A balanced and varied diet is the cornerstone of good health, especially for children who may have medical or developmental needs. While blended diets offer flexibility in nutrition, it’s important the full spectrum of essential nutrients are provided to support growth, development, and overall well-being.
Why Variety Matters in a Blended Diet
Children on blended diets often rely on carefully prepared meals that are pureed for safe and effective consumption. However, just like any child, they benefit from a diverse range of foods that provide essential vitamins, minerals, fibre, and healthy fats. Without variety, there is a risk of nutritional gaps that could impact energy levels, digestion, and immune health.
A varied diet ensures:
- Balanced Nutrition: Different foods provide different nutrients. Rotating ingredients helps meet all nutritional needs.
- Improved Gut Health: Fibre from various sources helps maintain healthy digestion.
- Diversity – including a variety of plant-based foods will further optimise gut health. Aim for 30 plant points a week for maximum impact – a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices provides a range of dietary fibres and resistant starches which feed the good gut bacteria and leads to a more diverse gut flora.
For those who take a blenderised diet orally (or in conjunction with tube feeding) variety also aids:
- Reduced Food Fatigue: Children, like adults, enjoy different flavours. Providing variety helps prevent boredom with meals.
- Exposure to Different Textures & Flavors: This is important for sensory development and enjoyment of food.
Food Pouches –Yey or Nay?
Food pouches have become a convenient, nutritious solution for children on blended diets due to:
- Portability: Perfect for on-the-go meals without compromising nutrition.
- Ease of Use: Pre-packaged, the correct consistency, and minimal mess- they reduce preparation time for caregivers.
- Starting Out: baby food pouches containing a single fruit or vegetable is an ideal starting place when introducing blenderised meals to a child who has not eaten before. The emphasis is not on providing nutrition but on testing tolerance to these newly introduced foods to check for allergies and to allow the gut to slowly adapt to receive food-based ingredients. Introducing 30ml (or less) of a new food at the beginning of the day is a popular method for checking tolerance to new foods and this gives you the whole day to monitor for any side effects.
- Nutrition On the Go: the nutritional content of food pouches will vary according to the ingredients (e.g. single fruit or veggies or combined ingredients more like a meal). Baby food pouches have been in the press recently after various brands were tested for vitamin and mineral content in a lab and found to come in way lower than expected. These pouches should be used only occasionally with the remainder of meals (or commercial feed) providing good quality nutrition. However not all food pouches are made equal and some ambient food pouches are tailed towards tube feeding and have a better nutritional profile than a baby food pouch. These also tend to be manufactured in such a way that the vitamin and mineral content is preserved. Examples of this include food pouches by Food Untethered.
- Homemade Reuseable Food Pouches can also be a great way to feed while out and about or to support bulk blending, and of course are a more sustainable choice than single-use pouches.
Building a Diverse Blended Diet Plan
To ensure variety in a blended diet, consider incorporating foods from all food groups:
- Fruits & Vegetables: Berries, bananas, spinach, carrots, and avocados provide vitamins and antioxidants.
- Proteins: Chicken, fish, beans, tofu, and yogurt help muscle growth and development.
- Whole Grains: Oats, quinoa, brown rice, and wholegrain cereals offer sustained energy.
- Healthy Fats: Olive oil, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and nut butters contribute to brain health.
Final Thoughts
A blended diet, when enriched with variety including fibre-rich sources, ensures children receive all the nutrients they need and promotes a healthier gut.
Food pouches can be a useful adjunct to blended diet, providing convenient on the go nutrition or supporting testing tolerance to new foods, however once established on a blended diet, it is not recommended to use baby food pouches for the majority of meals due to their nutritional inadequacy. For a more nutritionally robust food pouch, why not check out Food Untethered Food Untethered – Real Food for Tubies and Wilbo’s Blends Wilbos Blends – Wilbo Blends
To see more blogs on blended diet please see here: OPD Blogs – oxfordpaediatricdietitians.com