Food
How To Pack Healthy School Lunches
What should I include in a healthy packed lunch for my child?
The key to a healthy packed lunch is balance which, when coupled with variety, should provide your child with a meal that he or she will eat. "The key to a healthy packed lunch is to get the right balance and choose a variety of food that provides all the nutrients children need to grow and be healthy," says South Queensferry chef Roy Brett. "It's a challenge to come up with something new to entice them to eat healthy food and bring a smile to their faces after a long morning at school“. Even healthy food is delicious when one is hungry and therefore parents should encourage their children to eat a healthy packed lunch.
What Is Healthy?
Healthy eating is fundamental to good health and is a key element in healthy human development, from the prenatal and early childhood years to later life stages. Healthy eating is equally important in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases. A healthy packed lunch and snacks provide children with energy to stay active. Fruit makes a great snack or healthy dessert. Peanut butter is not only an inexpensive source of plant protein and healthy fats but also packed with nutrients including vitamin E, folate, niacin, copper, potassium, selenium, zinc, magnesium, and fiber. The key to including the great taste of peanut butter into a healthy diet without adding extra fat and calories is portion control.
For many parents, helping children develop healthy eating habits is a struggle. If children are properly prepared, they are more likely to make healthy food choices once they enter school. Talk to kids about smart food choices, and how important they are for learning and doing well in school, playing for fun and sports, and feeling good and staying healthy. Let kids know that all foods fit into a healthy diet there are no "good" or "bad" foods.
Healthy Eating:
Eating a variety of foods is important for a balanced diet. Eating fruit and vegetables as snacks between meals as well as part of main meals can help to achieve this. Children love finger foods at snack time, so stock up on bite-sized pieces of cheese or cheese sticks cut-up fresh veggies and fruit (beware of choke foods) dried fruits, such as raisins, figs, and prunes whole-grain crackers, pretzels and frozen fruit juice bars. If your child is eating a variety of healthful foods, he probably doesn't need dietary supplements of any kind. Although it's a myth that children become hyperactive by eating too much sugar, sugary food is still bad for oral health, can be stored as fat, and aggravates diabetes. Once children reach age 10 or 12, it is very difficult to change their habits or coerce them into eating healthier foods. About 25 to 40% of teenagers are overweight, mostly from lack of exercise in combination with eating too much fat and sugar.
They help avoid the stress and guilt that can lead to eating disorders and poorer eating patterns as children get older follow these healthy eating tips and ensure your child’s lunchbox is good for him or her.
Make Children Nutrition Conscious:
At some point your child may beg you to buy some high-sugar, low-nutrition cereal. Explain to your child they are unhealthy and will make him sluggish during the day.
I am not in favor of schools banning certain foods in lunch boxes, although we need to educate our children in diet and nutrition taking away their choices is not healthy. Within reason, try to accommodate their lunch requests, keeping nutrition guidelines in mind.
Lunchbox Answers:
Making up healthy lunch boxes for kids is not always easy. Choose well-insulated lunch boxes that are easily cleaned. Lunch boxes are tricky to get right. Freeze a carton of juice to keep the contents of the lunchbox fresh, crisp, tasty and cool. Including a wide variety of foods in a lunchbox will provide the range of nutrients your child needs and will prevent your child from becoming bored with the same foods. Always try to include at least one piece of fruit in a packed lunchbox. Aim to get one of the following food groups into a lunchbox every day: fruit, vegetables, a dairy product, a protein food, a starchy food and plenty of fluids.
It has been found that the most popular lunchbox includes sandwiches, fruit juice and yoghurt. Dried fruit e.g. raisins and dried apricots, are easily added to lunch boxes and count towards your child's 'five-a-day'. Always try to use lower fat varieties of cheese in lunch boxes e.g. edam, mozzarella, cottage cheese or reduced fat cheddar. Try to include fruit and chopped raw vegetables or salad in every lunchbox e.g. carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, raisins, or fresh fruit salad (in juice not syrup)Yoghurt, fromage frais or mousse are popular choices, choose low fat varieties. Try to limit sweets/chocolate in lunch boxes to once a week. Try to avoid including fizzy, sugary drinks in a packed lunchbox.
"It's all very well to say that lunch boxes should contain fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, but no child is going to be the most popular kid in the class if he snacks on celery sticks and hummus, while the rest of the class feast on chocolate bars.“ This may be true, but, if your child knows about healthy eating your child may even persuade his friends to join the ”healthy eating club“!
Avoid foods which go soggy such as tomato sandwiches – these will often be found festering in the lunchbox at the end of the day. Instead pop a small pot of cherry tomatoes into the lunchbox. Ideas for a healthy packed lunch include tuna mayonnaise sandwiches made with brown bread (try to use low fat mayonnaise), fresh fruit salad, low fat yoghurt, carton of fresh fruit juice, ham and tomato seeded baguette, a portion of grapes, strawberry fromage frais, a bottle if plain water, cheese savoury tortilla wrap, small portion of mixed salad, banana, fruit slice/fruit muffin, carton of semi-skimmed milk, egg mayonnaise & salad filled pitta bread, carrot sticks & raisins, crackers with low fat cheese (Edam, mozzarella, cottage cheese) various types of bread e.g. brown, wholewheat, sesame seed, pitta and tortilla wraps.
A healthy packed lunch can be simple to prepare, inexpensive and fun to eat. The key to a healthy packed lunch is getting the right balance and choosing a wide variety of foods.
A healthy packed lunch should include:
A good portion of starchy food e.g. a sandwich, a fruit, a vegetable, a protein portion (can be included in the sandwich e.g. cheese) and a healthy drink such as a carton of milk or a fruit juice. It is a good idea to provide consistent messages about healthy eating to children, and therefore it would be sensible to make your child's packed lunches with healthy food. Remember the key to a healthy packed lunch is balance and variety to add interest and make it as appealing as possible.
© Copyright: Magriet Du Plessis.
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