More than often the lunch box can be a very difficult area, as parents can not be around to make sure their kids are actually eating what you've given them for lunch. It's important to reach a common ground with your child to provide them with food they want to eat and that will give them the best nutritional value to keep going throughout the day. To make this task easier, all you need to do is read up, involve your child and get some creative thinking going!

Diet and Nutrition for Kids

Different kinds of food provide children with different types of important vitamins and nutrients that they need. Choosing the best foods for your child's lunchbox involves knowledge of what vitamins and nutrients the food is providing. Try to include a range of the different vitamins and food groups throughout the week if not the day.

Vitamin A	Assist with eyesight Help with bone growth Boost immune system Nourish the skin	Liver Fish-liver oil Egg yolks Milk products	Hard boiled egg Serve of yoghurt
Vitamin B1	Help build the nervous system Assist digestion Strengthen muscles the heart	Liver Yeast Rice Wholemeal products Peanuts Pork Milk	Leftovers from wholemeal rice dinner meals Serve of peanuts or mixed nuts Wholemeal bread sandwiches
Vitamin B2	Helps with growth Nourishes skin, nails and hair Assists with eyesight Assits with the breakdown of protein, fat and carbohydrates	Milk Liver Yeast Cheese Green leafy vegetables Fish	Cheese and salad wholemeal sandwiches A serve of tuna Small carton of milk
Vitamin B6	Encourages healthy skin Assist with nerves Helps the body to absorb proteins and carbohydrates	Fish Bananas Chicken Pork Whole grains Dried beans	A banana Pork meal leftovers from dinner Wholegrain pita rap with salad and chicken filling
Vitamin B12	Assists with the making of red blood cells Helps to grow nerves	Fish Liver Beef Pork Milk Cheese	Leftover bolognaise pasta Cheese snacks
Vitamin C	Boosts the immune system Aids protection from viruses and bacteria Assits healing wounds bowel activity cell lifespan preventing scurvy	Citrus fruits Kiwi fruit Berries Tomatoes Cauliflower Potatoes Green leafy vegetables Capsicum	Pieces of fruit (oranges, kiwi fruits) Fruit salad (or berry salad) Potato salad or roast potatoes from dinner Salad wholemeal sandwich with capsicum, tomatoes & lettuce
Vitamin D	strong bones and teeth	cod-liver oil sardines herring salmon tuna full-fat milk and milk products
Vitamin E (tocopherol)	protects cells against damaging free radicals - vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant immune function DNA repair	nuts soya beans vegetable oil broccoli sprouts spinach wholemeal products eggs

Tips for creating a lunchbox meal that kids want to eat:

1.   Involve your child in making the lunch

Kids are a million times less likely to throw away or refuse to eat the food in a lunchbox that they helped to select. the other hand, letting your child have complete creative freedom can end a little disastrously, particularly on the nutrition front! Creating and packing lunches should definitely be a joint effort. The child's own input should be taken seriously to ensure they are able to enjoy their meal, while you as the parent provide your more informed suggestions to help balance the meal and ensure all nutritional areas are being covered.

2.   Allow yourself time, and pack the lunchbox the night before

For most families and especially those with full-time working parents, mornings can be a bit of a mad rush. It's important to find the right amount of time and patience to create a balanced, healthy and enjoyable lunch and this is almost impossible for many families around breakfast time.

3.  Be creative when creating lunchbox ideas

Make sure you mix things up, or think of alternatives to more common inclusions. For example, when choosing a bread type for the main portion of your child's lunch, be sure to try alternative options such as pita bread, rice cakes, tortillas, English muffins and even hot dog buns as well as mixing up the fillings.

4.  For even more added variety, include leftovers

The most variety in your family's diet and nutrition is likely to come at dinner time. Let this range of options trickle into lunchtime too and be sure to include leftovers from the previous night's dinners when appropriate. Some examples of nutritious meals that can be eaten cold the next day and still enjoyed are pastas, meals including rice such as risotto or with chicken and sausages or rissoles.

5.   Consider some hot foods in the lunchbox

Some choices of hot foods for your child's lunch are soups and baked beans that can be kept in a thermos. Prepare most of the meal the night before and in the morning, simply heat the food and pop it into the thermos.

6.   Make sure it's a balanced packed lunch

It's not completely forbidden to have high-fat or high-sugar snacks every now and again, but there should always be some with less fat and sugar. Ensure that a range of vitamins, minerals, and fibres are also included in the lunchbox. In most cases, if you can include a serving from as many of the different food groups as possible you will be able to accomplish this. The food groups are: fruit; vegetables; grains; meat/nuts, and dairy.

7.   Ensure that you continue mix it up

Don't make your child eat the same things every day, because it won't take long for the 'trading and tossing' to begin. Try to maintain a variety of fruits other snacks as well as main meals, and keep this going longer than just the first week!

8. A small time investment reaps big rewards

Just remember that a few extra minutes put into planning and prepping your children's lunchboxes and you can be confident that you're sending your kids off for the day with not only a nutritious lunch, but one that tastes great too!

 

© Copyright 2011 HealthyMedicine.com.au

Website Design by Website Design Development.com.au