It all starts with breakfast.
"Breakfast sets the tone for the entire day,” Honor says.
"If your child has a junkie or a sweet breakfast then their little bodies will be searching constantly, for that sugar. With a sugary breakfast, they have a spike in their blood sugar but it isn't a real sustained energy like that of protein, so it drops –and they chase that sugar and energy high for the rest of the day, demanding sweets or processed foods.”
The result, she says, is kids then don't have a sustained, reliable source of energy to draw upon becoming more distracted. Their concentration can suffer and their behaviour and capacity to engage and learn takes a big hit.
It's not just sugar, either. Additives and preservatives hiding in packaged and processed foods can be just as detrimental – if not worse.
Tummy pain, headache, skin rashes, concentration issues – all things which can come from additives; especially ones listed in the 220s family, can wreak havoc on your child’s physical and emotional health.
"Again, if you are serving ‘real whole foods’ and keeping an eye on the ingredients of everything you put in your shopping trolley then you stand a better chance of ensuring your children have everything they need,” Honor says.
"Look at labels and ask yourself, does that look real to me? How many numbers are in that list? Does that make sense?
"We are so overwhelmed with being told and marketed to about what our kids' needs are that we can sometimes lose sight of our own common sense.
"It's time to take back the power we should have over our own health and that of our family.
"It doesn’t have to be difficult or confusing. Talk to your grandparents about it. Ask questions. Find out how to get back to what's real – the basics."
And while our grandparents got so much right, one outdated philosophy still lingers and we should reconsider it - 'Make sure you eat everything on your plate.’
This came from post war times when there was not enough to go around, but these days it’s not always a good idea as it encourages overeating and the inability to listen to your early ‘full’ signals, which many adult obesity patients complain they have completely lost.
So, listen to your kids when they say they’re full, they probably are.
Simple Healthy Daily menu ideas for you and your kids:
Breakfast
Eggs and bacon with toast for breakfast or a protein rich smoothie (see recipes)
Snacks
Fruit, veggie sticks, nuts or protein balls.
Lunch
Sandwiches, wraps or foods containing some protein: such as ham, egg, fish, hummus, falafel, chicken, seeds or nuts (depending on your school).
Dinner
Meat and 5 veg.