|
Lunchbox tips
-
Make
some sandwiches ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze them.
-
Respect
strong food dislikes: Pick your battles and if they really hate it, don't serve
it. Let your children make some choices and be involved.
-
Keep
that lunchbox clean. But, mom, when you clean, try not to snack on those
leftovers, a sure way to pack on those winter pounds.
-
Carefully watch out for the drink that spills all over lunch: your child will
really be upset by a cherry-soaked sandwich.
-
For
school trips, follow the teacher's instructions and remember to label packages
properly.
-
When
packing for nursery school children, some as young as two, take manageability
and dexterity into account. Urge your child to ask the childcare provider for
help.
-
Stay in
tune with your children's changing appetite. Remember that the little boy who
ate half a sandwich in second grade may be hungry for two sandwiches in eighth
grade!
The Right
Balance
Always
remember that kids love anything snack like because it's fun to
eat. So how do you make your kid's lunch both innovative and
nutritious? Use the
USDA Food Pyramid as a guide. Teach your children about the pyramid by
asking them which foods fall into which categories.
A school lunch
should include at least one serving from each of the five pyramid groups: bread,
vegetable, fruit, milk and protein.
-
Bread: bagels,
tortillas, rolls, muffins and pita pockets. Kids really like the mini bagels,
mini pizzas and roll-ups. If you use sliced bread, trim the crusts and use
cookie cutters to cut out neat shapes; if nothing else, at least cut the
square into the much-preferred triangles!
-
Vegetable: carrot
sticks, celery sticks, broccoli florets and fresh, crunchy jicama slices.
-
Fruit: Kids like
bite-size pieces, so try grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe chunks, cherries and
orange wedges.
-
Milk: milk,
cheese sticks or chunks, and yogurt. Schools often sell eight-ounce milk
cartons to accompany school lunches. Try to convince your child to buy skim or
1%-low-fat milk. There's also chocolate milk — always a favorite!
-
Protein: peanut butter and peanuts, eggs,
beans, cheese cubes/sticks. Remember about food safety with eggs.
-
Fats/Sweets:
raisins, granola, trail mix, sunflower seeds, fruit roll-ups, animal crackers
or graham crackers.
In general, kids need vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and
calories — they don't need a lot of sodium or fat.
Lunch Box Tips & Tricks
-
Keep your lunch-making supplies together in one place to
make the preparation process more efficient during morning "rush hour." Store
the lunch bags and boxes, sandwich bags, thermoses, plastic spoons and forks,
toothpicks and small plastic storage containers in the same area.
-
Put flat ice-packs
in your child's lunch box during warm weather, or any time you are sending
perishable foods, such as dairy products or egg dishes.
-
Another idea is to
freeze the juice box or packet overnight. It will act as an ice-pack in the
lunchbox and kids will have a nice cold juice by lunchtime.
-
Click here for more ideas.
Food-safety tips
For snacks that need cold storage, it may be be worthwhile considering investing in an insulated
lunch pouch. An insulated pack keeps cold foods safe and helps retain the
temperature better than a paper bag or plastic lunch bag. Smaller pouches work
better than larger ones because there is less air space to keep chilled. You can
also keep perishable snacks cold by buying a frozen gel pack or freezer pack.
However, cold packs are not designed for all-day use, so keep an eye on the
clock. A snack packed in the morning should be eaten by lunch. Any lunchtime
leftovers should be tossed, and the lunch bag thoroughly cleaned after every
use.
|
