The pandemic has forced children to go back to school with virtual learning having swapped classroom teaching. Although school in 2020 may look way too different, it still summons a celebration.

You can make a virtual lunch breaks memorable with some healthy snacks.

Dr Siddhant Bhargava, Fitness and Nutritional Scientist, Co-Founder of Food Darzee shares snacks tips that are nutritious to give a healthy start to your child’s virtual school breaks:

Oatmeal: One of the nutritious options which can be a good snacking option for your children is oatmeal. Oats are packed with soluble fibre, which will help in increasing the number of good bacteria in your child’s digestive tract, along with other health benefits. Instead of the sugar-rich flavoured oats, parents should make use of whole rolled oats to make oatmeal. Also, preparing oatmeal with milk instead of water will give some extra dose of protein and calcium to your kids, thus enhancing their immunity.

Ragi or nachani cookies: Ragi is packed with dietary fibre which aids digestion and helps your children to stay full for long time intervals. The amino acids present in ragi do away with the extra fat around the liver aiding to condense cholesterol levels in a child’s body, thus, helping to keep obesity problems at bay. Looking for a crunchy snacking option, parents must sneak in some calcium-rich ragi flour in cookies, these crisp cookies are a perfect option for the short virtual breaks.

Steamed Dhokla: A snack that is perfect to fuel up on after a long day at school, the steaming of dhokla withholds the extra use of oil and is very light and easy for the child to digest. Curd that is used in this recipe enhances the goodness that comes with a fermented food like breaking down fat effortlessly alongside maintaining healthy gut flora. This will further aid your child’s digestion and the bowel movement to get modulated.

Healthy soya burger: A big no-no to unhealthy junk food for children and more so during the pandemic times. You can substitute fried burger patties with nutritious soy patties prepared with soya granules. You can opt for a healthy filling with plenty of fresh veggies thus lending a miss to the fattening mayo and cheese. Soy is filled with protein, dietary fiber, and iron, and B vitamins thus making it a healthy snack option for your children to munch on during their virtual breaks.

Spinach Idlis: Parents can give a great twist to the recipe by adding spinach to your fermented idli batter, a perfect option for kids who don’t eat their greens. Spinach being a superfood which includes a lot of rich fibres, iron, proteins, minerals, magnesium, and on the other hand, idli is another meal which is nourishing with less calorie. Spinach is rich in its water content which will aid in keeping your child hydrated throughout. It is a natural laxative and hence helps stimulate your child’s bowel movements. Also, other benefits like aiding to keep immunity high and keeping gastric problems at bay, spinach is a go-to option that must be incorporated during your child’s virtual school break.

(N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in)