Five tips for healthy school lunches
As a busy parent, packing your child’s school lunch can be a hurried exercise that results in a lunch box filled with unhealthy foods.
Here are five lunch box tips for ensuring your kids enjoy a healthy school lunch.
1. Keep healthy foods in your home
There are two benefits to keeping the kitchen stocked with healthy foods.
First, your children will get used to eating healthier foods and learn to enjoy them. This means they’ll be less likely to return home with uneaten lunch because they don’t like what you’ve packed.
Second, it saves you time. Packing healthy school lunches for students goes much faster when your choices are limited to only healthy foods.
2. Add variety to the lunch box
Kids are in a high-growth phase of life and require plenty of nutrients from a variety of food sources. Ideally, you want to consider including the following types of foods in their lunch box:
Protein, such as eggs, legumes, or meat. Leftover meat from the previous night’s dinner is better than processed deli meats.
Healthy fats, such as avocado or sugar-free peanut butter.
Vegetables, such as carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, or cucumbers. You can include a tasty dip like hummus or tzatziki.
Fruit. Fresh fruit is better than dried fruit which has a higher sugar content.
Dairy, such as milk, cheese, or yoghurt.
Grains. Choose whole-grain bread or crackers instead of white bread.
3. Stick to small portions
If your child comes home with half their lunch uneaten, it could be because they couldn’t finish all the food.
A lunch box tip to help you reduce portion sizes, is to use a multi-compartment lunch box, like a bento box, when packing the lunches for students. Sandwiches and drinks can go in the larger compartment, and snacks can fill the smaller sections.
4. Get your child involved in packing their lunch
As children, many of us probably had days when we hungrily opened our lunch box only to be disappointed by what was inside. It’s normal for children to have foods they like and dislike.
That’s why it’s a good idea to get your child involved in packing their lunch so that they can choose the foods they like. It also gives you an opportunity to explain why certain foods are better for them than others.
5. Pre-order lunch at school
If your child’s school use Flexischools, you can pre-order your child’s lunch on the Flexischools app, selecting healthy meal options.
You don’t need to do this every day - you can choose certain days when you’re extra busy or running late. Your child can help you choose a menu item, but you can choose what your child is eating.
Flexischools is Australia’s #1 online canteen ordering app for parents, schools, and suppliers. Find out more about Flexischools here.
Want to learn more about Flexischools? Click here.