The days are getting longer and the nights are reluctant to arrive, all this means that our children have a hard time getting back to sleep at the time they had been doing it regularly.
Today we propose that you include some of these at dinner food to help them fall asleepThey are not "miracle foods", much less, but they may help you to rest more and better.
Little by little they will acclimatize, that is also true and in a few months, when summer vacations arrive, bedtime may adapt a little more to their own rhythms of each child than now, who have to get up early to go to school. But while that comes Why not seek some help with what we include in dinner parties?
Lettuce
Yes, where you see it, one of its nutritional values is its contribution of magnesium that is related to the nervesIn addition to the functioning of the intestine, it has a mild laxative and relaxing effect so it is advisable to end the day with a salad where the green of the lettuce is appreciated or as a side dish of a main dish or as a cream or mash. Surely you have already tried the lettuce puree, there are hundreds of recipes on the net, I leave this Direct to the Palate for the very simple it is to prepare.
Hot milk
Yes, well, let's not go too far, pulling more warm than hot, although in this as in everything everyone has their own taste and preference to take into account. It turns out that milk is a food rich in tryptophan, the amino acid responsible for our body can correctly synthesize the substance involved in the induction of sleep, the famous serotonin.
The more entrenched customs at home, the advice of the grandmothers, are sometimes most effective and few things reassure a child who does not want or can not sleep than a glass of warm milk and if it is with a small dash of vanilla or a glass of milk in which we found boiled a vanilla pod even better. Not only because of the delicious flavor that vanilla will give to milk, which in itself is more than appetizing. The vanilla It has components that make it a kind of natural tranquilizer, indicated precisely to calm the nerves and therefore, a great assistant to fall asleep.
We can even infuse some lime in the milk, the relaxing infusion of all houses and all times. One day Tila, another day vanilla, we can alternate so that our "restless objective" is not boring.
To that glass of warm milk we can always add a couple of homemade cookies such as these more than delicious carrot cookies.
Slow assimilation carbohydrates
They are undoubtedly the best help we have and offer us an interesting and extensive range to choose from. Of course, we will have to make sure that they are of slow assimilation that is that we will have to look for its integral version.
Few children resist a dinner that includes a serving of brown rice or a plate of whole wheat pasta. For example, these chicken drumsticks with brown rice have a great pint or this whole-wheat and turkey pasta salad to which I would add a bed of lettuce and you already have a perfect combination to help children get more and better sleep, In addition to a perfectly balanced dinner for children and adults, a single menu for everyone, something that is always good and practical to keep in mind.
The pumpkin and of course the oatmeal are very interesting and flattering. A pumpkin cream for dinner or this recipe for pumpkin soup with chickpeas, in which we combine both foods (pumpkin and vegetables loaded with complex carbohydrates such as chickpeas), it is surely a great idea for a dinner that helps to reconcile the dream.
The potato
But better not in its fried version because fats can be more difficult to digest for our children. The potato helps lower the blood sugar level, facilitates the function of the aforementioned tryptophan that we said before, is essential to start a good sleep cycle. In case you are lacking inspiration I leave you here nothing less than a compilation of 23 ways to prepare baked potatoes, it will be for possibilities!
The turkey
In order for dinner to be balanced, protein intake must be adequate but it will be hunger in the middle of the night who is responsible for revealing our child or ourselves. Turkey has a low fat content and yet it also contains tryptophan in its composition. A turkey stew with mashed potatoes like this, is one of those recipes with which to prepare a full dinner to catch the bed afterwards wanting to sleep soundly.
Vegetables and fruits
Yes, especially onion, tomato, cherries (if they are mainly in season) and especially the banana that is very rich in tryptophan and magnesium that as we have mentioned before is a great muscle relaxant to help prepare them before taking them to bed. A traditional onion soup for example is an option for a perfect starter for a family dinner that helps us sleep well at all and we can prepare some of the six banana recipes you have here for dessert.
Without forgetting ...
Yes, food is important and at dinner time it is essential to fall asleep but we cannot forget that it is not good for children to have a peak of physical or intellectual activity before going to bed, because it will cost them a lot to relax and so the time to sleep, to really rest will be delayed.
We lowered the activity progressively, we ate some of the proposals that we have mentioned, we took a warm shower before or after dinner to help relax our mood and once in bed, few tools are more useful than a quiet reading of the Dad or mom's hand so that the dream comes with a smile at the end of the day.
Let them rest!
Photos | iStockphoto
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