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.
For more information, please contact Claudine Ryan on 082 776 6437 or claudiner@kks.co.za