Hands-On Approach Shows Children The Importance Of Eating Breakfast

In a bid to get school children all over New Zealand excited about eating breakfast, The Egg Guy is visiting schools to teach, inspire and grow the confidence of budding cooks through simple and tasty egg recipes.

Each school week over 100,000 children (aged 5-14 years of age) skip breakfast at least one day of the week[1]. Children who miss this meal are more likely to buy nutrient-poor food to eat on their way to school[2], which is precisely why these visits are so important.

“Many families abandon breakfast as they’re rushing to get both themselves and their kids out the door in the morning. Eggs are a fast, simple and cheap way to feed many mouths and there are loads of recipes that kids can learn and have fun with too,” Eggs ambassador Ian Thomas says.

Ian, also known as The Egg Guy, has cooked with students in his hometown at Napier Boys High School for many years, and now wants to continue to promote these messages with school kids – starting in Christchurch.

Before his three-day stint at the Canterbury A&P Show, The Egg Guy will spend time with year 9 and 10 students at Linwood College to give them the confidence, knowledge and hands-on experience to cook simple, delicious recipes with eggs.

After the huge amount of positive feedback from students, teachers and parents at Napier Boys High School, Ian knew this idea could spread far and wide. “Around 50 per cent of the children I meet have never cooked before and they lack the confidence to simply give it a go. Once they realise that they can create a meal on their own with eggs, their confidence skyrockets with many of them racing home after school to share their new skills with their family.”

Health Sponsorship Council (HSC) Programme Manager, Michelle Mako, agrees that eggs can form an easy, tasty breakfast and provide a great start to the day. “Eating a wholesome, healthy breakfast gives kids the energy for sport and play, and improves concentration and focus in the classroom,” she adds.

Eggs are not only tasty and simple to cook with; they also boast at least 11 different vitamins and minerals, high quality protein, healthy fats (including omegas-3) and important antioxidants.

The Egg Guy will teach Linwood College students to cook an omelette, whilst focusing on cooking techniques such as the appropriate heat, oil use and mixing eggs. The students will then take to the stovetops to create their own delicious egg breakfast from the techniques they’ve just learnt.

Those interested in seeing The Egg Guy at the Canterbury A&P Show (Wednesday 9-11 November), can visit site 48, area E, where he’ll be demonstrating a wide range of delicious egg recipes, tips and tricks and searching for Canterbury’s fastest omelette maker.

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[1] Estimated from the 2007 Children’s Food and Drinks survey (HSC, 2008) and the 2006 Census data

[2] Utter, J., Scragg, R., Mhurchu, C. N., & Schaaf, D. (2007). At-home breakfast consumption among New Zealand children: Associations with body mass index and related nutrition behaviours. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107, 570-576