As your child returns to school, you face the usual dilemma: Brown-bag it or rely on the cafeteria menu?
“Lunches served in school cafeterias are not always the best choice, and I recommend that sometimes lunches need to be packed,” says Mary Pat Alfaro, a registered dietitian at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
A homemade lunch puts you in control of what your child eats, as well as portion size, she notes.
Here are some of Alfaro’s tips for a healthy lunch:
- Use the Food Guide Pyramid for preschoolers and elementary-school children to plan lunches. Include at least two servings from the bread group and one serving from each of the other food groups for a balanced meal. Go easy on fats and sweets.
- Aim for variety to provide different nutrients and beat boredom. Try whole-grain bagels, English muffins, crackers, pita bread or tortillas paired with your child’s favorite spread or sandwich filling.
- Find healthy alternatives to snack chips: trail mix, flavored rice cakes, pita chips and baked tortilla chips.
- Pack fruit that’s easy to eat: grapes, strawberries, melon chunks, apple wedges, berries and orange sections. Include a dipping sauce made with yogurt or peanut butter.
- Make raw vegetables like baby carrots, celery and bell pepper strips more appealing. Pack them with a container of hummus, salsa or ranch dressing.
- Pay close attention to beverages. Remember that even 100% fruit juice is loaded with sugar. Opt for plain or sugar-free flavored water.
- Experiment with different sandwich fillings. Top peanut butter with fruits like raisins, apples, bananas or pineapple instead of jelly. Make a burrito with refried beans, salsa, grated cheese, and chopped lettuce and tomatoes.
Editor’s note: We encourage you to choose organic foods, whenever possible, to avoid exposure to pesticides, preservatives and other chemicals.
Suggested Reading
- Today’s Twist on the Classic PB&J
- Lunchroom Nutrition: What’s Your School’s Calorie Quotient?
- Organic Lunchbox Savvy
- Beating the Brown-Bag Blahs
Tags: childhood obesity, children, Health, obesity, school
Great article! Nothing upsets me more then seeing children eating an unhealthy diet.
It is so important to begin teaching children early that healthy choices are “cool” choices. My mom did this with me, and I learned early that if I wanted to keep control of my weight and health that I needed to take care of myself. I know I would not have the health I have today had my mom not been as into health as she was. I have begun this with my children and I can see it is already working. “Green is GOOD” in our home! My son loves taking things like mint flavored chlorophyll, omega oils, and NingXia Red. Although he was born with some minor health problems, like chronic dry skin, he is overcoming them through a good diet.