrient deficiencies such as zinc may influence appetite regulation and taste perception, and impaired gut integrity may also play a role in food sensitivities.
In these situations, it may be helpful to explore underlying contributors with a qualified nutritionist or naturopath who can assess diet, digestive health and nutrient status in a more individualised way.
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