Kottayam: Friends, it's time to say goodbye to junk food. It's time to dump pizza, packet food and colas. And, it's time to go back to our time-tested native dishes that are second to none. Besides being tasty, they guarantee good health and agility.
Throw them out
The presence of shops that sell junk food near schools makes it easy for kids to buy them. At times, time-pressed working couples too would pack their children's snack boxes with junk food. Most students attend tuition classes and other coaching centres after school. Most of them get decent pocket money from parents to spend on their favourite food items on their return home.
Kudumbashree, the chef
The Thengana Good Shepherd School, which successfully implemented the Jalamani programme - a centrally sponsored project of installing water purification systems in schools, is planning to launch a canteen that offers native dishes to students in association with neighbourhood collectives and Kudambashree units.
Dr Ruble Raj of the school believes that Kudumbashree workers will be able to recreate the culinary magic of mothers in preparing native dishes.
Meanwhile, Chethipuzha Placid Vidya Vihar Senior Secondary School authorities have asked students to try and bring steamed veggies along with their lunch.
Terror
"Junk food has little nutritional value. Children do not get the nutrients they need from such food. However, they are loaded with calories. Since physical activities are limited these days, the extra calories turn into fat and get stored in the body. Due to this, the number of children facing health problems such as obesity and anaemia is on the rise. When you remove fruits and vegetables from your diet, the body does not get all the nutrients it requires," says Dr K K Purushothaman, head of the paediatrics, Medical College, Thrissur.
