MILO® UHT Bento Box Workshop 2019

Did you know the energy for our school-age children is 1,500kcal calories per day? Which is equivalent as running a half-marathon! In order for our children to have enough energy to go further and stay focus, breakfast plays a very important role. There was a saying in Chinese proverb “一日之计在于晨” tells us that morning is the most importantly time to plan the day ahead and hence breakfast is the most important meal of the day for us to stay focus and think ahead.

As my elder girl is turning 10 in a couple of months, it becomes more important for her to stay focus and have enough energy throughout a long day in school. She will needs balance nutrition to be healthy and study happily. I am glad that we have joined the MILO Bento Box Workshop held at 1 Utama Old Wing Concourse on last Saturday morning. We have met a lot of other parents and kids on that blissful morning and enjoyed our light breakfast which included a pack of MILO UHT drink to kick start the day.

In fact, I always buy MILO UHT to let my girls bring to school. It contains ACTIV-GO which is a unique combination of PROTOMALT, essential vitamins and minerals for efficient energy release from food. MILO also contains calcium and Vitamin D to maintain stronger bones and teeth. The MyBreakfast Study also found that children who consumed malted drinks had higher micronutrient intakes and were more likely to meet the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for calcium, phosphorous and B Vitamins.

The workshop began with a welcome and introduction by Angeline Lim, Consumer Marketing Manager of MILO, Nestle Malaysia. “We are on a mission to help parents ensure that their children receive proper nutrition that not only benefits their mental and physical developments but also meets their daily energy needs. Making a conscious effort to pack balanced, nutritious meals into a recess box for your children before they leave home helps them acquire better consumption choices out of home and reinforces healthy eating habits,” Angeline said.
“Our children’s day is much bigger than we think. Research has shown that approximately 80% of energy stores are lost overnight1. It is therefore important for parents to help their children start their day right and stay energised in school. As an advocate for healthy eating, we share with parents the importance of packing a wholesome, balanced home-prepared meal that will replenish the energy and nutrients for their children to take on a challenging school day,” she added.

We were fortunate to have Georgen Thye, dietitian and founder of Georgen Cooking shared on a detailed Nutrition talk, and demonstration on recess box recipe with us. When it comes to recess box, always keep in mind the concept of #sukusukuseparuh or “Quarter-Quarter-Half” to help provide your child with the nutrients and energy to start the day. That means to get a quarter proteins, a quarter carbohydrates and half vegetables in a plate.

Besides that, Georgen also demonstrated 2 recess box recipes which is healthy and tasty, and more importantly, they are really easy and fast to prepared. Follow the recipes below, try it out and you would believe.

Recipe 1 – Easy Sardine Pizza

Ingredients

• 3 pieces Wholemeal wrap 
• 1 small can (150g) canned sardines in tomato sauce, cut the sardines into smaller chuncks in a bowl with a fork 
• ½ medium onion, sliced 
• 12 pcs Cherry tomatoes, cut into hald lengthwise 
• ½ cup brocolli, sliced 
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, can alternate with sliced cheese 
• ½ teaspoons black pepper

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degree celcius.
2. Place a piece of baking baker paper on a baking tray and then put the wholemeal wraps on the baking paper.
3. Spread the sardines in tomato sauce on the wraps evenly with a spoon.
4. Arrange onion, cherry tomatoes and brocolli in a single layer on the wraps.
5. Top up with mozzarella cheese and black pepper.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Easy Sardine Pizza contains a lot of nutritions includes 306 Kcal Energy, 24.8g protein, 15.6g fat, 27.9g Carbohydrate and 3.3g Fibre.

Now, are you ready for the second recipes?

Recipe 2 – The Treasure Pockets

Ingredients

• 2 pcs wholemeal pita bread, cut each into half and form a pocket in each half
• ½ cup corn kernel
• 1 tsp soft margarine
• 1 tsbp plain yoghurt
• 1 tsbp low fat mayonnaise
• 1 tsbp raisins
• 3 tsbp canned tuna in water
• 8 pcs lettuce, washed
• ½ medium apple, washed and sliced. Do not remove the skin to retain more nutrients and fibre

Methods

1. Microwave corn kernel in a microwaveable bowl for 1 minute.
2. Add in soft margarine, yoghurt, mayonnaise, raisins and tuna into the same bowl and then mix with a spoon until well combined.
3. Put lettuce and apple slices into the pocket.
4. Fill the pocket with the corn and tuna mixture with a spoon.
5. Repeat steps 3&4 to the remaining pita pockets.

The Treasure Pockets contains a lot of nutritions includes 322 Kcal Energy, 15.7g protein, 4.4g fat, 54.9g Carbohydrate and 7.6g Fibre.

Food is more appealing with decorations, and it's more fun to incorporate the kids' imagination into the bento box. Hence we have learnt how to style our healthy bento box from Lee Samantha, renowned food artist. It was my second time learning from her live demonstration. Her whimsical, colorful and unique food styling tips really helped a lot to spruce up the recess boxes. More importantly, it is easy to make it with the existing tools in our kitchen.

After the demonstration, it's time to put our hand on making our very own bento box. We were given 75 minutes to create our own MILO Bento Box and there were top 3 winners plus 2 consolation prize winners voted by the judges and the kids! We were lucky that our ship theme treasure pocket has won the third prize!

It's worth taking extra effort to transform the ordinary recess box to a creative one where every kids would surely love it, even the picky eaters. We parents would be assured of the best nourishment for our kids to stay healthy, active and go longer in that way too. So why not start packing the Bento box for our kids from now?

Last but not least, thank you MILO Malaysia for organising such an informative and fun workshop to all the mummy. It was indeed a splendid Saturday for all of us. We had so much fun with the kids and we have also learnt a lot from the MILO® UHT Bento Box Workshop. Since then, I have been practicing it by waking up early to make the bento box and let my daughter bring it to school. And of course, the bento box is pack with a pack of MILO® UHT for the energy she needs to take on the day!

For more information or tips on preparing your kids recess boxes, go to https://www.milo.com.my/bento-box

For more information on MILO, go to https://www.milo.com.my/