What should we prepare for school feeding?

What does your child or teenager usually eat as a school meal? Nutrition is always important in any situation. But nutrition in school and for children and teenagers is more important. Did you know that healthy nutrition can help your child to be stronger, smarter and healthier?

Food is an important part of your child’s life that affects not only his physical health, but also his mental health and his performance in school. In this article about vitamin, we will talk about the importance of healthy foods and suggest and teach several healthy and attractive ideas for nutrition.

Why should students bring healthy food to school?

Your child spends about 6 hours (in some schools even more) at school every day and it is natural that he needs food. It is not enough that only the food at home is good, but the food and nutrition that you give him to take with him to school must also be good and healthy. In this section, see the role of healthy school nutrition on students!

The role of nutrition on students’ academic performance: a hungry brain cannot work properly!

Teaching and learning different subjects, long and sometimes difficult classes, tests, projects, presentations, small group work, class discussions, homework and various written reports are among the things that your child is busy with at school. Can a child who is hungry cope with all this mental (and also physical) activity?!

The student must have enough mental focus and energy to participate in various classes and classroom activities, so he needs proper nutrition for the brain and body. The right snack helps your child to be alert, energetic and focused during school, not to be distracted and to maintain his ability to learn; Especially when he has a hard class.

Many nutrients found in healthy foods, such as omega-3s, vitamins, and minerals, are essential for your child’s brain to function properly. These nutrients help improve memory, concentration and learning ability.

The effect of nutrition on children’s growth: healthy nutrition means a healthy body!

The cornerstone of your child’s health and growth is his nutrition. Every snack your child takes to school provides part of their daily nutritional needs. For example, if you give your child an egg sandwich, you have provided part of his protein needs. Therefore, look at school snacks and meals as an opportunity to provide part of your child’s nutritional needs.

Strengthening the immune system, improving brain function, growing bones and muscles, increasing energy and maintaining a cheerful mood are part of the important role of nutrition in your child’s development. But on the other hand, improper nutrition can lead to anemia, growth disorders, weak immune system, obesity and other health problems.

Do students need a snack every few hours?

It is better to give your child a snack for each time he has fun, that is, approximately every 2 hours. Nutritionists recommend giving your child 1 to 3 snacks per day (between 150 and 200 calories each).

The calories in each snack depend on various factors, including your child’s height, weight, age, gender, and activity level. It is important that your child does not go without food for long hours.

After going without food for a long time, your baby will lose energy and be distracted, and may also become irritable and irritable. For this reason, he goes to every bad and unhealthy food in the school buffet, and this is not something that is suitable for his health!

A sample of healthy and delicious school meals

Many times we don’t know exactly what to consider as school food for our child and prepare it to be tasty and make sure that our child eats his food at school and is healthy and nutritious. In this section, we have attractive offers for you that you can choose from among them safely and observe the variety throughout the week.

1. Healthy and complete breakfasts

There are many delicious and interesting ideas for feeding the school as breakfast, which we will introduce below. One of the reasons why your child does not like and does not eat breakfast is that breakfast has become repetitive for him. Children don’t like bread and cheese anymore. Use this list to diversify your breakfast.

• Oatmeal with fruit and nuts: Offer your child oatmeal with fresh berries, some nuts, and some honey.
• Cereal pancakes or waffles: Pancakes and waffles are always attractive and loved by children. You can make pancakes decorated with fruit or jam for your child.
• Nimro on toast and lettuce: Apply Nimru on whole grain toast and sprinkle some salt and pepper on it and put two lettuce leaves on the bread and then place another toast on it.
• Toast with special butters: You can spread delicious butter like peanut butter or hazelnut butter on toast (or any bread your child likes), it’s very delicious.
• Banana, apple or pear with peanut butter: Another delicious idea for kids who don’t like bread at all is to spread peanut butter on fruits like bananas, apples, pears (or even peaches). If your child likes this school feeding model, you can add a spoonful of honey to it.
• Bread, cheese, cucumber, walnuts and almonds: Finally, we have the traditional breakfast of Iranians, namely bread and cheese, which you can prepare with cucumber, tomato and a handful of almonds and walnuts for your child to eat at school.

Healthy and diet snacks

Now it’s time to introduce some delicious, hearty and nutritious snacks. You can prepare these options for school meals and put them in your child’s bag. These are very simple and easy to prepare.

• Peanut butter, banana and walnut sandwich: An old school feeding combination that is both delicious and nutritious.
• Sweet fruits: Like bananas, peaches, apples, grapes, if your child likes them, put them in a dish. You can apply a little honey on the fruits to make it sweeter.
• Homemade cookies: Make your own cookies with ingredients like oatmeal, peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips.
• Carrot: Yes; Carrots alone can keep your baby full for an hour or two, as they are rich in nutrients.
• Homemade granola: Make homemade granola with ingredients such as oats, nuts and honey and give it to your child as school nutrition.
• A handful of nuts: Put nuts like peas, raisins, hazelnuts and almonds in his pocket.

Light lunch for students who are at school until the afternoon

If your child can keep his food in the refrigerator, we suggest these suitable and nutritious foods for school lunches:

• Boiled eggs: Put one or two eggs with salt, black pepper and a little thyme in your child’s dish with pickled cucumber and lettuce. If he likes it, you can make it like a sandwich.
• Cold mini pizza: You can make a small pizza with chicken and mushrooms the night before and leave two slices in the dish for him to eat.
• Potato and egg sandwich: Mix a potato and an egg with a little butter and spices and give it to your child.
• Chicken and vegetable sandwich: This sandwich includes chicken and vegetables such as bell peppers and carrots, which is filled with a salad of your choice.
• Protein salad: You can leave a dish containing shredded lettuce, grated carrot, small pieces of chicken (or egg) and homemade sauce for him to eat at noon.

If your child cannot put his food in the school refrigerator, these foods are suitable for him and you can prepare these items as school nutrition.

• Homemade falafel sandwich: You can make falafel for him at home and sandwich it with your favorite salad.
• Potato sandwich with salad: Mash a big boiled potato with butter and spices and add some lettuce and pickles to it and make a delicious sandwich!
• Vegetable coco: A small sandwich with coconut, pickled cucumber and tomato is a good lunch idea for your child to eat at school until he gets home.
• Potato Cocoa: Cocoa potato and pickled cucumber and lettuce sandwich with lavash bread is the next lunch idea for school meals and days when your child stays at school until the afternoon.

Tips and solutions that parents should do so that children have healthy nutrition?

Every food you give to your child, in addition to feeding his body, you are also feeding his soul and spirit. Your food choices affect your child’s emotional health and he learns what to eat and how to eat. Therefore, healthy nutrition is very important for children. In the following, we will review some important points that parents need to know.

Involve children in the food preparation process!

Let your kids help with meal planning, grocery shopping, washing fruits and vegetables, and even cooking. This makes the “food” fun and attractive for him, and he is enthusiastic about the result and gets a desire for the food that is being prepared.

Your child’s opinions about food are respected and important!

When the child says “I’m full”, stop insisting. Do not discuss and pressure him about his satiety and hunger. Also, let him “choose” his own food from healthy options.

Eat together and make mealtime a precious family time!

Time for food is an important time. The TV must be turned off and the phone should not be in anyone’s hands; Also, be careful to have good conversations at the dinner table and avoid stressful conversations. Eating habits are embedded in your child’s mind, so try to make “meal time” a relaxing and loving time at home.

Eat healthy food together!

Whatever food you give to your child, eat it yourself and praise it with pleasure. You cannot pour yourself a soda and tell the child to drink only water! Parents are role models for their children.

Always have delicious food in the fridge!

Try to always have healthy food such as fruit, nuts, milk, carrots, etc. in the refrigerator at home that your child will eat quickly when he is hungry; Instead of starving or craving unhealthy foods.

Do not spoil your child’s taste!

Processed foods such as sausages and sausages, or ice cream, etc. are full of additives and will soon change the taste of the child. The best thing is to never buy such junk food and instead make homemade pizza and hamburgers with healthy ingredients.

Do not use food as a reward or punishment. Food is not meant to be a reward for your baby, but a daily necessity. Also, you should not reduce or change his food as a punishment. Unfortunately, even once such behaviors can disrupt your child’s relationship with food and make him suffer from stress and obsessive behaviors towards food.

final word

Nutrition is always important and has a great impact on our physical and mental health. Choosing the right nutrition for children and teenagers is naturally more important and affects their performance, mood and concentration.

In this article, we introduced and taught all kinds of attractive, nutritious and delicious foods as school nutrition. By choosing these options, you can rest assured about the variety and health of your beloved school’s nutrition.

Resources: healthline – themaverickobserver – diabetes