HPB encourages healthy eating in schools

Read on to find out more about the Healthy Eating in Schools programme introduced by the Health Promotion Board (HPB).

1. Less sugar in drinks and desserts

While most kids have a sweet tooth, it may not be such a bad idea for them to indulge in drinks and desserts that have been given a healthy spin (i.e. less sugar).

To this end, homemade drinks and desserts (e.g. barley, coffee/tea, green bean soup, chin chow and tau huay) that are sold in school canteens should be prepared with minimal sugar – equal to or less than 7g/100ml. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sweetened solid ingredients like canned fruit in syrup and tapioca pearls should not be used altogether.

On top of that, all commercially prepared drinks, including those sold in vending machines must have the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) logo.

2. Limit ‘unhealthy food’ to once a week

Some picky eaters may have a preference for ‘unhealthy’ food over the more nutritious options. However, this could be a problem if that is all that they eat – causing them to refuse healthier food choices such as fruits, vegetables and wholegrains.

Schools that are on this programme can only sell foods that are deemed unhealthy in their canteen once a week. These unhealthy foods include deep-fried chicken nuggets, deep-fried breaded chicken patty, sausages, and preserved eggs and vegetables.

3. Go for low fat alternatives

For food and beverages that uses high-fat ingredients (e.g. coconut milk/cream, full cream milk, full fat yogurt/cheese and mayonnaise), these should be replaced with low-fat alternatives.

In addition, ingredients like butter, lard and ghee should never be used in food preparation.

4. Skin off!

To eliminate the fat content of the food offered in canteens, skinless poultry and lean meat should be used.

5. Recommended servings of vegetables

Picky eaters can be coaxed to eat their greens by including the recommended servings of vegetables during mealtimes. Thus, rice and noodles dishes should contain the recommended amount of vegetables as follows:

Rice dishes: 2 dessertspoons of vegetables

Noodles: 1 dessertspoon of vegetables

6. Two types of fresh fruits daily

To ensure that kids are having balanced meals in school, at least 2 types of fruits should be made available in the canteen every day.

7. No gravy/sauce unless requested

For stalls selling rice with food items that are traditionally served with gravy and sauce (e.g. teriyaki chicken rice, char siew rice), these calorie- and oil-laden toppings will not be served, unless requested.

When requested, the servings of gravy, sauce and soups should be kept at a moderate level - not more than 2 dessertspoons.

8. Drink more water

To encourage healthy drinking habits among picky kids, at least 2 water coolers should be stationed within the canteen area.

9. Go for wholegrains

Wholegrains are essential in every growing child’s diet. Apart from having a high fibre content, wholegrains provide vitamin B, minerals and a host of essential nutrients that help kids build muscle and bone.

Wherever possible, all food and snacks offered in the canteen must contain a wholemeal/wholegrain ingredient. An example of this is sandwiches that are made using slices of wholemeal/wholegrain bread.

10. Healthier choice for food and snacks

Food that are commercially-prepared, such as crisps, chips, cookies, cakes, biscuits, buns and steamed paus should have HPB’s Healthier Choice and Healthier Snack Symbol logos.

Written by

Justina Goh

HPB