Nutritious lunchbox ideas

With the start of a new year and schools going
back soon, one needs to think about making lunchboxes again.

According to Claudine Ryan, registered dietician (SA) for Compass Group
Southern Africa, “Keeping a lunchbox nutritious and exciting at the same time
need not be tricky.”

“Creative efforts with your child/children’s lunchbox/es will stimulate
concentration, behaviour and energy levels during and after school hours,” says
Ryan.

If lunchboxes were am algebra equation, it should read like this:

Nutritious Lunchbox = ½(Fruit/Veg) + ¼ Low GI Starch + ¼ Protein

Equation explained:

½ lunchbox = Fruit + Vegetables

Use at least 2 different colours to ensure your
child gets a variety of minerals and vitamins.

You can include some:

Greens
such as cucumber wedges, snap peas, green melon balls, green grapes or
kiwi slices
Pinks,
reds or purple such as cherry tomatoes, tomato wedges, strawberries,
watermelon cubes, black grapes
Yellows
or orange such as baby carrots, mini corn (mielies), naartjie segments,
spanspek balls
Whites
such as button mushrooms, apple wedges, peeled litchis or
Multi-colours
such as coleslaw, mini vegetable skewers, fruit salad, fruit sticks.

¼ lunchbox (1 fistful) = low GI starch

Include low GI whole wheat and seed breads, whole wheat pita breads, mini pita
pizza slices, provita, rye vita, rye bread, low GI baked treats (such as
muffins), cooked low GI pasta (whole wheat is better) , low GI rice (brown rice
is better), barley, baby potatoes, low GI pancakes for savoury wraps and
homemade mini low GI quiches.

¼ lunchbox = protein (size of your child’s palm)

Include:

Healthy
sources of fish such as tuna in water, fishcakes made with pilchards or
sardines
Meat
such as shaved cold meats, mini meatballs made with lean mince
Chicken
such as grilled chicken strips, kebabs, shredded chicken as filling
Dairy
such as low fat yoghurt, low fat flavoured milk, low fat cheeses
Boiled
eggs or
Lean
biltong can be included as a treat.

Additions to the lunchbox

Add only 1 serving of fat
Examples of healthier fats include:

1
tablespoon of low oil mayonnaise/dressing
Mashed
avocado or
Low
fat cream cheese

Drink
Healthy drinks include:

Water
Diluted
fruit juice (100 %)
Homemade
iced tea
Flavoured
low fat milk or
Hot
chocolate with low fat milk in winter

Special treat
Children love special treats in their lunchboxes, which include:

Low
GI home baked items like low GI chocolate muffins
Healthy
snack bars
Fruit
bars
Dried
fruit
Home
popped popcorn or
Oat
biscuits

Remember…

1. It takes some
planning

Stock
up on healthy foods at home.
Plan
ahead by drawing up a weekly lunch “menu” to avoid repetition of food
items.

2. Make time

Prepare lunchboxes the night before if mornings are rushed to prevent you from
taking the easy way out and including unhealthy snacks.

3. Be creative
and focus on food appearance

Make
sure the lunchbox packaging is big enough so that the food is not crammed
in and squashed.
Use
a variety of colourful foods to stimulate your child visually e.g. carrot
sticks, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, colourful fruit sticks, vegetable
kebabs etc.
Cut
sandwiches into different shapes with a cookie cutter.
Use
one slice of white bread and one slice of whole wheat bread to vary
sandwiches and compromise taste.
Use
tags or stickers to label food items with interesting names.
Kids
love to dip so include healthy homemade dips such as hummus, mayonnaise
mixed with plain yoghurt or low fat mayo.