What’s in your child’s lunchbox?
More than half of British school children take a packed lunch rather than buy food at school but with improved menus for hot lunches is this wise. If you are the sort of parent that knows about food and nutrition then you probably pack a good snack. Here’s some advice for the non-foodies among you and those of you who rush out without doing a lunchbox and pick it all up at the garage on route to school.
The bigger part of any meal should be complex carbohydrates i.e. bread, pasta, rice, savoury biscuits. Whole-wheat or granary bread would be good, multi-grain the best – these all give fibre. I realise the younger ones prefer white, try using a slice of each when making sandwiches, for fat use a low fat alternative not butter. Have different fillings each day and try and avoid adding ketchup, mayonnaise or salt. The fillings should be lean protein – ham, turkey, tuna, chicken, egg, hummus; cheese is full of saturated fat and salt so please limit use of this. Add a salad item to the sandwich to give vitamins and minerals. Give different fruits or carrot and celery sticks each day to provide, important B and C vitamins. Grapes are strawberries contain anti-oxidants and children love their sweet taste. If you have some left over pasta or rice this can be made into a tasty salad with the addition of nuts, salad and chopped cooked chicken.
Children love chocolate and sweets in their box but these provide empty calories and should be kept as a treat. Look out for fruit and nut snack bars with less than 10% fat; get used to reading the nutrition label on the reverse, there are many available and they contain sweet tasting fruits e.g., cranberries. Whilst it is true that children burn up a lot of calories through exercise and play it is good to start healthy eating at an early age. Foods marketed at children often have a good-for-you slogan on the front but read the nutrition label and you will find oodles of saturated fat (that’s the bad one). Nuts and seeds are good snacks; they contain omega 3 & 6, make some granola if your children find them boring. Yogurts are a healthy snack, the probiotics ones are a good idea if your child has digestive problems, they help to prevent growth of unfriendly bacteria in the intestines.
Water, milk and fruit juice would all be appropriate drinks. Water should be available throughout the day and your child encouraged to drink; we are all thirsty before we realise it. It is vital as a lubricant and to keep us supple. Milk contains calcium and vitamins B2, D and H.
The bigger part of any meal should be complex carbohydrates i.e. bread, pasta, rice, savoury biscuits. Whole-wheat or granary bread would be good, multi-grain the best – these all give fibre. I realise the younger ones prefer white, try using a slice of each when making sandwiches, for fat use a low fat alternative not butter. Have different fillings each day and try and avoid adding ketchup, mayonnaise or salt. The fillings should be lean protein – ham, turkey, tuna, chicken, egg, hummus; cheese is full of saturated fat and salt so please limit use of this. Add a salad item to the sandwich to give vitamins and minerals. Give different fruits or carrot and celery sticks each day to provide, important B and C vitamins. Grapes are strawberries contain anti-oxidants and children love their sweet taste. If you have some left over pasta or rice this can be made into a tasty salad with the addition of nuts, salad and chopped cooked chicken.
Children love chocolate and sweets in their box but these provide empty calories and should be kept as a treat. Look out for fruit and nut snack bars with less than 10% fat; get used to reading the nutrition label on the reverse, there are many available and they contain sweet tasting fruits e.g., cranberries. Whilst it is true that children burn up a lot of calories through exercise and play it is good to start healthy eating at an early age. Foods marketed at children often have a good-for-you slogan on the front but read the nutrition label and you will find oodles of saturated fat (that’s the bad one). Nuts and seeds are good snacks; they contain omega 3 & 6, make some granola if your children find them boring. Yogurts are a healthy snack, the probiotics ones are a good idea if your child has digestive problems, they help to prevent growth of unfriendly bacteria in the intestines.
Water, milk and fruit juice would all be appropriate drinks. Water should be available throughout the day and your child encouraged to drink; we are all thirsty before we realise it. It is vital as a lubricant and to keep us supple. Milk contains calcium and vitamins B2, D and H.
posted by Wendy Edwards at
9:21 pm
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