Back to School Lunch Ideas
School lunch can be one of the biggest
challenges of the school year. One of
the surest ways to please the kids and
meet the basic dietary guidelines is to
make them part of the planning and shopping.
A nutritious lunch doesn't have to revolve
around a traditional sandwich; consider
different wrappings for the fillings, meat
and cheese kabobs, or a macaroni salad.
Salsa and chips, or veggie sticks with dip
are sure to please most kids.
Fun foods like ants on a log or jiggly
gelatin desserts are good choices for the
younger kids. Below are a few lunch and
snack recipe ideas and links to some
excellent sites with nutritional
information and an assortment of
lunchtime recipes.
A Few Pointers For A Safe Lunch
When temperatures rise above 75 degrees,
unrefrigerated meats, mayonnaise, eggs,
yogurt and milk can become deadly by noon.
Freeze a single-serving box of 100 percent
juice overnight and put it next to the food.
By lunch, the food will still be cold and
the juice will be mostly defrosted.
Make a low-fat dip from yogurt mixed with
seasonings to make the carrots and other
veggies more interesting.
For a healthy, balanced lunch, include a piece
of fruit or veggies, bread, crackers, pretzels
or other grain product, and a protein source
such as meat, tuna, eggs or cheese. A carton of
milk from the school cafeteria will round out
the meal.
Avoid the pre-packaged lunches in a box from the
grocery store. They have more fat, sodium, sugar
and preservatives than your child should have in
one day, much less one meal.
Check the labels on low-fat cookies and other goodies.
Often, the calorie savings is minimal due to high
amounts of sugar, used to offset the lack of fat.
For a dessert, send raisins and other dried fruit
such as apricots, peaches, apples and prunes. They
taste sweet and come with lots of vitamins and minerals.
Low-fat fruit yogurt often has as more sugar than
a can of soda and minimal fruit. Make a healthier
version in your blender or food processor with non-
fat plain yogurt, bananas for sweetening, and your
favorite fruit.
"Natural" or "Organic" on a label doesn't guarantee
it's healthy. Organic fried potato chips still get
more than 75 percent of their calories from fat,
and honey has as many calories as sugar and no
nutritional advantages. Check the label and look for
maximum nutrition (vitamins and minerals) and
minimum fat, sweeteners, sodium and calories.
Fresh fruits and vegetables still make the best snacks.
Processed foods containing fruits and vegetables may
seem healthy, but you are better off with an apple than
an apple-flavored granola bar.
Check the fat content before buying baked chips and
snack goods. While many baked chips and crackers are
very low in fat, others have almost as much fat as
fried snacks. Most bagel chips are especially high
in fat.
