The school year opened today - and along with the excitement of the children, parents and teachers, the lunch bags and elevenses also returned to school. In honor of the occasion, we contacted the dieticians who are members of the Food Industries Association of the Manufacturers Association to get some tips to try to combine two desires that seem parallel: our desire to give our children optimal nutrition, versus their desire to eat only what tastes good.
Shani Arad, director of nutrition for the Strauss Group, Tom's mother: "The lunch box is a small extension of the house, Parents would like to invest in their children's lunch box but there are limitations such as time, assessments and also the fear that if we invest the children will not be able to what we have prepared.
"First of all, it is important to understand that the beginning of a year is an exciting and exciting time for a child, and this day may be accompanied by tensions and manifest itself in increased eating or not eating at all. Just like us adults when we get excited, there will be some who will eat more and others who will even lose their appetite. The solution is to have breakfast before leaving for classes, for example yogurt with fruit.
"The morning is not the right time to ask children what they want, and we all know the challenge of schedules. I recommend planning an evening in advance and also sharing the contents with the children, thus saving time in the morning. I recommend choosing foods that early preparation will not greatly damage the nutritional values. For example, whole vegetables such as baby cucumbers and bell peppers, but if your children prefer cut vegetables and fruits, that's fine. It's not all or nothing, it's better that you take it easy the night before and supplement the vitamin C that was lost in the preliminary cutting with dinner."
"Ensure orderly meals and avoid snacks, and remember that even if today didn't succeed for them, neither did yesterday, nor will tomorrow. Children's eating is an average of several days and a complete spectrum, not measured by a single day's failure. My recommendation for a nutritious, healthy and most importantly easy to prepare lunch box." Mini spelled pita with a spoonful of hummus, baby cucumbers, olive rings, rolled yellow cheese, a hard-boiled egg (it is recommended to prepare in advance) and a chopper such as: corn on the cob, crisps, date balls, Yogurt drink, muffins, tahini cookie.
Galit Snir, clinical dietitian, consultant for the Tnuva company and mother of Shay and Shahar (13) and Yuval (9): "Correct, personalized nutrition is the basis of health and a good feeling for everyone at any age." "At these ages, we want to ensure that the diet is correct and nutritious in order to allow normal growth and development. That is why it is important to supply all the necessary components to the body, and equally important at these ages is to acquire correct eating habits. The guiding principles to achieve this are balance and diversity."
"At the ten-day meal, as with any meal, it is important to ensure a balanced combination of: carbohydrates, preferably whole (for example, wholemeal bread, wholemeal buns, etc.) that provide energy that is important for the school day and contribute to satiety, proteins (for example, various cheeses, eggs, etc.) that are important for growth and building cells The body and especially the muscles and bones, along with vegetables and fruits which are the main suppliers of fiber, vitamins and minerals that help the growth and development of the various body systems."
"Together with them, it is recommended to combine healthy fats (for example, tahini, olives, avocado). "From a young age it is important to find ways to diversify and expose children to as wide a variety of different foods as possible - different vegetables and fruits, family dishes with unique flavors, animal proteins such as Milk and plants such as legumes and more. In order to increase cooperation at these ages, we would like to encourage the fun and enjoyment of healthy eating. For this purpose visibility, interest and play in food as well as creativity are important. All of these contribute to an enjoyable and fun meal and encourage healthy eating and cooperation."
"My recommendation for a ten-day meal is guaranteed success - a whole wheat tortilla roll with yellow cheese and slices of cucumber, pepper and carrot. The tortilla belongs to the carbohydrate group and provides energy that is important for the school day."
Yellow cheese contributes a lot of calcium and protein, which are important for growth and building bones, sliced vegetables such as carrots, peppers and cucumbers contribute fiber that helps satiety along with vitamins such as vitamin A that helps growth." "You can also add olives that will contribute color and healthy fat and to make the meal fun and interesting it is advisable to cut Cut the tortilla into circles and put slices of vegetables in different colors, this way you will get a colorful and attractive dish."
Orly Faina, Director of Nutrition, Osem - Nestlé Group and mother of Eldar, Alon and Michal: "Personalized and varied nutrition combined with listening to the body's wisdom, along with enjoyable and regular physical activity are the key to good health at any age." "Children don't really learn from what we say, but from the way we behave. That's why it's important to be a personal example of healthy, varied and enjoyable eating, with permission and without feelings of guilt or excessive preoccupation with food. It's the parents' job to take care of healthy, tasty and varied food, and the child's job is to choose what And how much to eat, avoid getting on their plate or trying to control the quantities, trust them that they know how to regulate hunger and fullness."
"The two most essential things for the proper development of teenagers: adequate sleep and proper nutrition. These are the two most difficult things to achieve for them, so it is important to make sure that balanced meals are available and to fill the pantry and the refrigerator with wise nutritional choices."
"When there is healthy and delicious food that is accessible to teenagers and does not require them More likely they will eat it, remember that they are hungry most of the time and will eat what is available. Also regarding the preparation of sandwiches for school hours, it is important to coordinate with them in advance what they prefer and understand until what time they study."
"Puberty is characterized by extremely accelerated growth with a hormonal storm that causes an increased appetite most of the day, so it is important to provide them with satisfying and high-quality nutrients. You should make sure that they eat before leaving for school, the ten-hour meal will usually take place about 3 hours after getting up, a light breakfast will help alleviate hunger and improve the level of concentration in the morning, for example a bowl of breakfast cereal based on whole grains. I recommend a 10 sandwich - also Nutritious and adapted to our teenagers and most importantly easy to prepare: bread/ tortilla/ pita/ bun - it is important that they are always based on whole grains that contribute to a feeling of satiety and energy for a long time." "The essential protein for growth and development - egg or chickpea spread or tuna."
"Another spread to enrich the taste - avocado or tahini - a source of quality vegetable oils. Vegetables - inside the sandwich or on the side in the box - the easiest mini vegetables (cucumber, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, olives), whole or cut fruits in a separate box can be a tasty and nutritious snack during the shorter breaks and are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fiber which are also essential for normal growth and development" .
Ruthi Abiri, clinical dietitian, nutrition consultant for Angel: "Don't expect the youth to prepare their own food - do you want them to eat healthy? Just cook for them." A meal for ten and a teenager in high school, that's an oxymoron! They just don't like taking food to school, and certainly won't get up to prepare it. It's true that they are big and can make it by themselves, but come on... hand on heart, we all know they just won't make it! So if we want them to eat something nutritious at school - let's give up the expectation that they will prepare it because it is much easier to buy Burrekas in the cafeteria. When they get up in the morning they are either in a hurry or not hungry and the ability to plan ahead for when they are hungry is not their strong point. But then at 9:00 the stomach rumbles (and the break is only at 10:00, yes..) So at that moment, there is nothing like a pampering sandwich from home to take out of the bag during class and eat in secret. Now that we've agreed to 'work for them', we need to make a sandwich that they won't be ashamed to take out, and preferably one that will arouse the envy of those around them."
"For this purpose he must be special. Make them a cool sandwich, surprise them. It can be in the shape, size, filling, just make sure it is healthy, satisfying and will contribute to concentration: complete carbohydrates/ lean proteins/ healthy fats/ vitamins, minerals and fiber. Pack it correctly so that the sandwich stays fresh and does not get wet from the filling and look very unsightly while eating Teenagers at this age probably won't take a lunch box to school, but plastic wrap or wrapping paper can serve the purpose well enough. Along with the sandwich, try to get them to also take a bottle of water, studies show that not drinking enough impairs the ability to concentrate and think. And most importantly? Don't ask Because you will surely get a negative answer."
"Just make it and tell them you put it in the bag for them." "So that the sandwich you worked hard on won't be thrown away, take my recommendation for a sandwich that the boys will love and go find out, maybe they'll even share in the story: a whole wheat sandwich with 5% cream cheese... Vary the type of bread for flour buns Filled or spelled pita that children and youth love very much. Different fruits that provide vitamins, minerals and fiber, yes yes, fruits in a sandwich! Tastes like jam and only more aesthetic and healthy! And for those who like to put some more effort - you can upgrade by adding nuts that provide more important minerals."