Fueled to Succeed
Smart eating habits can feed good grades as well as a strong body.
Help her body and her brain get a good start with a healthy breakfast.
The 1st and 2nd graders at Gribbin Elementary School in Glen Cove, New York, ooh and ah as "Tobe Fit" juggles a colorful assortment of rings, bottles, and fruit. Tobe, played by actor Mike Whitbeck, and his apprentice Johnny Junkfood, played by Eric Girardi, are the stars of Foodplay, a traveling theater show that teaches the whys and hows of healthy eating.
Using juggling, yo-yos, and humor, Foodplay has been spreading its message to parents, children, and educators for over 20 years. With today's alarming rise in childhood obesity, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes, the lessons Foodplay teaches seem more important than ever. But even if your child is not at risk for disease, there is a good reason to be sure he eats right: good nutrition can help him do well in school.
Turn Brains On with Breakfast
The Amazing Mid-Day Meal
What About Treats?
Exercise for the Mind
Turn Brains On with Breakfast
The ideas Foodplay brings to life are the same ones touted by moms, doctors, and education researchers around the world. Lesson number one: breakfast is the food of champions — not just athletic stars, but academic ones too.
Your child needs to eat before school to have the energy to stay alert and thinking throughout the morning. Barbara Storper, a registered dietician and founder of Foodplay, sees many breakfast skippers when she performs for schoolchildren. She says that often these kids are tired and "unable to keep their heads up" by 11:00.
But breakfast is more than just a morning energy boost for kids. According to the Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) at Baylor College of Medicine, eating breakfast can improve your child's memory, grades, school attendance, and punctuality. Breakfast eaters are also more likely to meet the daily recommendations for most vitamins and minerals, including iron, which has been shown to affect behavior and learning. In one study, children with low levels of iron had poorer math scores. Iron deficiency may not be the only reason for poor grades, but it's believed to influence your child's concentration, which affects test-taking and studying.
For a breakfast that delivers energy along with essential vitamins and minerals, avoid high-sugar cereals and high-fat foods like toaster pastries. One of the best choices is oatmeal, because it delivers a good mix of carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. It may also boost your child's memory! A recent study comparing oatmeal eaters, cereal eaters, and breakfast skippers found that kids who started the day with oatmeal did better on memory-related tasks.
Short on time in the morning? Storper suggests reheating last night's leftovers! Spaghetti with meatballs or rice and chicken make a well-balanced meal anytime. See our smart recipes for more nutritious, easy-to-make meals and snacks.
The Amazing Mid-Day Meal
Making sure your child eats a healthy lunch at school may be more challenging than providing a good breakfast at home. But since he gets about one-third of his daily calories at lunch, it's important to find ways to make that meal nutritious.
What's so important about lunch? Again, your child needs energy, this time to get him through the afternoon. And even if he’s not physically active, his brain needs to be fed. Glucose is the fuel that keeps the brain working. Researchers have found that learning tasks quickly deplete the brain's glucose store; a good lunch is required to replenish it.
Sugar is one source of glucose, but it's not a good one. With high-sugar foods like candy, it is easy to consume too much glucose, which will impair rather than enhance brain function. Chocolate and high-fat treats are especially poor choices because fat slows down the energizing effects of glucose. Plus, sugar carries loads of calories (which contributes to obesity) with no nutritional payoff.
If possible, send your child to school with a lunch from home. Turn lunch prep into a routine you do together the night before — just like homework, reading together, or bath time. Getting him involved in choosing and packing his lunch will help him learn to make healthy food choices. Plus, he’s more likely to eat a lunch that he helped make.
The best brain-boosting glucose sources to pack in a lunchbox include:
• Whole fruit — high fiber choices such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, and raspberries are best
• Canned fruit such as peaches or pineapples (look for ones packed in water or lightly sweetened)
• Raw vegetables including spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, onion, or mushrooms (include a small container of honey mustard or yogurt sauce for dipping)
• Grilled or steamed vegetables
• Legumes like beans, lentils, and non-fat refried beans
• Whole grain products — whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, etc.
As for the main course, nutritious doesn't mean you have to change your child's tastes. Traditional sandwiches such as PB&J, turkey with a slice of cheese, tuna fish, or other lean proteins are perfect.
In addition to boosting your child's immune systems and helping him build strong muscles, lean proteins regulate the glucose he takes in, making it time-release so he can stay alert for the rest of the day.
What About Treats?
Storper and other experts don't recommend forbidding goodies. Most children can enjoy sugar, fat, and caffeine in moderation. But experts disagree on what constitutes moderation.
For example, some suggest limiting children to 100 milligrams of caffeine per day (equal to about three cans of cola). However, Storper and others say less caffeine is definitely better. The Canadian government has established age-specific recommendations: ages 4 to 6, no more than 45 mg; ages 7 to 9, no more than 65.2 mg; ages 10 to 12, no more than 85 mg.
To monitor your child's caffeine intake, check food and beverage labels. Products don't usually list caffeine as an ingredient, but unless they're marked "caffeine free," assume that soda (including root beer, citrus-flavored soda, and other non colas), iced tea, chocolate milk, semi-sweet and milk chocolate, and coffee flavored treats contain caffeine. ConsumerReports.org details the amount of caffeine in these and other products.
When talking about what is okay for most children, Storper reminds parents that not every child is like most children. She says, "It doesn't matter what the medical experts think if you see your child get hyperactive from eating Halloween candy." If you notice sensitivities to sugar, caffeine, milk products or other foods, limit your child's intake and talk to your pediatrician.
In addition to noting food sensitivities at home, consider whether food may affect your child at school. If your child's teacher is concerned about her concentration or behavior, for instance, ask your pediatrician whether dietary changes could make a difference.
Exercise for the Mind
When it comes to boosting your child's school performance, smart nutrition has a partner: physical fitness. The California Department of Education has found that children who are physically fit are more likely to have higher test scores.
The reasons why lead us back to the brain. The part of the brain that processes movement is the same part that processes learning, specifically memory, language, attention, spatial perception, and nonverbal cues.
These discoveries have inspired several states to boost school-based physical education programs. But to ensure your child is getting the exercise her body and mind needs, make active after-school plans for her. Whether the two of you go bike riding or she plays on a soccer team, follow Tobe Fit's advice: "Do something fun and active every day."
Equally important to teaching your child about eating right and exercising is showing him. Adopting a healthy lifestyle yourself will influence his habits forever.
Breakfast Together
Serves 2
1 2/3 cups of water
Pinch of salt
1 cup quick oats
½ cup sweetened dried cranberries or raisins
½ cup cinnamon applesauce
2 packed teaspoons light brown sugar
• Mix water, salt, and oats in a large, microwave-safe bowl.
• Microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until the oatmeal is hot.
• Immediately stir in the applesauce, brown sugar, and dried cranberries or raisins.
• Pour the oatmeal into two cereal bowls.
Lunch: Brownbag Pocketwich & Sticks
Serves 1
1 regular-size whole-wheat pita
4 (1-ounce) slices turkey
4 (.75-ounce) slices reduced-fat American cheese
1 cup pre-bagged salad mix
½ cup sliced carrot sticks
2 tablespoons light ranch dressing
• Slice the pita in half.
• Into each half, stuff 2 slices of the turkey, 2 slices of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the salad.
• Store carrots in a plastic bag and the salad dressing in a small, sealed container — your child can dip his sticks for fun eating.
Extras: 1 low-fat granola bar, 1 cup 100% fruit juice
Dinner: Sweet Veggies with Ham & Rice
Serves 6
12 ounces cooked ham
3 medium sized onions
2 teaspoons pure vegetable oil
12 ounces long-grain brown rice
1 quart water
3 large parsnips
Juice of 1 orange
1 pound cooking apples
Sugar or honey to sweeten slightly
• Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook onions over a low heat until they are soft and golden.
• Add the rice and ham. Stir well.
• Add the water. Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Cut carrots and parsnip into thin 2-inch strips and add to the rice.
• Add orange juice.
• Simmer until the liquid is gone. Then remove the lid, raise the heat slightly, and cook for a few minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cut apples into wedges.
• Fill a smaller saucepan with water and cook the apples over medium-high heat for a few minutes until tender (don't allow the apples to fall apart).
• Drain apples and sweeten slightly with honey or sugar.
Serve rice with apple slices in a border around it.
Snack: Crunchy Banana
Roll peeled bananas in fruit yogurt and crushed low-sugar cereal, then freeze.
Snack: Smoothie
Blend until smooth: 1 cup of plain yogurt, 2 cups of favorite fruit, ½ cup of orange juice, and 1 cup of ice.
