Parents are looking forward to the new school session. The preparation involves buying clothes, bags, shoes, and food, especially for day pupils.
Feeding for boarders is left to managers of the school kitchen.
Even if children take little or no breakfast, a parent should encourage them to take at least a cup of tea with or without bread or cereal with milk.
To meet daily nutritional needs, mothers should pack ‘wonderful’ lunch boxes for their children.
“The first thing is to decide which to use, whether a lunch box or bag.
“An insulated lunch box, which keeps food fresh and safe, is the best bet for younger kids because it is for them to see what they have, and take any containers out and put them back,” explained Bunmi Edomwonyi, a food and nutrition teacher.
She reminded mothers to include napkin and utensils.
Coming up with what to pack in the lunch box everyday could be difficult for some people but nutritionists suggest taking two basic things into consideration: nutrition and child preference.
Becoming familiar with foods in the food pyramid is usually the first step. Even though it is not possible to have something from each group in the lunch box, one can represent those groups in the box.
“This may not be possible everyday, thus the missing ones can be served as breakfast or dinner then you can make up for what is missing either at breakfast or at dinner,” Edomwonyi said.
It is better to pack what one is sure a child likes and will eat. Or else, the food may be returned untouched.
What cannot be packed can be incorporated in a creative way.
What to pack
Edomwonyi said it is not advisable to send kids to school with the many packed flavoured fruit juice and snacks that abound in the market as they are not nutritious. “If the child is keen on juice, it is better to do it at home or encourage him/her to eat fruits.”
Many children like bread but very few like recommended whole wheat bread.
White bread lovers can be encouraged to eat wheat by making sandwiches or toasts with it.
Vegetables should be a part of daily diet and they can be eaten cooked or raw. Carrots and cucumber can be added to a lunch box. Whole fruits, like apple or orange, should also be in it.
“Freshly squeezed juice can be substituted for the whole fruit if there is none around but it should be poured in a well-screwed container to avoid spill,” Edomwonyi advised.
Suggested combinations
Many children love yam, rice – and potato, especially the Irish variety. It is suitable to make different creative lunch with proper accompaniments with these items.
Vegetables should be added to sandwiches, toast bread; and sauces used for fried yam or potatoes.
