Food for Growing Minds: A Practical Nutrition Guide for Parents

John Core, Sodexo Culinary Nutrition Lead

As the school year begins, we know that families are juggling a thousand moving parts—from early alarms and packed lunches to after-school activities and dinner on the table. This guide is designed to make that balancing act just a little easier.

Food
Published on Sep. 18, 2025

Foreword

At Sodexo, we believe good food fuels more than just bodies—it supports energy, learning, mood, and resilience in growing children. In this resource, you’ll find practical, real-life guidance on everything from smart shopping habits and label reading, to how food can support sleep, stress management, and concentration. We've also included tips for fuelling active kids, managing picky eaters, and making the most of your weekends with simple prep strategies.

To bring this guidance to life, our Culinary Team has created a separate Back-to-School Recipe Book—full of nutritious, family-friendly ideas like Mini Quinoa & Veg Frittatas, Sweet Potato & Chickpea Coconut Curry, and Falafel & Couscous Salad Pots. Whether you’re after lunchbox heroes, batch-cook dinners, or smart snacks that actually get eaten, you’ll find plenty of inspiration inside.

Whether you’re prepping breakfast at 6am, squeezing in dinner after GAA training, or just trying to get ahead at the weekend, we hope these tools bring a little more calm, confidence, and colour to your kitchen.

Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy school year ahead.

A Fresh Start

As summer ends and the long, unstructured days of beach outings, late-night barbecues, and spontaneous ice creams come to an end, many families find themselves easing back into routine. And while summer is rightly a time for indulgence and connection this return to structure brings its own quiet advantages.

For children especially, routine matters. Re-establishing mealtimes, sleep schedules, and daily structure is about creating a stable foundation for growth and wellbeing. A consistent food routine supports everything from energy and concentration to sleep quality and emotional balance.

Thoughtfully prepared meals, however simple, can ground the family in moments of calm. Breakfast that sets the tone. A lunchbox that keeps energy steady. An evening meal that brings everyone together, even briefly. These small anchors matter more than we often realise.

When food is balanced and nourishing, it supports not just physical growth, but brain development, gut health, and hormone regulation. And when those nutritional foundations are missing, it can show up in unexpected ways: irritability, disrupted sleep, lack of focus, even frequent illness. That’s why fibre, wholegrains, colour, and variety are just as important as the food groups we tend to hear more about.

At Sodexo, we see this every day. Through our work in schools, we help children build real-life food skills—from understanding labels to exploring gut health with fun, age-appropriate activities. For teenagers, we focus on confidence and critical thinking about the food they choose. It’s not about restriction or rules—it’s about giving them tools that will last a lifetime.

Food for Growing Minds

In this guide you will find ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is full of useful tips whilst keeping nutrition in mind. From the foundations of child nutrition to weekend meal preparation , download our practical nutrition guide for parents.

Read the full 'Food for Growing Minds' article

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Rainbow Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut-Free Satay Dip

Servings: 4 (makes 8 rolls)
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: None

Ingredients:

Rice paper sheets 8
Red pepper (finely sliced) ½
Carrot (finely sliced) 1 medium
Cucumber (finely sliced) ¼
Cooked vermicelli noodles 50g
Shredded cooked chicken or tofu Optional (50–100g)

Instructions:

Lay out a damp tea towel on the counter. Soak each rice paper sheet briefly in warm water, then place on the towel. Let children layer the veg, noodles, and optional protein in the centre. Fold the sides and roll tightly like a burrito. For the dip, whisk together sunflower seed butter, soy, honey and lime juice until smooth.
Tips:

Tips:

This no-cook meal builds knife and rolling skills. Encourage kids to explore colours and textures—“Eat the rainbow!” Use dipping as a hands-on way to engage fussy eaters.