Children Fatten During the Pandemic Period

The pandemic process has caused big changes in everyone's lives. Stating that home, school and business life have different dynamics, Anadolu Health Center Nutrition and Diet Specialist Tuba Örnek pointed out that especially the eating habits of children are impaired and said, “Our eating, drinking and physical activities were also affected by this situation.

The meal times of the children should be determined, and the family should sit at the table. There should be water, not snacks, in front of the screen. As a snack, especially healthy snacks such as fruits, walnuts / hazelnuts / almonds, they should be consumed during breaks, not during classes. Anadolu Health Center Nutrition and Diet Specialist Tuba Örnek, who pointed out that children gradually get fat due to inactivity and unhealthy nutrition during the pandemic process, explained the ways of not gaining weight.

Studies conducted during the pandemic process show that the consumption of junk food and ready-to-eat food increased, the calories and portion of the meals made at home increased, and consequently, the prevalence of obesity was higher. Anadolu Health Center Nutrition and Diet Specialist Tuba Örnek, who said that the reason for these negative results in the studies is that the long-term stress increases the desire to snack by raising the cortisol, “Not being able to leave the house, the long time the children stay in front of the screen, inactivity causes both psychological and physiological stress. "This can result in emotional hunger in many people," he said.

Avoid packaged snacks 

Your parents; Nutrition and Diet Specialist Tuba Örnek, who underlined that they conveyed the wrong feeding behaviors they showed to children, the way to calm down without realizing it is excessive nutrition, “The uncertain meal times, snacking on sugary, bakery or even packaged foods unfortunately, children have a high risk of chronic disease. It increases it too much, it weakens the immune system. In fact, when they try to eat a balanced diet, it is very difficult to give up wrong habits. But even under these conditions, of course, we can move on to a healthy order for both our children and ourselves. "The measures we have taken against the epidemic and we will take for a while are necessary for the health of all of us."

Vegetable dishes can be made in different ways

Emphasizing that the word home cooking brings healthy nutrition to mind, Nutrition and Diet Expert Tuba Örnek said, “We have to do the right shopping for our kitchen. Have a pre-determined shopping list. Let fruits and vegetables that strengthen our immune system be your priority. For example, you can try to cook vegetables differently. Maybe your child will like it more. Children generally do not prefer the juicy version of the vegetables in the pot. You can try chopping vegetables and mixing them with eggs, some flour, spices and maybe a little ground beef. It can become more attractive due to its similarity to pastry. You can also serve vegetables in soup. For example, you can prepare various colorful vegetables hidden in lentil soup ”.

Although the portions are healthy, they should not be consumed unlimitedly.

Nutrition and Diet Specialist Tuba Örnek, who suggested that dried or fresh fruits can be differentiated by blending with yoghurt or milk, oatmeal, walnuts, said, “Make snacks such as cakes / cookies healthy by using almond flour / chickpea flour for sweet aroma by using molasses / honey / dried fruits. you can convert. Pumpkin dessert and milk desserts can be preferred. You can include your child in the preparation stages, talk about the benefits of foods and prepare fun presentations together. They might like to dip the tangerine slices in melted chocolate. Of course, the health of foods does not give unlimited freedom of consumption. Therefore, it will be sufficient to consume 1 portion of these recipes per day. "Because healthy snacks have low glycemic indexes, the feeling of satiety will be felt earlier than other sugary / white flour-containing foods."

Fish must be cooked in the oven

Nutrition and Diet Specialist Tuba Örnek, who suggested that fish should be consumed 2-3 times a week, said, “Cook the fish in the oven as frying will reduce the omega-3 value of the fish. A balanced diet will be provided if you choose red meat twice a week, pulses twice a week, and other meals as vegetable meals. He suggested that milk and dairy products will be sufficient twice a day.

The child should have breakfast before the lesson starts

Underlining that children who receive distance education over the Internet must have their breakfast before the lesson starts, Tuba Örnek said, “Egg is a quality protein. You can try various omelettes with cheese / vegetables. You can make bread with eggs. Bread preference should be whole grain. Freshly squeezed orange juice will be very beneficial in terms of vitamin C's immune-enhancing effect and increasing iron absorption. For children who do not like eggs, you can also prepare an egg as pancakes by whisking it with milk and flour. In this process, activities should be diversified with children at home. Activities that prioritize physical activity such as dancing and jumping rope will be beneficial, ”he said.

Here are special recipes that kids will like: 

LENTIL CRAKER:

Materials:

• 2 cups hangover soaked red lentils
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• Salt, thyme, black seed
• Sesame (for topping)

Preparation of:

Strain the water that you soaked the lentils. Mix it with oil and salt and pass through the rondo. Then add the other ingredients and spread on the baking sheet with a spatula. Sprinkle sesame seeds on it and bake in an oven at 170 degrees for 25 minutes.

APPLE OAT BALLS

Materials:

• 2 apples
• 1 tablespoon of oat bran
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 walnuts
• coconut
• 2 tablespoons of molasses

Preparation of:

• Grate 2 apples, saute them with molasses in a teflon or ceramic pan until they turn color.
• Add the cinnamon powder and the walnuts you cracked.
• After adding 1 tablespoon of oat bran, mix well.
• When the mixture cools down, shape it into a ball in your hand and smear it with coconut.
• Divide it into 20 pieces in small slices. You can consume 5-6 balls with your snack.

BANANA ICE CREAM WITH PISTACHIO

Materials:

• 1 glass (200ml) of almond milk
• 3 small ripe soft bananas
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter

Preparation of:

• Mix all the ingredients with the blender until a homogeneous mixture.
• Pour the mixture into ice cream popsicles and freeze

GRAPE COOKIE

Materials:

• 2 cups of oatmeal or oats
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon of yoghurt
• 2 banana
• 1 tea glass of raisins
• 1 cup of chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
• 1 baking powder
• 1 vanilla
• Cinnamon

Preparation of:

• Whisk the eggs and yogurt
• Crush the banana and add it
• Add the other ingredients and shape them into a round shape, put into the ovenware
• Bake in 200 degree oven for 25 minutes