A guide for parents and children
Some tips on how children can ‘wisely’ choose foods at the canteen.
DO you know what foods your children choose at the canteen during recess at school?
Kids, if you often go to the canteen to grab a bite during recess, remember, this meal is not meant to replace either your breakfast or lunch. Instead, it’s to fill up on a nutritious snack that can give you enough energy for your activities in school.
Nutritious snacks can help to keep you satisfied till it’s time for lunch.
More importantly, it can also give you the energy needed to get through the day at school, but only if you select foods that are nutritious.
Use the guide below to help you make appropriate food selections – which of them you should eat more of, less of, and which to avoid.
Pick these snacks MORE often
Choose foods that are less oily and less sweet, yet provide useful nutrients, such as sandwiches made with wholemeal bread and with egg, meat, sardine, or tuna filling, breakfast cereals, kuih apam, popiah basah, steamed pau, or clear mee hoon soup with vegetables and meat.
Fruits such as bananas, watermelon, guavas, and apples are good choices too.
Choose beverages that are less sweet and yet more nutritious, such as milk, chocolate malted drink, soya bean milk, freshly squeezed fruit juice and yoghurt drinks.
These foods can be eaten daily or several times a week. But take only in small portions, so that you don’t feel too full to eat your main meals (lunch or dinner).
Choose these OCCASIONALLY
Some foods and drinks can be taken occasionally as they contain some valuable nutrients, but may also be high in fat or sugar.
Take only small portions of these foods, and limit eating these to one to two times a week.
Examples include nasi lemak, fried rice or fried noodles/mee hoon/kuey teow, sugar-coated donuts or muffins and Swiss roll with cream filling.
Pick these snacks LESS often
There are also foods and drinks that are high in calories, fat or salt, and some of these are low in nutrients.
It is best to limit eating these types of foods to not more than once a week.
Examples include fried burgers, sausages, nuggets, French fries, cucur udang, keropok lekor and cekodok pisang.
Also be careful of foods and drinks that are sweet and high in sugar, such as syrups, fruit cordials, carbonated drinks, sweets, ice kacang and kuih-muih such as onde-onde, kuih seri muka and kuih keria.
Try and also consume less of foods that are high in salt and flavouring, e.g. crispy chips/ kerepek/keropok and snacks with artificial flavouring.
Simple guide to choosing snacks
Choose more often (daily or several times a week)
l Wholemeal sandwiches (filled with egg, meat, sardine, or tuna) l Kuih apam l Steamed pau l Clear mee hoon soup with vegetables and meat Fruits such as bananas, guavas and apples Milk Yoghurt or yoghurt drinks Soya bean milk Freshly squeezed juices
Choose occasionally (not more than one times a week) Nasi lemak Fried rice Fried noodles/ mee hoon Fried kuey-teow
Choose less often (not more than once a week) l Fried burgers l Fried sausages l Fried nuggets l French fries l Fried chips or crisps l Carbonated drinks l Syrup and cordial drink l Sweet and fried kuih-muih, e.g. doughnut Lastly, remember to always make sure that the foods you choose are fresh and clean.
Do not purchase cooked foods that are not properly covered.
Do check the expiry dates on packaged foods to avoid eating foods that may be spoilt!
If your canteen does not offer enough healthy choices, you can ask your parents to prepare healthy snacks to bring to school instead.
Lastly, besides eating right, don’t forget to keep your body moving by playing some sports, or games that you like such as badminton or football with your friends. Or you can simply walk and run about in a park with your family members.