Now it’s official – summer has arrived!

If it wasn’t enough that the temperature is rising and the humidity is oppressive, there is also the ‘long vacation’ with many free hours that can become days of idleness and boredom. This is the time to be on guard and make sure that the food we eat remains wholesome and nutritious.

Sleeping late in the mornings (not forgetting sof zman kriyas Shema), meals eaten late at night, camp-style food, entertainment for the family often with the accompaniment of friends – all this generally adds up to eating more snacky types of foods, and more nosh. The heat itself reduces our inclination to spend time on preparation of healthy food.

And then, an inseparable part of vacation becomes the numerous trips made to the refrigerator, and then standing in front of its open door, searching for ‘something’; “is there anything there for me to eat?” – does all this sound familiar?

Therefore, this is the time to fill the refrigerator with food that doesn’t just provide calories but also nutrition. The basic idea is that there should be healthy food in the house, at hand and ready to eat.

1) Vegetables – A natural package of goodness

Nature gives us a natural package of value – vegetables, in every colour and shape, tasty, a good combination of being delicious and healthy. In order to derive the maximum benefit from them, it is advisable to eat something from all the five different colours of vegetables every day. Even though we all admit the health benefits of vegetables, and we know how important they are to include in our daily menu, we don’t get enough of them! So, it’s no surprise that our children are also unused to eating enough vegetables, if we don’t eat enough ourselves.

What should we be doing?

• Buy vegetables in a variety of colours and shapes
• Wash them well with soap and rinse well with water, then place on a towel to dry
• Put them on a plate in the refrigerator – bell peppers cut into strips, cherry tomatoes, carrot slices, cucumber sticks, slices of kohlrabi, dill and lettuce leaves…
• Put vegetables in a prominent place in the refrigerator, on one of the upper shelves
All the above need a bit of effort and preparation, but this will dwarf in comparison to the satisfaction you’ll have at the sight of a child exiting the kitchen with his stomach filled with carrot and kohlrabi….

2) Fruit

As with vegetables, fruit are at the top of the list when it comes to providing us with our necessary vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and an abundance of other necessary elements for health. Fruit also contains sugar, and therefore children usually prefer fruit to vegetables.
What should we be doing?

• Make sure that there are fruits of several different colors in the refrigerator, washed, rinsed, and ready to eat. The more handy they are, that is to say, cut up and prepared for instant eating, the more readily they will be eaten.
When it comes to the afternoon and the kids are looking for something sweet to snack on, teach them how to prepare for themselves:

1) Ice-cold milkshake, chock-full of nutrients
A glass of milk, 2-3 fruits cut into small pieces (which can be prepared ahead of time), 5 ice cubes. Mix together in a blender for just a few seconds, and enjoy!

2) A sweet, tasty snack that will arouse the curiosity of your children.
Take washed, dried grapes, place them on skewers and freeze them. Suitable for children above the age of five.

3) Milk – the official summer delicacy.
Calcium is the basic ingredient for the building of healthy bones. However, the human body cannot produce calcium by itself, and so regular consumption of calcium-containing foods is necessary. The childhood years are the ‘window of opportunity’, a chance which your children won’t have again, to build strong and healthy bones. A bone that is formed with insufficient calcium is liable to fracture easily later in life, and is unlikely to survive the passage of the years intact. Dairy products are a rich dietary source of calcium.

Not just calcium….

In addition to calcium, milk is a source of many other nutrients – quality complete protein, B vitamins, vitamins A and D, potassium and magnesium.

What should we be doing?

• Make sure to have a variety of dairy products in the refrigerator. The grocery shelves are bursting with many types of milk products
• Try to choose dairy products that are 3% fat or less
• Vary the types of milk-based desserts that you buy – and choose ones without added sugar
• Instead of serving fizzy drinks (soda) or fruit juice, place a glass of milk on the table at meal time
• As an afternoon snack, suggest to your children that they dip baigelach into soft cheese or into a fruit yogurt
• Keep cubes of hard cheese in the refrigerator
• Prepare your own home-made muesli; take a cup of yogurt and add pieces of fruit (such as apple, pear, banana, strawberry) and granola, with a little honey or date-honey

4) Water
It is important to drink a lot, and the best drink is water. In Eretz Yisrael the summers are hot and loss of fluids is rapid and is not always sensed, especially by children. Therefore, it is very important to increase fluid intake in the summer months. On a day of heavy outdoor activity it is especially important to be drinking constantly. In every can of sweetened drink, whether it is soda or natural juice, there are about seven teaspoons of sugar (!!!) A child who drinks two, three or four such cans during the day is putting huge quantities of sugar into his body.
What should we be doing?

• Prepare bottles of water of various sizes in the refrigerator. Your children will enjoy having their own personal water bottle to take with them wherever they go
• Try to reduce the number of cans of soda your family drinks. Looking for variety? Try water or soda water with a hint of lemon, or cold water flavored with herbs (spearmint, lemon grass, sage…)
• Parents: Your children copy what you yourselves do. Drink water!
Experts assert that children acquire their eating habits by copying what they see at home, and therefore it is essential that the parents set a good example. The habits that children pick up from their parents in their youth will accompany them for the rest of their lives.

5) Meat-based meals
The heat of summer is not a sufficient excuse to skip a daily meat-based meal. Growing children need quality protein in their diets, as well as iron, vitamin B12 and zinc. Meat provides concentrations of these essential elements, for growth and development. Fresh red meat provides a significant quantity of zinc and iron, two minerals which are often found lacking in children’s diets. In addition, meat provides significant quantities of complete protein and also B vitamins, such as riboflavin, niacin and vitamin B12.

What should we be doing?
• Make sure that there is cooked food in the refrigerator that your children enjoy eating (and that the adults do too!) For example:
Spaghetti bolognese
Meatballs in tomato sauce with rice or pasta
Fleishig soup with vegetables
Stuffed zucchini, bell pepper or cabbage
Roast meat or goulash with potatoes
Prepare child-size portions on plates in the refrigerator. Your children can warm them up themselves and will (hopefully!) eat them eagerly.