Going healthy at school

Heather Little-White, Contributor

Working parents have the double burden of working inside the home while holding down a job outside to extend the family income.

A critical part of the burden is that of making healthy meals for children. We know that meals for children are critical to their growth and development, and it must start from the home. Some parents cop out of the responsibility by giving the children money to buy 'fast foods' or junk from unsupervised school canteen and tuck shops.

We have been waiting a long time for the National Food and Nutrition Policy to be implemented, so until that comes into effect, working parents have to find ways to cope to provide wholesome meals for their children for optimal academic outcome in schools. Working parents who have mastered this activity shared some tips with Food.

1 Make a plan for the week/month. Depending on how you purchase food items for the home, you should work with a menu from which you must make a list to guide your purchases. Beware of impulse buying as you cruise through the supermarket aisles. You should also consider special needs of your children like allergies, lifestyle diseases and food preferences.

2 Cook and freeze. On the weekend, triple up recipes of meals that will freeze well. Carefully store the unused portion after having the first meal for those days when it will be difficult to cook. Glass storage ware with lids can go straight from the freezer to the microwave or oven. Spaghetti sauce, lasagna, curries, meatballs and other Jamaican dishes are ideal for freezing. Health options like home-made muffins and soups also freeze well. It's important to store items with a date so you use first in, first out (FIFO).

3 Try slow cooking. Slow cookers are available but you can slow cook a meal as you watch television at night and refrigerate immediately after it has cooled.

4 Invest in a cooking course. Unless you have creative ideas, you will find that after a while meal preparation becomes a drag. Food allows for many options and when you know what to do, you can mix and match. Get your children involved in cooking so they can prepare what they like and ease your pressure. When they get home from school, they can make their own meals once the items are home. One enterprising teenager who graduated from a summer cooking course now makes after-school pizzas for her friends.

5 Get involved in the school's PTA for improving canteen meals. Several schools have successfully transformed the schools' offerings working with qualified staff to provide:

• age-appropriate calories;
• larger servings and wider variety of fruits and vegetables, including dark green and red/orange vegetables and legumes
• more whole grains, especially in breakfast items like porridges and Johnny cakes
• use of less sodium, especially pre-packaged seasonings, in preparation of meals

When parents who have time volunteer and help in the school's canteen, they will make a valuable contribution to improving school meals for their children. Besides, it reduces the preparation you would make at home.

Donating produce

Parents who have excess ground provisions, fruits and vegetables can donate to the school or sell at cost, to increase the nutrition of what is offered. Members of the Jamaica Egg Farmers Association have successfully piloted the inclusion of more eggs in school meals. The programme combined eggs as an excellent protein source with vegetables and starches to make interesting recipes with beverage special Carrot-Eggernizer, as a shift from carbonated beverages.

Similarly, all the associations related to produce can provide items for a successful school nutrition programme.