World Food Day: Let us promote sustainable living & healthy diet!
A day to celebrate Food? What’s better than that? World Food Day is celebrated every year on October 16th across the world.
This day is a day of action against hunger. It promotes awareness and eradicates hunger, instills food safety and encourages action supporting food security and nutritious diets worldwide.
The sad reality is that a lot of people still sleep hungry every night. Even as we are developing and have achieved various goals, the one goal we still have not achieved is to eradicate hunger.
It is the time when we all need to take action and start promoting sustainable living, reducing carbon footprint, educating our children on the importance of healthy foods and the shortcomings of junk foods, choosing the right foods, knowing our fats, the importance of organic farming and to reflect on the environmental impact of the foods we eat.
This World Food Day, let’s take a look on some ways to instil appropriate eating habits in our children and educate them about the impact of proper food on our bodies-
1) Vegetables, vegetables, and vegetables
It is not just beneficial but essential to fill one-third of our plates with vegetables each time. Not only that, but it is also necessary to have all-veggie meals several times every week. When it is said to eat a rainbow, it is possible only if it comprises all coloured vegetables. And this can be accomplished by adding all these colours to one meal or in various meals. But it is, undoubtedly, a necessity.
2) Address hunger in the right way
Hunger cravings must be satiated with the right kind of food and not with junk food options. Whenever you have an occasion to munch on something, go for fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, wholegrain bread and cereals instead of processed foods filled with preservatives and extra sugars.
3) Saturated Fats Vs Unsaturated Fats
Saturated fats have very little nutritional value and are much more difficult to digest than the unsaturated fats in our human body. Some familiar sources of unsaturated fats are avocados or avocado oil, olives and olive oil, peanut butter, nuts, and seeds such as almonds, peanuts, cashews, and sesame seeds. At the same time, we must avoid using saturated fats such as cheese, butter, ice cream, high-fat cuts of meat, and coconut oil.
4) Go for probiotics
In your diet and educate kids about the importance of having these in adequate amounts in one’s diet. Probiotics, such as yoghurts, cream cheese, sour cream, fermented beans, and fermented vegetables, should not be alienated from our kid’s vocabulary and taste palette.
5) Brown Rice over White Rice and whole-grain cereal over-processed white flour
Always opt for brown rice over white rice and wholemeal cereals such as buckwheat, millet, etc. over-processed flour and pasta; etc. Brown rice is much more nutrient dense and contains a lot more fiber than white rice. White rice is also a lot starchier than brown rice.
Food is the most required element for having a good life. One can’t think, love, or sleep well if one has not dined well. We must realise that hunger is unacceptable, and we all should work to ensure that no one in the World remains hungry.
