Children
Tasty, nutritious lunch box choices made easy
Spiral-bound notebooks, pencil sharpeners, and the familiar sounds of recess. For millions of kids across the country, that means it’s time to hit the books and time to brown-bag their lunches as another new school season nears. As children are busy preparing for the new school year, parents too are busy—busy trying to determine what will go into their kids’ lunch boxes and how they can squeeze a well-rounded yet tasty and nutritious diet into it.
With so many foods to choose from, it’s no wonder parents struggle to find the right balance between what’s good for their kids and the kinds of foods their kids will want. Fortunately for kids and parents, sometimes nutrition and good taste can often be found in the same package.
Lauren Niemes, executive director, Nutrition Council of Greater Cincinnati, offers several simple suggestions on how parents can transform their child’s lunchtime fare into a nutritious and tasty meal. “By adding these creative little extras, you can help your child meet the updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which call for increases in fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Niemes.
• Add vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, or green peppers, to a plain turkey or tuna fish sandwich for a colorful crunch. Instead of heavy mayonnaise, try flavoring the sandwich with a squeeze of lemon juice for some added zest.
• Brown-bag baby carrots or celery sticks for a crunchy snack packed with essential vitamins and nutrients.
• Replace donuts and cupcakes with a natural, fat-free treat, such as a banana. A banana offers the sweet taste that your child craves, but unlike traditional desserts, will provide your child with essential nutrients including fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and potassium.
• Sliced apples with peanut butter make for another timeless, snack-time favorite. The fiber in the apple will help keep your child full until dinner, and the peanut butter is an excellent source of protein.
• Prepare your child’s favorite sandwich using whole grain, honey wheat bread for a slightly sweet taste with added texture.
• Pack a healthy trail mix filled with a nutritious assortment of nuts, raisins, crunchy cereal flakes, and dried apple and strawberry slices. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top for added sweetness and flavor.
To help parents find other easy ways to incorporate fruits into their children’s lunch box, produce companies like Chiquita Brands International have introduced smaller and pre-packaged snack options that help kids meet the USDA’s recommended two to five servings of fruits a day.
If fitting more fruits and vegetables into your son or daughter’s back-to-school eating plan still seems like a lot of work, consider this: one large banana is the equivalent of one cup of fruit. “That means the banana you sliced up on that bowl of cereal this morning can put your little one halfway to his daily goal,” points out Niemes.
For those parents who may want to help their child maintain a healthy weight, low-fat diets rich in foods containing fiber—such as bananas—tend to produce a feeling of fullness, which can help control the quantity of food he or she eats. A single medium banana has 16% of the daily reference value of dietary fiber—and no fat, sodium or cholesterol. And a banana is easy to grab on the way out the door as your child leaves to catch the school bus for a quick breakfast or to save as an afternoon snack.
So, the next time you pack your child’s lunch box for school, go ahead and give your kids the great taste they crave and the nutrition they deserve. After all, there’s no need to choose between the two.
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