BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — How important is a good diet to student success? Very important, according the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Research showed high school students with mostly A's had a pattern of eating breakfast everyday before school, ate vegetables one or more times per day, ate fruit or consumed 100% fruit juice daily, and drank one or more glasses of milk each day.
Students with poor grades ate far fewer fruits and vegetables and had a high intake of soda pop.
" A lot of times, parents will go ahead and think that something is nutritious without checking the labels," said Karen Gold, cooking school manager for Tops.
"Thinking that buying healthy is more expensive is a definite misconception," added Jenny LeGrand, Wegmans nutritionist.
For students who take a lunch to school with them, it is important to keep these diet guidelines in mind:
- Make sure lunches include fruits and vegetables.
- Buying fresh fruit when in season can cut the cost.
- Avoid juice boxes with lots of sugar. Use 100% fruit juice instead.
- Give students a small thermos so they can take soup or something warm to eat
- Avoid potato chips
- No not send kids to school with soda pop. The sugar rush they get from soda will wear off leaving them feeling drowsy.
- Use a "bento box" with compartments and make your own snack pack for students.
- Have students be part of the lunch making process so they will look forward to eating.
- Check your students' lunchbox after school. Uneaten food means kids are not interested in that item - look to substitute something else.
- Buying in bulk is cheaper.
- Grapes and strawberries are easier for little hands to hold.
- Whole grain bread is a better choice.
- Remember that kids like sandwich wraps too. Consider using pita bread or tortilla wraps.
- Make sandwiches healthier by adding a piece of lettuce.
- Make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches healthier by replacing the jelly with a banana or a slice of fruit. It will give the kids the sweet taste they are looking for.
- Keep lunches interesting. For example, try wrapping a mozzarella cheese stick in a piece of turkey lunch meat. Cut it into bite-sized pieces.
