Here are some healthy ideas for putting into the kiddo's lunch bags for school. As a rule of thumb think 4: 1. Think fiber and whole grains.
OR 6 Triscuits or 15 Wheat Thins with 1 or 2 reduced fat cheese sticks and veggie sticks with lowfat ranch dip OR Triscuits or Wheat Thins with plain Greek Yogurt, a tsp. honey and fresh fruit, or YoPlait Kids Lowfat yogurt with fruit and crackers (these have 25% less sugar then some of the others) 2. Think fruits and veggies ALWAYS include a FRUIT and/or VEGETABLE Easy fruit to pack are:
3. Think dairy lowfat milk, or lowfat flavored milks are fine( Yes, I do believe in flavored milks as long as they are lowfat); yogurt, cheese stick(s). 4. Think the drink: any other drink should be Water. 100% fruit juice is fine- just don't overdo it. Kids should get most of their nutrients from fruit, not juice. One is fine. So are you ready to put it all together? Checklist: the lunch should include 4 important components: some protein (lunch meat, peanut butter, cottage cheese, cheese), some grains (whole wheat bread, tortilla, whole grain crackers, whole wheat bagels), dairy (8 oz. lowfat milk, yogurt or cheese stick (s)), drink (milk, water, 100% juice). If packing a lunch with perishables like lunch meat use 2 freezer packs surrounding the sandwich since studies have recently shown that lunches don't hold their cold temperatures and can begin to develop bacteria. Packing a healthy lunch can help your kids in school, they may have more energy and be better able to pay attention since they will be well nourished! |
