Healthy Baon Made Simple: Nutrition Experts Share Tips for Parents

Packing your child’s baon every day is a balancing act between satisfying their appetite and keeping it healthy. We want to make this easier for you, so we brought in Lifestyle Medicine physician Dr. Dex Macalintal and, fitness coach, Anne Aniag, for a recent SPV Live episode to share practical ideas on making a healthy baon achievable—trust us, it is!

Doc Dex started off by sharing an easy-to-remember guide for parents when packing meals for their kids. He suggested that they focus on four key principles, each represented by an “S”:

“Meron tayong apat na S na pwede ninyong itatak sa inyong isipan. First S is simple—para naman maging sustainable ‘yung gagawin natin. Second, let’s always think of sustansya. We aim for balance: dapat meron tayong protein para sa ating growth, carbohydrates for our immediate source of energy, fruits and vegetables for our minerals, and our fats as energy pa rin. So, kinakailangan balanse ‘yun.”

Meanwhile, Coach Anne shared her own acronym for packing healthy meals: B.A.O.N.

“B stands for balanced and budget.” She explained, “When you say budget-friendly, it doesn’t mean you have to go straight to the processed food section of the grocery store. You can always opt for the whole foods section.”

Coach Anne continued, “Affordable and accessible. ‘Pag sinabing affordable and accessible, hindi naman kailangang maubos ‘yung budget natin, ‘di ba?” She emphasized that healthy meals don’t have to be expensive.

She also highlighted the need for flexibility in meal prep, explaining that O stands for “Open to changes,” as kids can quickly get bored of having the same food every day.

Finally, Coach Anne explained that N stands for “nutritious.” For her, a well-balanced baon is made up of nourishing foods that are also easy to source, whether at the grocery store or talipapa.

As a mother of one, Coach Anne knows how challenging it can be to get children to eat healthy food. “Kids are very visual. You can go for a little creativity also. Marami nang accessories na ginagamit sa mga bento ngayon, para makita nila kung gaano ka-colorful at ka-playful ‘yung mga kinakain nila,” she said.