With five cafeterias and three restaurants distributed around the school campus, the school offers a range of meals and options available to choose from based on preference and convenience. While our options may not be as vast as home food, we certainly can make do with what we have here in school. From breakfast meals such as pancakes at smoothie shack, bread and egg sauce, yam and egg sauce, provisions which are available for sale at the supermarkets, to lunch/ dinner meals like rice, spaghetti, indomie, soups and swallows.
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day but due to the fact that the cafeterias do not open in time for breakfast before class for most of us with 8am classes, a lot of us tend to skip it and settle for brunch. This is not a healthy practice and I don’t know about you but I absolutely can not function on an empty stomach. This is why it is important to stock up on provisions in the hostel; a quick bowl of cornflakes, oats, golden morn or some biscuit and tea or juice would go a long way.
Heavier meals like soups and swallow, rice and spaghetti can be taken for lunch. On the flip side, heavy meals tend to weigh us down and make us sleepy which may be no good if we still have a busy day with classes ahead. What is most important is to have a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables and fruits. An apple a day keeps the doctor away or is it a slice of water melon? That’s not a problem because both fruits are almost always available.
Lighter meals can be taken in the dinner as we are more likely to be less active in the evening. As hard as it may seem, it is imperative that dinner is eaten before 7pm. Avoid late night eating. For those of us who have to stay up late because of school work or to study, a light snack and water will do if hunger strikes. So it is important to keep healthy snacks like crackers on hand.
It’s better to eat more meals in smaller portions than to eat less meals in large portions because it results in eating in excess of what the body actually needs per time. It is best not to skip meals.
A major unhealthy eating habit we’re guilty of is living on snacks and drinks. Consider healthier snacking options like nuts, popcorn, carrots and cucumbers; and save high carbs snacks for rare occasions. For instance, reward snacks such as getting shawarma after exams or icecream after a long, stressful week. Be careful not to overindulge. Drinks can be restricted to fruit juices and yogurts, rather than carbonated drinks, and taken once in a while. Don’t forget to drink lots of water- 2-3L per day which is 4-6 sachets of water or 3-4 bottles of water per day. You get glowing skin as a plus. For everytime you are tempted to buy a drink, get water instead. Taking a water bottle along with you always is also helpful.
Written by Asekome Naomi Aimanosi, 400A
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