Feh! I was always under the impression that being a kid meant we could gobble up as much junk food as we like… chips, sweets and cakes.
But I was reading the other day how easy it is to get addicted to junk food. And if you get addicted when you are a kid, it’s harder to kick the habit when you get older.
Worse – all the negative side effects were a bit shocking too. Who would have thought that eating too much junk food can cause tiredness and weakness? Seriously.
It’s so easy to grab a packet of something junky when you are hungry and chomp it down – but the problem is, a short while later you are usually hungry again. And so you grab another packet of something… and another and another.
So what could we eat for healthy snacks?
Yoghurt is a good one. It’s easy to pack in a lunch box and it’s full of vitamins too.
Another healthy snack is nuts – although preferably they should be unsalted.
Stuff like celery or carrot sticks is also good – you know what mums always say… eat up your carrots – they are good for your eyesight! Raw slices of peppers – red, green or yellow are yummy too. Did you know that a pepper has more vitamin C (the stuff you need when it’s winter and you don’t want to get a cold or the flu) than an orange. Sjoe! I was quite surprised when I found that out.
Of course oranges are good – although sometimes they are a bit sticky and messy to eat at school. All fruits are good snacks – but one fruit that is really easy to eat and full of goodness is a banana. They are also an instant energy boost because they are full of sugars like sucrose, fructose and glucose. They have lots of iron in them – which is great because many children in South Africa suffer from anaemia (iron shortage) and eating bananas is an excellent way of fixing this. Plus the potassium in bananas promotes healthy bones – which, as growing kids, we need.
Don’t drink too many sodas either – water is better!
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Word for the week: Acne
Meaning: a skin condition characterized by red pimples on the skin, especially on the face, due to inflamed or infected sebaceous glands.
Example: She rubbed the peel (the inside bit) of a banana skin on her face each night to help improve her acne. (This is a true tip – try it out.)