Eating For Exams

If your family are sitting exams this month, then here’s our guide on what to feed them while they’re hitting the books

Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. Set up your brood with slow release foods like oats. Try a tasty granola, loaded with bananas and apples, and a dollop of yoghurt. Eggs contain choline, thought to improve memory, so treat the students to eggy-in-the-middle on wholewheat bread.

For lunch, think slow-release, protein-rich food. Oily fish, like mackerel and tuna are high in omegas, and are well worth including in a packed lunch as a part of a fish pate or salad. Salmon is the king of omegas, so if lunching at home, try cajun salmon for a midday meal with a kick. If yours avoid fish at all costs, try crumbed chicken, made with breadcrumbs and ground flaxseeds, which are a wonderful source of omega 3.

 

Staying hydrated is very important, so encourage glasses of water in between tea and coffee, and make sure that your students carry a bottle of water with them into the exam hall. Not only does it keep energy levels high, but being hydrated means that our brains are working at optimum levels.

 

Avoid the sugar rush. Instead of reaching for chocolate, keep chopped fruit and vegetables at the ready, along with little pots of hummus and natural yoghurt for dipping. Nuts are a mega energy source, so buy big bags in your local supermarket, and lightly roast them to release the oils, before storing in ziplock bags to enable snacking on the go.

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