The Healthy Brown-Bag Lunch
Healthy Lunches Your Kids Will Love
Here are some other hints for making healthier lunches:
- Make a pocket sandwich using whole-wheat pita bread.
- Instead of plain white bread, put sandwich ingredients on flat bread and roll it up. It’ll look cool as a wrap.
- Avoid soggy sandwich syndrome with do-it-yourself ingredients. Wrap the cheese, meat and toppings separately and let your child do the assembly work.
- Mix potato chips with pretzels, nuts and dried fruit.
- Substitute juice or sports drinks for soft drinks.
- Put together a healthy sandwich and cut it into fun shapes with cookie cutters.
- Make a pasta salad from a novelty pasta shaped like pumpkins, footballs, leaves, bikes, houses or animals.
- Buy an insulated lunch box or a re-freezable cold pack to help keep foods fresh.
August 2004 — Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a staple of lunchboxes across the country. In fact, the National Peanut Board says that the average American child will eat 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduating from high school.
But are they as good for the body as they are for the taste buds? Breathe a sigh of relief, parents: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a fairly nutritious lunch choice.
"They're not bad at all. I love them myself," says Marilyn Gordon, MS, RD, LD/N, registered dietitian at Memorial Regional Hospital Fitness & Rehabilitation Center.
The real issue may be that peanut butter and jelly isn't very original. But there are simple, healthy ways to dress up the old favorite for the new school year. First, rethink the peanut butter. "Regular peanut butter has hydro-genated fats and oil," Gordon says. "There are brands that don't have added hydrogenated oils, and some stores will grind fresh peanuts into peanut butter for you. Both of those would be healthier choices."
You can also use sliced fresh fruit to match the flavor of jelly. Or instead of jelly, use honey, raisins and bananas. These small, special touches will help make sure your child eats a healthy lunch.
The Meal You Can't Control
In a nation where about one-third of teenagers and preteens are obese, nutrition for kids is a touchy subject. Parents often feel helpless to control their children's snacking habits. Lunch presents a similar dilemma: If the child doesn't want what's in the bag, he or she can throw it away.
"Children have to get nutrients so they can think throughout the day," Gordon says. "By the time lunch rolls around, they're hungry and can't concentrate, especially if they had a sparse breakfast. When they eat, they're fueling the body and the brain."
The only way a parent can guarantee that a child eats lunch is to pack something the child wants to eat. That doesn't have to mean chips, cookies and brownies. It is more about making the lunch delicious, attractive and healthy.
Begin by giving your child a vested interest in lunch by letting him or her help to assemble it. Offer a choice of sandwiches or desserts.
Test a new healthy lunch food during a weekend meal. If your child likes the item, include it with lunch during the week. Some ideas: hummus and pita bread, celery and peanut butter, an exotic fresh fruit, low-sugar cereal that can be served dry, fruit bars, baked potato chips, and fat-free cookies or brownies.
School Lunch Programs
Because they must meet certain nutritional requirements, school lunch programs are a good way to ensure children have at least the opportunity to eat well. Menus are posted in advance, so parents can decide which days are OK to buy lunch and how to complement that with the evening meal.
"If your child had fried chicken for lunch, make sure you have a low-fat dinner," Gordon says. "If lunch included a vegetable he hates and you know he didn't eat it, have his favorite vegetable for dinner."
The key is to give your child a well-rounded, varied diet — and most importantly, include foods he or she wants to eat.
"There's an old saying, 'There's no nutrition in food that isn't eaten,' and that's the truth," Gordon says, "If they don't like it, they won't eat it, and then you've done nothing to help them."