by Bhaby See
NUTRITIONISTS
and pediatricians are calling parents to come up with heavy food preparation
and spare their children from frozen and ready mixes that lack the daily
nutrition the body needs.
Dr.
Monet Acosta, a clinical nutrition specialist, said parents should prepare more
natural foods rather than processed items. Since most children are picky
eaters, they would prefer processed meats like hotdogs, ham and other junk
foods.
She
said protein can be sourced from meats, fish and chicken good enough for
children to sustain their whole day activities in school.
School
children from 4 to 10 years olds needs fats, protein and carbohydrates to
remain active and alert. For fiber intake, Acosta recommends brown rice instead.
On
the other hand, Food and Nutrition Research Institute shared some ideas on how
to prepare a happy “baon” for children to ensure their nutrition all day long.
For parents, here’s what you should do:
*
Think about your child’s baon ahead. Healthy school lunches can be easy when
you plan ahead. Plan their baon a week in advance and give them lots of healthy
selections to choose from. This will teach them to develop the habit of making
choices for themselves.
*
Packed lunches should have three to four food groups represented to fuel them
through all of the school day’s activities. This includes rice, chicken,
buttered or boiled vegetables and fruits in season.
*
Prepare easy-to-pack and carry dishes like fried fish, chicken or pork, or pork
adobo, beef tapa, fish/meat omelette, etc. Include vegetable or fruit as side
dish.
*
Use a different sandwich filling each day (tuna, cheese, egg, or chicken).
Preferably use whole grain breads and low fat mayonnaise or dressing. Add cut
up vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, pipino for added fiber. Prepare sandwich
fillings the day or night before to save time in the busy mornings.
*
Include milk and fruit juices for beverage. This will help assure your children
of a nutritious drink and also save you needless expenses on carbonated
beverages. If you include tetra pack fruit juice, keep it in the freezer then
put directly in the lunch box. It will have thawed by lunchtime and will keep
the rest of the food cool.
*
Make sure your child is drinking safe, clean and enough water.
*
Be concerned with food safety when packing lunches. Use thermal/insulated lunch
box to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. With a good thermal/insulated
lunch box, there is no limit to the delicious, nutritious and safe packed
lunches for your kids.
Below
are short healthy daily lunch and snacks prepared by FNRI:
Lunch:
Monday:
Fried longganisa, lettuce-cucumber-tomato salad, boiled rice, banana.
Tuesday:
Chicken/pork adobo, sauteed abitsuelas, boiled rice, fruit in season.
Wednesday:
Fish/meat omelette, atsara, boiled rice, orange juice.
Thursday:
Beef tapa, fresh tomatoes, boiled rice, pineapple juice.
Friday:
Fried chicken/breaded pork chop, buttered vegetables, boiled rice, fruit in
season.
Snacks:
Monday:
Fried Banana/Camote,
Tuesday:
Egg Sandwich,
Wednesday:
Boiled Peanuts
Thursday:
Chicken sandwich
Friday:
Fruit in season
(FNRI-DOST/PIA9/alt)
