Healthy eating is a vital part of growing up – as well as an essential part of being an athlete. That’s why we are looking for young supporters to design a healthy meal for their favourite Leicester Tigers.

The Global Payments Healthy Schools programme is run by the Tigers community team with Key Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4) pupils in local schools and, although there are no classroom sessions during the Coronavirus lockdown, we are still busy in spreading the word on healthy eating.

Now we’ve put together a chance for young supporters to get creative in their nutrition ideas with a Tigers player in mind.

We want you to either draw a meal or write a menu on our special player’s plate (download your plate using the link below and print it out) for your favourite Tigers player.

Email a picture of your idea to [email protected] using the title ‘Feeding the tigers’ or get mum or dad involved by asking them to share your idea with Tigers on social media using the hashtag #Feedingthetigers.

You could even try making your meal with your parents one day and share a video of your skills in the kitchen!

Tigers will check all of the entries and will choose a winner who will receive a message from their favourite player.

Remember, meals must be healthy and include at least one of each of the essential food groups: Carbohydrates, Dairy (this can be a drink or pudding such as a yoghurt), Fruit and Vegetables, Protein and Fats.

HINTS AND TIPS:

• Be colourful and creative
• Your meal can be breakfast, lunch or dinner
• And don’t forget to tell us which player you’ve designed the meal for

EXTRA INFORMATION:

These are four main food groups and every day we need to eat something from each one of them. They do all sorts of useful things that help us throughout our life.

Carbohydrate – Give us slow-release energy that we use to stay active throughout the day.

Dairy – Gives us calcium which helps to protect our bones, keeping them healthy and strong.

Fruit and Vegetables – Give us vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies protected from being poorly and help us digest our food.

Protein – Gives our muscles special energy to help them build and repair.

Fats – Give our bodies a layer that helps us protect our vital organs and keep warm. They also give us a high amount of quick-release energy that we use straight away.