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Boosting Minds and Bodies: New nutritious meal plan for holistic development

Apeejay School, Mahavir Marg launches meal plan that aims to foster better cognitive function and enhance students’ focus

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Middle school is a transformative time for children, marked by rapid physical growth and significant hormonal changes. During this critical period, ensuring they receive balanced, nutritious meals is essential for their overall health and development.

At this stage, children experience growth spurts, increased energy demands, and the onset of puberty — all of which require a diet rich in essential nutrients. Proteins, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats not only support physical development but also play a crucial role in brain function, cognitive growth, and emotional stability. For instance, nutrients like calcium and iron are vital for bone strength and muscle growth, while omega-3 fatty acids promote brain health and hormonal balance.

Providing middle schoolers with nutritious meals is not just about fuelling their immediate growth but also about nurturing their bodies and minds for the years ahead. Hence taking this initiative further, Apeejay School, Mahavir Marg has introduced a new meal plan aimed at benefiting children across all age groups.

Mrs Sangeeta Nistandra, Principal of Apeejay School, Mahavir Marg, shared insights on the new meal plan, stating, “Our nutritious meal plan is designed to provide students with balanced, healthy, and appetizing meals both during school hours and at home. Research shows that a well-rounded diet not only supports physical growth but also boosts cognitive function, focus, and academic performance. With this in mind, we’ve carefully crafted the plan to meet the diverse nutritional needs of our students, ensuring they receive the right balance of vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates.”

Expressing her delight at the richness of this new meal plan, Mrs Jyoti Khanna whose daughter Saisha studies in class IV shares, “I am very much thankful to the principal madam for introducing the healthy meal plan for the students. As my elder daughter is in her growing age, this meal plan gives a lot of health benefits to her and helps her in her growth both mentally and physically. It has improved her energy needs for academic and physical activities.”

“She likes masala idli with a lot of veggies and paneer kathi roll. Being a mother I am very much satisfied with the meal plan because it encourages healthy eating habits in my child and it alleviates the confusion of what to prepare during the morning rush,” expresses Mrs Jyoti.

Speaking further about how this new meal plan helped her elder child shed some extra kilos and keep obesity at bay, Mrs Anu Guglani, whose son Divian studies in class VIII shares, “A big thanks to principal ma’am for such an interesting diet plan. Children feel very energetic the whole day. My son is not interested in eating fruits but now loves them due to the crunchy nuts in the fruit salad. Now I don’t have to worry about what should be in the lunch box. I am very happy about this.”

“My kids enjoy healthy sandwiches and roti wrap with homemade paneer spread, vegetable idlichilla and sautéed veggies. I am quite satisfied that my son is getting good nutrition and started losing weight. Both my kids feel much more energetic now,” the mother shared.

Since the recipes of the new meal plan are dynamic and can mixed and matched easily to upgrade the nutritional value, Dr Lovepreet whose son Prabhnoor studies in class X expresses, “Teenagers are prone to junk binge eating due to stress of studies, and so is my son as he has Board exams. This meal plan helps him to stay healthy, and alert. It helps him manage his weight even with long sitting hours. He loves to have paneer cheese kathi rolls in his lunch at school with a side dish of fresh seasonal fruit bowl. It is easy for him to carry, especially the on-the-go options in the school meal plans that help him a lot like rolls, brown bread sandwiches.”

“The fermented food options from the meal plan are extremely gut health friendly, like the idlis and uttapams, and I innovate up their ingredients like using rawa and jowar millet flour. Fresh lemonade and coconut water options, instead of harmful energy drinks, complete his hydration requirement,” concluded Dr Lovepreet. 

Anubha Singh is the Principal Correspondent with Apeejay Newsroom. Having a journalism and mass communication background, she has varied experience with renowned print publications like Hindustan Times, The Pioneer and Deccan Chronicle. Her niche expertise lies in reporting and content creation for different core areas. She can be reached at [email protected] for any communication.

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