Back to School Eating Tips

I thought I wrote the Holiday Snacking post only a week ago but surprise, it's Term 3 already!   So now that school's back, let's look at some tips to get back into the rhythm. The big difference between school and holiday is that you don't get as much flexibility in when to eat (and the 'what' to eat depending on school's food policies). 

Make breakfast, lunch and dinner regular

Think of meals that are satiating for you.This should be the first consideration before even thinking nutrition!Breakfast foods may include toasts (with spreads or eggs or baked beans? Avocado too if you don't have to worry about mortgage!), cereal (are you a milk person or a yoghurt person?), or even some dinner leftovers.

If you're not a breakfast person, that's okay. You don't have to eat like a king. A good place to start is to have a bite or two of something light like a fruit, or have a nourishing drink like a smoothie made with milk. By having at least some-thing you are stimulating your appetite!

 Lunch may be something portable and convenient for school days, like a ham/cheese sandwich, or leftovers from last night's dinner like pasta or stirfries. Dinner might be different everyday or a rotation of familiar foods - and they're both okay! Maybe stirfries (meat, veg, and/or tofu?) with noodles or rice; steak and veg; hearty soup with toast; a bake; hot pot; pasta; pizza (have you tried making pizza at home? It's super fun!)... since there's so much variety of things, this is where a little planning comes in handy. Try to include some wholesome carbohydrate (e.g. rice, pasta, noodle, bread, grains) and protein (beans, nuts, fish, meat, egg, cheese/milk/yoghurt) for each meal. You can then think of what veggies you might want to add.You don't have to skip carbs or not-eat-after-8pm or fast-for-16hours.Eating regularly and eating adequately from wholesome foods gives you the best nutrition. 

Pack your snacks

Snacks are important.These mini-meals can help you out of hunger between main meals, and also top up much needed fuel, especially when you're having an active day.When packing snacks you want to make sure you've got both carbohydrate and protein, just like you would for your main meals.For example, a trail mix, cheese and crackers, PB and jam sandwich, ham/cheese sandwich, yoghurt, hummus with veggie sticks/crackers, fruit and some nuts.If you have dance classes straight after school you definitely don't want to go without snacks in the afternoon.A little bit of planning ahead can help you access yummy food easily and also save some cash (it adds up... to a few pairs of pointe shoes!) Why not use this week as an experimentation week to plan out your meals and snacks for school!  Fumi x