When the lunch bell rings, school kids have some decisions to make about what to eat. Although you can’t be by their side all the time, you can have an impact on your child’s choices to ensure that they’re healthy ones.

Two Heads are Better Than One

Take the time to sit down with your child and study the school lunch menu together. This shows her that the everyday decisions she makes about food are important ones. Talk about her favorite meals and which foods she likes and doesn’t like. Discuss what side options come with entrées and which choices are the healthiest. Focus on more nutritious and healthful options — fruits and vegetables, lean meat and whole grains. And explain the benefits: plenty of energy to learn while at school and to play afterward. Likewise, point out which foods should be saved for an occasional treat, such as pizza, hot dogs, chips, soda pop and ice cream.

Remember that the lunch line isn’t the only place kids make choices about what to eat. Talk with your child about what’s offered in school vending machines and the best picks if she needs a drink or snack. Help her understand that milk or water is a better choice than juice drinks, sports drinks or soda, which contain a lot of added sugar.

Think Outside the (Lunch) Box

Encourage kids to bring their lunch from home on a regular basis. That way you can exert a bit more control over what they eat — although you won’t be able to entirely prevent the inevitable trading that goes on at school lunch tables!
For the maximum nutritional value, brown bag lunches should contain a fruit, a vegetable and a source of lean protein. Whole fruit, such as an apple, orange or juicy plum, is ideal. Fruit cups are good sources of nutrients too; just make sure they’re packed in juice rather than in syrup.

Carrots, celery and red pepper slices make for appetizing, nutritious lunch additions. If your child likes to “dip,” send along a tablespoon of light ranch or other favorite salad dressing. You can also send flavored yogurt for dipping fruit.

Try putting a new spin on traditional sandwiches. Kids will love lunchmeat rollups — slices of deli turkey, ham or lean roast beef, a slice of low fat cheese and some mustard on a tortilla or wrap. Roll it up, secure it with toothpicks and slice it crosswise into pieces so kids can see the swirl pattern.

Pack Lunch with a Nutritional Punch

It’s all too easy for kids to fall into a rut when it comes to food, requesting peanut butter and jelly day after day. Try introducing some nutritional variety by giving your child’s lunch a healthy makeover. Instead of a bologna sandwich on white bread, opt for turkey on whole wheat bread that has at least two or three grams of fiber. Instead of mayonnaise, use mustard. Substitute crunchy veggies in place of snack chips (which are often high in fat). Replace dessert cookies and prepackaged cakes with trail mix, flavored gelatin, graham crackers or a low fat pudding cup.

A Knack for Snacks

Whether at school or after they get home, kids love to snack. But the calories from all of those nibbles can add up, so the key is to keep each snack to about 100 calories. Many packaged snack foods now come in 100-calorie packs. Some other options include a string cheese stick, half an English muffin with a teaspoon of low fat peanut butter, three cups of plain popcorn, a hard-boiled egg or a medium apple.

Safety First     

Common food safety rules apply to packed lunches, too. If your child takes a lunch box to school, be sure to wash and dry it thoroughly each night. Throw in a cold pack whenever sending yogurt, deli meats and any other items that need to stay cool. You can freeze milk the night before; it should be thawed by lunch time. Add a package of premoistened towelettes or a small bottle of hand sanitizer each day so young ones learn to clean their hands before eating, another good habit you can instill. And one that shows kids the importance of making healthy choices — all by themselves.

Massachusetts and Connecticut Take Action

As a result of a child nutrition law passed in 2004, school districts participating in the federal school lunch or breakfast program must develop a student wellness policy that includes goals for nutrition education, physical activity and nutrition standards for foods and beverages by the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.  

Boston Public Schools’ policy includes promotion of the “5-2-1-0 for Better Health” message, which stands for at least five fruits and vegetables daily; no more than two hours of (computer or television) “screen time” daily; one hour of physical activity and no tobacco use.

Also at work in the state is the Massachusetts Action For Healthy Kids (Mass AFHK). AFHK is a national, nonprofit organization that is focused on school policies that promote health and nutrition. The Mass AFHK is working with other groups in the state to distribute and promote its ReCharge! Energizing After-School nutrition and physical education kit to statewide after-school programs.

In Connecticut the AFHK State Team is working with classroom teachers to promote PLAY! (Promoting Lifestyle Activity for Youth Challenge). It’s designed to motivate kids to get at least 60 minutes of exercise daily for one month. More than 15,000 students in 111 schools participated in what the team hopes to make an annual event. The Connecticut State Team also helped to get legislation passed requiring their schools to offer nutritious, low fat food and beverages and for a lunch period of at least 20 minutes. 

---

©Copyright 2009, Big Y Foods, Inc., Springfield, MA, (413) 784.0600
Artwork is for display purposes only and does not necessarily reflect specific items. Not responsible for typographical errors.