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Top 10 Tips for Kids Lunchboxes

1 October 2007 | Author: Jen

Sick of hearing the same old grumbles? “I hate brown bread!” “I don’t want fruit, I want crisps!” “Chocolate mousse not strawberry yoghurt!”

The problem with kids and food usually stems from them believing we are forcing them to eat healthily and ban them from all the treats they love. What parents can do is to urge their children to become more involved in the process of meal times and encourage them that they are the ones with the control and more importantly the choice!

We all know kids are near impossible to please, but when it comes to their school lunches there are a few tricks that can liven up your child’s lunch box but keeping it healthy at the same time.

• Variety is the spice of life! Kids get bored of the same old ham sandwiches. Mix things up a bit. Why not try filling wholemeal pita bread with tuna and sweet corn or how about cheese and crackers? These are a great substitute for sandwiches, plus no crusts to cut off! Result!

• Popcorn is a great snack that kids love. You can buy popping corn from most supermarkets, not the salted, sweetened or buttered variety. Cooking popcorn the “old fashioned way” in a saucepan is a fun activity for kids too- with adult supervision of course. A handful in a sandwich bag would do perfectly for a break-time snack.

• Make kids lunches interactive! Kids love making things, so why not try some home-made “lunchables” with small low-salt crackers, cheese squares and lean ham or chicken. Or how about popping in a low-fat fruit yoghurt and a small Tupperware box of dried fruit to mix in, just like a fruit corner!

• Kids love bright and colourful food. But this doesn’t always have to mean hundreds of E-Numbers. Why not use diced beetroot to make pink mayonnaise or pink pasta salad? Carrot and celery sticks dipped in peanut butter are colourful and tasty! Cherry tomatoes are also popular with kids, try adding them as an extra side; this way your child can choose how and when they eat them.

• Sugar free jelly is a great alternative to cake and biscuits. Set in a small Tupperware box, you can even mix in a few grapes or chopped strawberries!

• Fruit kebabs are quick and easy to prepare! Kids love getting involved in making them too. Chop the fruit up into bite-sized pieces and skewer onto kebab sticks. Experiment with pineapple, pear, apple, banana, strawberries, and grapes.

• Just a bit of imagaination will go a long way! A great idea for crackers is low-fat cream cheese topped with veggie hundreds and thousands. Dice up carrot, peppers and cucumber into very small pieces and sprinkle over the cream-cheese spread on the crackers. Again colourful, tasty and most of all healthy!

• Kids need plenty of water to keep them hydrated throughout the day. However, most don’t like the plain taste of water on its own. Squash and fruit juices are great to dilute with water, but you need to watch out for high sugar content. Go for sugar-free squash and make sure you dilute fruit juices (especially citric flavours) 1 third juice, 2 thirds water.

• Get involved! If you’ve got a bit more time on your hands get your child involved in making a pizza. Use whole-grain flour for the base and puree your own tomatoes for the tomato base. Then have fun mixing and matching all sorts of vegetables and toppings together making different patterns and designs. Then cook and chill over night for a great alternative to sandwiches in the kids’ packed lunch. Check out our recipes page for a full recipe.

• It’s not all bad! Lastly remember kids can have a treat from time-to-time, especially if they’ve adapted to a healthier menu. Let Friday be Fun Friday! Allow your child swap one healthy item for a something special like a piece of cake or a packet of crisps. They’ll appreciate it more if they know all the hard work they’ve done eating healthy throughout week has earned them a special treat!

Remember not all kids like the same foods. Don’t force a child to eat something they don’t like the taste of just because it’s healthy. Usually forcing children to unwillingly eat food can create further issues, especially later on in life. Casually letting a child choose their own meals will allow them to develop a better understanding of food. Educating about health and fitness is obviously important but you’ll be amazed at how quickly children learn the difference between what’s good for us and what’s bad and how willing they are to put it into practice- they’ll be preaching at you before you know it!

Useful Links

www.eatwell.gov.uk - Eatwell is the Food Standards Agency’s consumer advice and information site. It is packed with reliable and practical advice about healthy eating, understanding food labels and how what we eat can affect our health.

www.teenweightwise.com - An independent site, with unbiased, easy-to-follow hints and tips - based on the latest evidence - to help you manage your weight for good.

www.food4life.org.uk - Food 4 Life is an interactive, internet-based resource designed to support the teaching of nutrition and food safety.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 11:04 am and is filed under Health & Beauty, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.