After the holiday period, eating and drinking, and having fun, a different rush begins for all of us with the arrival of September. Especially for families with children, this month is a time that requires preparation on many issues, along with the return to school. It is time to discipline for our children, who have a more free period during the holiday. It is necessary not to break the rules in terms of life style and eating habits. Considering the increasing infections with the arrival of autumn, an adequately planned and true nutrition model should be adopted in order to ensure attendance at school and to protect general health. Adequate and stable nutrition of children at this age is of great value in increasing their learning abilities and increasing success rates.
BREAKFAST CONDITION for a smooth start!
Studies show that children who have breakfast concentrate better in their lessons, and their physical and mental functions are better. In addition, children who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. That’s why children should definitely start the day with a nutritious breakfast.
- Prefer whole grain carbohydrates for breakfast. They are nutritious as they contain high fiber and they have the feature of keeping children full for a long time.
- Try to choose products enriched in iron, B and D vitamins in breakfast cereals.
- Include protein-rich foods such as eggs, milk and cheese in children’s breakfasts.
- Add foods containing vitamin C (tomato, green pepper, parsley, orange, grapefruit) to breakfast, which increase iron absorption.
- Create an alternative to children’s sweet cravings with highly nutritious molasses and honey.
- Diversity should be at the forefront in children’s nutrition.
- It is valuable to ensure the consumption of foods from each food cluster during the day. These clusters; milk and dairy products cluster, meat-egg-legume cluster, cereals, vegetables and fruits.
- A regular program should be followed.
- When meals are not well organized, children tend to consume more junk food throughout the day. In this way, the nutrient clusters they need to take at meals are neglected
- Take care of their fluid intake.
- Tell them to drink plenty of water (1.5 lt per day)
- Fizzy, sugary drinks, tea, coffee, instant-sweetened fruit juices, buttermilk, milk, freshly squeezed fruit juices are preferred instead of sodas. should be done.
- Try different systems to increase vegetable consumption.
- Add vegetables to children’s favorite meals
- Enrich their soup, pasta and rice with extra vegetables
- A wide variety of salads accompany the meals.
- Offer raw vegetables.
- Benefit from vegetable juices (tomatoes, carrots…).
- Try to bring all family members together at mealtime.
Mealtime is the most precious meal for the family, where sharing increases. Telling children to eat nutritious foods and showing this is much more effective. It also provides them with a positive model for social behavior.
Be careful with the TASTE TRIANGLE!
End the frequency of consumption of foods formed by the trio of “fat, sugar and salt”, which is widely used in ready-made works.
Do not keep chips, chocolate, candy, wafers, biscuits, carbonated drinks, ready-made fruit juices in the residence.
Suggest balancing these nutrients with healthy alternatives.
- Redirect to real choices at school
- Make use of the school cafeteria.
- Talk beforehand what kind of food you can choose in the cafeteria
- Get to know school menus better, contact if there is a responsible person
- Accompany your child to a lunch
- Nutrition at school support educational activities
- Prepare a healthy lunchbox.
- Choose enough about the features of the lunch box
- Prepare the foods in a form that they can easily consume
- Don’t forget to pay for milk or ayran!
- Remind them to store what they are carrying from the house in a clean and safe place
Offers for the Lunch Box
- Lettuce, pepper, tomato-cheese sandwich or chicken sandwich
- Oatmeal cookies or residential dried fruit cake
- Baked veggies Müjver
- Homemade low-fat cheese pie
- Whole grain bread-knit/cheddar cheese slices
- Raw vegetable slices, whole fruit, oil seeds
- Box milk, ayran
End FAST-FOOD consumption.
Stick to your decision regarding the selection, frequency of consumption and portion of fast food foods that are indispensable for children. As much as possible, guide children to healthy alternatives.
Be a good model.
Children are always very decent observers. In this respect, you should support the things you want to adopt with your behaviors.
