1. Balance and Diversity Theme
Overview of Theme
The theme of Balance and Diversity highlights the notion of balanced and diverse food in a variety of food groups. It explores the strategies of sourcing food, according to colour, ingredients and texture while attempting to achieve nutritional balance through proteins, vegetables, and grains.
The large photo on the left of the text is a montage of all the photos collected for each group. The individual photos are produced in the horizontal scrollbar under the text for each group. Selecting any photo will enlarge it in the Lightbox to view in further detail and you can also scroll through all the photos in the Lightbox mode. Please refer to the Gallery to see all the photos from the Exhibition.
The groups involved in this research were:
Group 5
这位妈妈每天为双胞胎儿子精心准备膳食，包括玉米、鸡蛋和自制的火龙果蒸糕。这些食物颜色鲜艳、营养均衡，既吸引孩子的兴趣，又满足他们成长的需求。尽管孩子偶尔挑食，家长依然坚持尝试不同的菜谱与做法。她提到：“我会考虑菜品的颜色、营养、口味这些因素，换着花样给他们做。”此外，她还提到会从小红书和抖音等网络平台，以及妈妈们的微信群，学习创新的烹饪方法。
This mother prepares daily meals for her twin sons with care, featuring dishes such as corn, eggs, and homemade dragon fruit steamed cakes. These meals are colorful and nutritionally balanced, capturing the children’s interest while meeting their developmental needs. Despite occasional pickiness, she consistently experiments with new recipes and methods. She shared, ‘I consider the colour, nutrition, and taste of the dishes, and try to make them more appealing by switching things up.’ In addition, she draws inspiration from online platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin, as well as from moms' WeChat groups, to learn creative cooking techniques.
Through these continuous efforts, she enriches her children’s dining experiences, fostering their appreciation for healthy eating.
Group 21
这位妈妈特别注重在为家人准备菜肴时平衡营养与家庭口味。她的代表菜包括红烧猪脚、白切鸡和清蒸鱼，尤其注重为孩子多准备海鲜类食物，比如鱼和虾，因为孩子对肉类的兴趣较少。她提到：“我会尽量多给孩子准备一些他喜欢的海鲜，比如鱼和螃蟹。” 同时，这位家长避免使用味精和鸡精，并严格控制盐的用量，以确保菜肴清淡健康。通过这些努力，她在照顾孩子营养均衡的同时，也兼顾了家庭的口味偏好。
This mother pays particular attention to balancing nutrition with family preferences when preparing meals. Her signature dishes include braised pork knuckles, poached chicken, and steamed fish, with a special preference for seafood like fish and shrimp, as her child shows less interest in meat. She shared, ‘I try to prepare more seafood that my child likes, such as fish and crabs.’Additionally, she also avoids adding MSG or chicken powder and strictly controls the amount of salt to ensure the meals are light and healthy.
Through these efforts, she ensures a balanced diet between meeting her child’s nutritional needs and catering to her family’s food preferences.
Group 35
这位妈妈优先选择在市场购买新鲜食材，并通过网购补充购买当地无法获得的特定食材。她确保孩子每天摄入蛋、奶、肉和各种蔬菜，尽力实现膳食的多样性。家长表示：“为了让孩子的饮食更有趣，我会考虑颜色、营养和口味，换着花样去做菜。”尽管对营养搭配的全面性仍有些顾虑，她通过网络学习如何优化食谱，不断改善孩子的饮食计划。孩子的良好食欲也印证了她在均衡饮食方面的用心与坚持。
This mother prioritizes purchasing fresh ingredients from the local markets and supplements with online orders for items unavailable locally.
She mentions that she ensure her child consumes eggs, milk, meat, and a variety of vegetables daily, striving for dietary diversity. She maintains that, ‘To make meals more appealing for my child, I consider color, nutrition, and taste, and try to switch things up.’
Although she has concerns about the overall nutritional balance, she continues to refine her meal plans by learning online. Her child’s healthy appetite reflects her commitment to balanced nutrition.
