If your children are attending to school or day care, they may need to bring a lunch from home. Packing a lunch for your child can be a challenging task if you do not have much experience, but with some planning, you can make your child a good lunch to take. The foods you choose should be healthy, palatable and portable. Luckily, many foods meet these criteria.
Sandwich
A sandwich is a good food to be the foundation of your child's lunch. Many children love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and these sandwiches travel well without refrigeration. To make the basic sandwich, spread peanut butter on a slice of bread, spread some jelly over that and cover it with another slice of bread. You can improve the nutritional content of the sandwich by making simple changes. If you use white whole wheat bread instead of refined white bread, you will increase the amount of dietary fiber. You can also use 100 percent fruit spread instead of jelly with sugar. You can also vary the sandwich by using a bagel or English muffin instead of sliced bread, creamy or crunchy peanut butter, or different flavors of jam.
Oranges And Carrots
Your child should have 2.5 cups of vegetables and 1.5 cups of fruit every day, according to mypyramid.gov from the United States Department of Agriculture. You can work toward this goal by adding a vegetable and a fruit to your child's lunch box every day. Baby carrots do not need preparation, and they are easy to pack in a lunch box. They are also colorful and fun to eat, which makes them appealing to many children. Baby carrots are high in dietary fiber and vitamin A. For a fruit, your child might like a citrus fruit such as an orange or tangerine. These are high in vitamin C and have some dietary fiber. If your child likes to peel the orange himself, you can pack the whole orange. Otherwise, you can peel the orange in the morning and pack it in a container so that your child can eat it at lunch time.
Pudding
Balance in the diet is important for health, and you should be sure that your child gets adequate calcium for building strong bones and teeth. Because milk and yogurt should stay in the refrigerator until consumption, you might consider packing a shelf-stable pudding cup in your child's lunch box. Many varieties contain real milk and provide calcium. They come in delicious flavors, such as chocolate or caramel, and make a fun treat for your child. For the best nutrition, you might consider low-fat or sugar-free choices. Also, check the nutrition label to be sure that the pudding has calcium in it.
References
- Union County Health Department (Ohio): What to Pack in a Healthy School Lunch
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight
- MayoClinic.com: Nutrition and Healthy Eating: White Whole Wheat Bread: Is It Nutritious?
- We Heal NY: Fiber Chart
- National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplements Fact Sheet: Calcium
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