The thick cloud cover announces the arrival of the monsoons and with it starts yet another year of new books, school uniforms and the excitement of going back to the classroom with friends. For the parents, though, it is largely the beginning of another battle for being creative with the school snack boxes.
Schools and pre-schools are increasingly stressing on the importance of nutrition with many spelling out strict snack box policy to do away with junk food and sugary stuff. Back in the 80s and 90s, school breaks would largely centre on bread and jams, fryums, French fries or on a good rainy day the ready-to-eat noodles. With the focus so much on taking the junk out of the kid’s diet and giving them nutritionally rich food, many of these childhood favourites are now being shunned by mothers and schools alike.
No-junk policy
According to Poonam Shah Srinath, who has been running the playschool and kindergarten Teeny Boppers, it’s important to inculcate healthy food habits from an early stage. Yes, it’s not as easy a task to have the kids excited over a healthy snack of veggies and chapattis as it is in the case of junk food.
“But if the food is creatively designed, it draws the attention of kids, especially from the playschool age group,” says Poonam. The one thing she highly recommends is to let a toddler explore food on his or her own. “Toddlers understand the touch and feel of food when they eat it on their own. It also helps to naturally inculcate a habit of eating vegetables and fruits,” she says and adds that biscuits, breads, jams or ketchup should be far away from the school snack boxes – a food policy that is followed strictly in the playschool.
Keep it natural
Certified health coach Sangeeta Muddapu says food is more nutritious when it is closer to its natural state. “I prefer making the recipe simple. It will be easy for parents as well as good for children when it comes to managing the morning rush hour. Seasonal vegetable stir fries are my all-time-favourite recipe,” she says. Her easy snack box tip: Cut the vegetables in big chunks. Use healthy oil (preferably sesame), generous quantity of onions or garlic, pinch of salt and pepper/chilli powder. Put the lid on and let the vegetable soften. It’s quick and tasty. Adding roasted seeds like flax, pumpkin makes the snack more nutritious.
“Beans are good sources of proteins and folic acid. One of the ways of introducing them in the snack boxes is to soak them overnight; boil them with pinch of salt; drain the water. This is very handy as we can make a big bunch and store it in fridge. Before packing in the box, we need to heat them adding a healthy fat (ghee/sesame oil). This goes well with mashed potatoes and spinach,” says Sangeeta, a mother of three.
Vegetable omelet is the other great recipe for the kids who do not take good breakfast at home. “The ratio should be one egg with a bowl full of vegetables pieces,” adds Sangeeta, whose journey from a techie to a health coach began when her elder son was diagnosed with life-threatening allergies. Since then, Sangeeta has been advocating and researching extensively on integrative nutrition programme.
Being creative
Deepa Kodali’s snack boxes for her son Arjun are a great hit in the boy’s playschool. Every day, Arjun finds some new story to narrate to his classmates when he opens his snack box. “I try to make it interesting for the child and design food in the shape of characters that my son can relate to. That ways, he gets interested to see what’s in his snack box and that also generates a natural liking for healthy food,” says Deepa. So her snack boxes include the good old nutritious idli shaped like mini teddies with a cookie cutter or a watermelon melon or fruits made in the shape of Arjun’s favourite caterpillar character from Eric Carle’s classic of The Very Hungry Caterpillar . Deepa says she gets a lot of inspiration from Pinterest whenever she is running out of ideas. “My idea of an ideal snack box is portions of fruit, carbohydrates and protein. To make a snack box, it requires very little effort. For instance, you can just make little triangles of chapattis for the toddlers to easily hold and eat, or make small rounded punugulu with peanut chutneys,” she adds.
Nutrition tips
Consultant nutritionist and founder of Starlite Wellness Centre, Anjali Dange says that it is the protein element that is usually missing in most snack boxes. “Protein foods keep your child full for longer. Stuff rotis with dal, paneer or soy kheema; use peanut butter and cheese in your sandwiches or rolls. If the school allows non vegetarian foods, include egg and chicken. It will be easy if you shred the meat into bite size portions. Don’t forget to include fruits and vegetables to help your child improve his or her immunity,” she explains.
It’s never easy on parents when you have fussy eaters at home. Anjali suggests making food interesting with some minor twists to everyday food. “Use cookie cutters to cut you idlis or chapattis into different shapes or pierce the fruits on a small length skewer to make fruit kebabs or just add a beetroot purée into your poori dough to make purple puris. Colour and shapes will tantalise your child’s appetite,” she suggests.
