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Page 1 of 2 Healthy eating habits influence all areas of our lives. When you eat well, you feel well and you’re able to perform better, whether at home, at work or at school. With many heading back to the classrooms this season, here are some nutrition tips to help you all stay healthy and succeed this school season. Start each day with breakfast. Breakfast boosts brainpower. Research shows children who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom and on tests. Breakfast provides at least one-fourth of the nutrients growing children need. Also, with busy school and sports schedules, it may not be easy to eat dinner together nightly, but it is usually possible to eat breakfast together. Don’t underestimate the importance of eating together as a family – breakfast included.
Involve kids in planning and packing lunches. Keep your pantry, refrigerator and freezer stocked with healthy choices and let kids choose. This works well, even with picky eaters. Create areas specifically for healthy lunch choices and allow children to select items from these areas to help pack their lunches. When packing lunches, include protein, such as lean meats, low-fat cheeses, tuna, chicken or turkey, cottage cheese, or peanut butter. Add their favorite fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads, rolls or crackers. Pack soups in a thermos. Milk may be purchased at school. Remember to keep lunches cold by including a freezer pack, available in all sorts of fun shapes and sizes, or by freezing a small juice box or water bottle. Pack frozen items in a plastic baggie to help prevent them from making other items wet as they melt.
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