Cover School lunch buffet (Photo: Dag Sundberg/Getty Images)
School lunch buffet (Photo: Dag Sundberg/Getty Images)
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An inside look at the nutritional programmes at Epsom College Malaysia and Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar
We speak to Epsom College Malaysia and Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar about how they promote wellness through their nutritional programmes. From salad bars consisting of fresh fruits and dietician-approved recipes to promoting food diversity, both schools make healthy eating enjoyable and interactive.
Healthy eating isn’t just limited to the canteen either. It can extend to the classroom with a variety of educational tools as well as a vegetable garden teeming with organic produce.
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Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar
Homemade pizza (Photo: Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar)
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Other than providing balanced meals and a range of healthy options, Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar aims to instil healthy eating habits, especially among impressionable primary school students. A traffic light system is used in the dining hall, with red light for foods with low nutrition and green light for foods high in nutrients, fibre, and whole foods.
Events such as pizza-making sessions and cultural food festivals encourage food diversity. Much of the produce served in the dining hall are fresh, organic produce from the on-site vegetable garden. Four types of vegetables are served at every meal.
Primary school students engage in a range of activities, from sorting foods into categories to making their own nutritional sandwiches. At a higher level, students are taught to make mindful choices through the Personal, Social, Health, Economics and Education (PSHEE) lessons.
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Epsom College Malaysia
Above Photo: Peter Cade/Getty Images
Photo: Peter Cade/Getty Images
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The food that fills Epsom College Malaysia’s canteen is developed by nutritionists and dieticians to ensure meals are balanced with minimal use of oil, sugar and sodium. To promote healthy eating habits, the boarding school also has a salad and sandwich bar, with a range of choices such as fresh fruits, protein, and complex carbohydrates.
Food diversity plays an important role in the nutritional programme with the inclusion of regional ingredients and dishes to expose students to a variety of foods. For example, condiments high in iron, folate and vitamins, such as fermented kimchi are common in the kitchen. The college also recognises that a healthy lifestyle is not just about eating nutritiously, and encourages students to participate in sports and other educational programmes.
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About
Katelyn is the dining and travel editor of Malaysia and Indonesia. Based in Kuala Lumpur, she offers readers an inside look at the movers and shakers in Asia’s growing food and beverage industry.
