Useful information and links for primary school age children who would like to improve their diet and learn more about healthy eating.
Have you noticed any changes in your school lunch lately? If you haven’t yet, then they’re just around the corner. The experts at the School Food Trust have come up with some new and exciting recipe ideas that we think can help you lead a healthier life, using food that’s fresher, tastier and better for you than the stuff you’ve been used to.
Every school in the country has had to sell these new healthier meals by September 2006, and lots of children around the UK are eating the new meals every lunchtime and are feeling better for it.
What’s going on?
The changes mean that you’ll be given a bigger range of food to choose from at lunchtime, which will contain less of all the unhealthy stuff.
The main changes you’ll see include:
- Lots more fresh fruit and veg
- More protein-packed meat and fish
- Water that’s easy to find
- Bread being available every day
- Less deep-fried food
Why have school lunches changed?
Eating healthier food will give you loads more energy to do the things you love to do for longer, like playing games with your friends. It’s also proven that healthy foods can help you at school, as you’re less likely to get tired easily and it can also improve your mood and put a smile on your face if you’re feeling a bit down.
If you’re into sports and fancy being the next Premiership star or Olympic icon, learning which foods are better for building up your energy or strength levels is even more important – so the earlier you can learn the basics, the better.
As well as all that, drinking less fizzy drinks will help to keep your teeth and gums free from decay, and less fatty and deep fried food like burgers and chips will help to keep your skin free from spots.
You might find your new school lunches a little strange at first, but don’t give up with the new menus before you’ve tried them for a couple of weeks. You might discover that you love some foods that you’ve never even tried before.
What about the things I love?
We all like food that’s not that good for us like biscuits, chocolate, crisps and chips. But these foods and others that are high in fat and sugar are doing your body no favours, and can actually cause problems when you get older.
Remember that we’re not looking to control what you eat, or take away all the things that you like. Some of your old favourites will still be on the menu on different days of the week, just not as often as the new, tasty, healthier stuff.
Everyone knows that eating the right food will make you look and feel better, so we’re making sure that the meals at your school are better quality and that you have a bigger range to choose from to keep yourself healthy and active.
