National Nutrition Day, IPB University Nutrition Expert Reminds People About the Ideal Menu for Children’s Breakfast
On January 25, Indonesians will commemorate National Nutrition Day. Currently, the government is also running a Free Nutritious Meal program for Indonesian children. This is the right moment to increase public awareness of the importance of balanced nutrition.
On one occasion, Purnawati Hustina Rachman, SGz, MGizi, a lecturer at IPB University from the Nutrition Science Study Program, talked about the ideal breakfast menu that is good for children’s health.
A healthy and nutritious ideal breakfast is an important foundation for children. Purnawati said, food that is good for health must contain four types of food needed by the body: staple foods (carbohydrate sources), side dishes (protein sources), vegetables, and fruit (sources of vitamins and minerals).
The lecturer at the Faculty of Human Ecology, IPB University, gave an example of a simple menu consisting of rice, spinach vegetables, eggs, and bananas.
“A healthy and simple menu such as rice, spinach-filled eggs, we make egg rolls filled with spinach vegetables, cut into pieces like tamagoyaki and added bananas. That’s one simple example and it’s all around us,” she said.
If the child does not want rice, it can be replaced with noodles. “If the child doesn’t want rice but wants noodles for example, noodles are also okay. We make cheerful fried noodles, there are noodles, there are vegetables in the form of carrots, mustard greens, cabbage pieces, we add eggs, with spices made by ourselves so that it can reduce sodium levels. Then watermelon or banana to accompany the fruits,” she continued.
Another alternative is bread. “If you don’t want noodles and rice, you can also replace bread by making sandwiches for example. Bread with chicken pieces, lettuce, tomato and cheese slices. That’s already a balanced nutritious composition, just add fruits as a complement,” she added.
According to Purnawati, it is not a problem if parents occasionally give food that their children like, such as frozen food or fast food packaging. However, she continued, it needs to be adjusted to the right portion and frequency.
It is also advisable to add vegetables or fruits as a companion to increase nutritional value. That way, your child can avoid the unfavorable impact if your child is accustomed to skipping breakfast, one of which is the risk of stunting.
“If the child does not eat breakfast and does not replace the needs he should have eaten in the morning, then what happens is that he will lose nutritional intake and is at risk of experiencing malnutrition problems, such as stunting, thinness, and other health problems. Or when they don’t eat breakfast, they will often snack and choose snacks that are high in fat and high in sugar, which can cause children to become fat or obese,” she explained.
She said that children who are not used to having breakfast tend to have difficulty focusing and concentrating when playing or learning. Therefore, Purnawati emphasized that breakfast plays an important role in supporting children’s physical, mental, and emotional health.
“With a nutritious breakfast, children can start the day with enough energy, good concentration and stable mood,” she said. (dh) (IAAS/RUM)
