Importance of mid-day meal or lunch

Best food for lunch

LUNCHTIME: ADEQUATE FOOD IN EVERY MEAL

What is the mid-day meal or lunch?

lunch

To have a good lunch is very important to be healthy

Lunch is the meal we do after completing the morning tasks.

Depending on the different countries, people have it earlier or later. For example, French people are very punctual and they usually have lunch at 12 o’clock.

In Spain, they usually have it from 1 o’clock to 2:30.

What is lunch for?

The midday meal is aimed to replenish the energy lost during the working hours in the morning and to prepare the body to perform the rest of the work in the afternoon. With a proper meal at noon, we will work better and we will not be hungry until snack time in the afternoon.

What foods are suitable for lunch?

rice with vegetables

A dish of rice with vegetables. Cereals and vegetables must play an important role in food we eat for luch.

It is very important to eat at least one food from each group. In this way, we will ensure that we do not lack any nutrients that our body needs to function well, to grow. or in order not to become sick.

In typical menu for lunch the following groups of food should be included:

What to eat as first course for lunch?

What to eat as second course for lunch?

lunch foods

Different food we can eat for lunch

  • Fish, meat and eggs, one of three, must always be present (hake, fish sticks, tuna, salmon, meatballs, chicken, tortilla, egg,…) We must change foods during the week so that we end up eating three groups of food, because fish is very important for growth, meat is rich in iron, and are are very healthy!

  • If we accompany the meal with a bit of salad, we will have extra vitamins: (marinated tomatoes, salad greens, shredded carrots,…) We can also add a little cereal or potato to complete the meal: mashed potatoes, rice,…

What to eat as dessert for lunch?

  • The healthier dessert is a fruit or yogurt (bananas, pears, apples, kiwis, oranges, yogurts, fruit salads) On some special days, we can can eat frozen yogurt,…

EXAMPLE OF LUNCH MENUS

lunch menus

TO REMEMBER: LUNCH MEAL

  • The main foods necessary for energy and growth, are cereals, bread, pasta, rice, lentils, beans, potatoes, peas, chickpeas,…

  • It is important to vary the meat, fish and eggs, because each group of them is necessary for growth.

  • Every day we have to eat some vegetables: the more colors on the plate, the healthier and tastier!

  • We must alternate dairy and fruits for dessert.

breakfast sign

Breakfast

merienda

Mid-afternoon snack

nutrients characteristics

Characteristics of nutrients

child feeding course sign

Child feeding course index

punto rojo More information on nutrition.

This article was endorsed by Elisenda Carballido - Dietitian nutritionist. Postgraduate in Phytotherapy and master in Nutrition and Metabolism.
Editorial
Written by Editorial Botanical-online team in charge of content writing

22 April, 2019

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