HEALTHY LUNCHES FOR HEALTHIER KIDS
Written by Caroline Meyer
It might sound complicated and time consuming to ensure your kids have healthy lunches, whether they are packed for school or for eating at home. It is not all that difficult to swap out some of the more unhealthy items and add in foods and drinks that your children can still enjoy, while getting more nutrients and vitamins that they need to be healthy and strong.
Change store bought juices for home-made juices or fruity water. Many commercial juices are packed full of sugar, preservatives and other chemicals which are not all that good for your child. Make your own juice at home or add in a few slices of lime, lemon, orange or other fruits in to some ice cold water for a fruity water. You can squeeze a little juice in to the water too if your child prefers a little more of the fruit flavour in their water. You can make these the night before and they are ready to drink at any time.
Instead of canned fruit or fruit cups, use fresh fruit. Most of your packaged and tinned fruits contain added sugar and other chemicals. Pack in some fresh fruits instead. Frozen berries are okay too as they generally do not have anything added. This also helps them get some extra fibre and they can snack on the fruits at any time and don’t need to eat a full cup in one sitting.
Restrict the snacks. You don’t have to cut out all snacks, but you can restrict the amount. Add one large cookie to their lunch boxes (preferably home-made) instead of a pre-packed mini-bag of cookies. They still get to enjoy a treat without ingesting a lot of empty calories.
Home-made snacks beat store-bought hands down. Make granola bars, air-popped popcorn, fruit roll-ups and more. This allows you to control the ingredients and the amount of saturated fat and sugar that is going in to the snack. There are many recipes for healthy snacks that you can whip up on the weekend and include in the lunch boxes for the week.
Leftovers make a great lunch. Although not every type of leftover can be used in a lunch box, foods such as home-made pizza, pasta, grilled meat and more can be added in for a healthier lunch. You can even look at purchasing a flask for soups and stews in colder weather. Warm it up at home and it is ready to eat at lunch time.
Use whole-wheat bread for sandwiches instead of white bread. Look on the list of ingredients for breads made using grains such as oats as a main ingredient and avoid the over-processed breads made with white flour where possible.
Make puddings and “ice-cream” using yoghurt. If possible, use Greek yoghurt which tends to be thicker than normal yoghurt. Add in cocoa for a chocolatey flavour or any type of fruit for a natural fruity flavour. You can also stir in a small amount of honey as a natural sweetener if needed. This is a great high protein, low carbohydrate dessert for the whole family. Freeze cups of yoghurt for an “ice-cream” treat or unfrozen as a yummy dessert for lunch.
You don’t need to rush the change over from unhealthy to healthier foods. Start slow by changing one food item at a time and your family will soon be enjoying healthier meals without even noticing that anything much has changed.
It is recommended that you pack your lunch boxes the night before to avoid the morning rush as this is often when snack packs and other items get thrown in to the lunch box to make up a meal. Make sure you have a good quality lunch box for each child, their own water bottle, a small cooler bag and an ice-brick for keeping foodstuffs cool and fresh and a flask for hot foods and drinks in winter. Try and pack the lunch boxes with an item from each major food group as well as an added treat now and then.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates that can be included in the lunch boxes as an example include whole-wheat bread or rolls, corn-cakes, rice-cakes, corn, muffins, tortilla wraps and even pasta.
Protein
Ideas of lean proteins that can be included in to healthy lunch boxes include chicken, tuna, lean beef, curry or stew or lean minced meat. You can also add chickpeas and lentils as an alternative. A handful of nuts makes a great protein based snack as well.
Dairy
Low fat cheese, unsweetened yoghurt and low fat milk make a good choice as a dairy based snack, For children with a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance, you can add in a soya or almond milk based product or similar,
Vegetables and fruit
Carrot sticks, cucumber slices, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, banana, apple, pineapple, grapes or any other fruit which happens to be in season can be added in to a lunch box. If you prefer to cut your fruits and vegetables, you can squeeze a little orange or lemon juice over the fruit to prevent it from going brown.
Oils and fats
Healthy oils and fats can be added via seeds, nuts, avocados and whole eggs. Add a boiled egg or a handful of trail mix to the lunch box to cover the fats needed for a healthy digestion. You can also add slices of avocado. This can be drizzled with apple cider vinegar, grape vinegar or lemon juice to prevent the fruit turning brown.
Treats and snacks
Dried fruit and popcorn make a nice snack to add in to a lunch box. You can even add in some vegetable chips if you child enjoys them. On the odd occasional you can add in a bite-size chocolate or small candy, but this should not be a daily food item.
Water
Especially in summer, water is a very important addition to your child’s lunch. Fruit water and fresh juice is the best choice if your child does not like plain water. Avoid fizzy drinks and commercial fruit juices especially energy drinks and those with high quantities of caffeine and sugar.
Plan in advance so that you always have foods on hand for lunches. Pack the night before do everyone gets to take a healthy lunch with them the next day. Even if you are a stay at home parent, you can pack a lunch for your little one so that they can pack it out and enjoy their lunches while you ensure they get something from all the food groups in their diet. It takes a little time and organisation, but your healthier family will make all of it worthwhile.