Wanted: Healthy school ‘baon’

So, the kids are back in school. And so, anxious parents are once again beset by this mind-boggling question: What kind of baon (lunch or snack food) should I pack and send my children off to school with?

Now, these are times that try moms’ souls — how they must put their creativity to the test to come up with school baon ideas that are as healthful and delightful to the taste buds as they are to the budget.

Making sure their kids eat right when they’re in school is quite a challenge for moms, what with their children being exposed to assorted junk food sold right in the school canteen or fast-food joints or on the campus periphery.

Helping parents address this pressing issue, an environmental group is batting for nutritious and budget-friendly home-prepared school baon that not only can satisfy hunger pangs but provide good nutrition as well.



Taking note of the risks of consuming food high in fat, salt, and sugar, especially for young kids, Ofelia Panganiban, 
 a healthy food advocate and officer of the EcoWaste Coalition, tells parents, 
“Every child deserves a healthy baon that can provide the nutrition needed by her/his growing body and promote full and sound development. By preparing healthy baon under their watchful eyes, parents can help kids minimize their intake of nutrient-poor snacks that contain too much fat, salt, and sugar.”

She stresses, “Fostering healthy food choices will lead to healthy weight and lifestyle, while also preventing children’s  exposure to bacterial and chemical toxins in some food items.”

For morning or afternoon snacks, Panganiban suggests such native delicacies as glutinous rice cake (biko), steamed rice cake (puto), boiled or steamed banana (saba), cassava, corn on the cob, peanuts (like nilagang mani?), and taro (gabi).

Digging deeper, how about root crops such as purple yam (ube) and sweet potato (kamote) that are available all year round?

Or why not the Pinoy breakfast staple — what else but pandesal —with homemade bread spread or jam from popular fruits like banana, mango and papaya?

Eons ago, back when I was in grade school, my baon simply consisted of  a hardboiled egg or boiled saging na saba and a loaf sandwich with a surprise spread that my mother would hurriedly prepare before she eased into her full workaday schedule.

If I wanted a drink in school, I simply squeezed my tiny frame into the queue at the drinking fountain for fresh, clean, and refreshing water.

I think I was bringing my baon to school and I hardly bought anything from the school canteen up until college. So, imagine how distressed I was when my seatmates pulled a prank on me and hid my school baon, which only resurfaced when I was in near tears.

To wash it all down, Panganiban recommends vitamin-rich thirst quenchers, such as juices made from any fruit in season. Moms may find these drinks too exotic (read: weird), but they’re worth a try: ginger lily (kamias) and tamarind (sampalok); pretty concoctions such as Pink Lady (water from boiled purple kamote tops with calamansi juice) or White Lady (from blended or mashed star apple); or drinks from boiling lemongrass and pandan leaves.



Likewise, the EcoWaste Coalition urged the Department of Education and the Department of Health to work with lawmakers of the 16th Congress in drawing up a law that will “protect children from the impact of unhealthy food marketing,” as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

At the 63rd World Health Assembly in 2010, WHO adopted a set of  recommendations to discourage and protect children against unhealthy diets, including ensuring that all settings  where children gather are free from all marketing of unhealthy foods.
 Resolution No. 5 says “such settings include, but are not limited to, nurseries, schools, school grounds and pre-school centers, playgrounds, family and child clinics, and pediatric services and during any sporting and cultural activities that are held on these premises.”

Such unhealthy diets have given rise to childhood obesity, which is quite a big problem in the US. (The bigger problem in the Philippines is child malnutrition.)



As can be gleaned from a WHO factsheet, “Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death, and disability in adulthood. But in addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and psychological effects.”



To reduce the incidence of obesity and their related effects, the WHO stresses that “supportive environments and communities are fundamental in shaping people’s choices, making the healthier choice of foods and regular physical activity the easiest choice (accessible, available, and affordable), and therefore preventing obesity.”



WHO shares these top health tips:

•   Limit energy intake from total fats and sugars.

•   Increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains, and nuts.

•   Engage in regular physical activity (60 minutes a day for children and 150 minutes per week for adults).

On the other hand, WHO adds that the food industry can play a big role in promoting a healthy diet by:

1) reducing the fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods,

 2) ensuring that healthy and nutritious choices are available and affordable to all consumers,

3) practicing responsible marketing, especially those aimed at children and teenagers,

4) ensuring the availability of healthy food choices and supporting regular physical activity practice in the workplace.

So, kids, enjoy your healthy school baon!