How do I strike a balance between health and taste?

If you’re a mother, this question has probably crossed your mind every other morning as you stare at an empty tiffin box waiting to be filled.

Uma Raghuraman, a food blogger whose videos attract millions of views, might have the solution to your woes.

Her book My Genius Lunch Box (2020) promises 50 fun, nutritious, and simple vegetarian recipes that can be made on a school day.

The book gives parents a lesson in original, innovative dishes like paneer makhani kulzza, gnocchi di idli, Iyengar bakery-style frankie, vermicelli pancakes, and Greek strawberry samosas.

Some of her most loved lunch ideas for children include Madras-style fries made by marinating potatoes in rice flour, sambar powder, ginger, curly leaves, salt, and oil.

Then there’s the Chettinadu mushroom pepper fry, which kids will love for its inventive take on button mushrooms. The dish can be enjoyed with rice.

There’s also the oats tofu bhurji which is a wonderful way to get your child to eat their veggies. The dish blends oats, carrots, peas, corn, capsicum, and crumbled tofu (condensed soy milk).

A fun snack is the kiwi salsa which features kiwi with tomato, onion, coriander, mint leaves, and green chillies, garnished with salt.