This is not a good time to offer new or elaborate foods. However it is also a mistake to only offer his two favourite meals. This carries the danger of him only wanting to eat those two things in the future. Offer a good variety of meals that you know he has enjoyed in the past. Keep it simple though; use simple recipes that don’t have a huge list of ingredients. Go easy on yourself as well; after all, this is not the ideal time for you to spend hours in the supermarket or kitchen experimenting with a new recipe book.

Try and keep meals healthy and well balanced. Offer a good selection of carbohydrates (e.g. bread, rice, pasta, pulses, cereals), fruit and vegetables (root vegetables are also high in carbohydrates which are good energy providers), dairy products (e.g. milk, yoghurt, cheese, well cooked eggs), protein- needed for the repair of damaged body tissues (dairy products, pulses, meat, fish) and fats (choose full fat yoghurt, milk and cheese up to the age of 2 years).

If your unwell child only eats one or two mouthfuls make sure that tiny amount of food is packed with home cooked goodness. Use the freshest ingredients that you can to give the highest possible levels of vitamins and minerals. Remember though that frozen vegetables are actually often higher in vitamin content that their fresh equivalents as they are frozen very quickly after they are picked, thus locking in vital nutrients. Try to steam rather than boil your child’s vegetables as this retains much higher concentrations of vitamins.

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