With many students having returned to school or are about to do so in the coming weeks, if you will be packing them a lunch, here is some simple but important advice from nutritional experts at Kaiser Permanente.
When packing a school lunch, parents should aim for a balanced meal and provide different options, said Roohe Ahmed, a dietitian and health educator with Kaiser Permanente Southern California.
“Whether the child eats it or not is another story,” she noted. “But the role of the parent is to provide a healthy meal.”
According to Ahmed, who practices in Fontana, when packing a healthy school lunch, parents need to ensure it includes a variety of nutritious and healthy food.
She recommended including proteins such as hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna, chicken/turkey, beans, lentils and cheese sticks. For vegetables, parents should consider baby carrots, sliced cucumbers, celery sticks, baby bell peppers and sugar snap peas. Fruit may include berries, apple slices, orange slices, bananas, cut-up melons, cherries, etc. And finally, for whole grains, consider whole grain crackers, whole wheat bread/pita, brown rice etc.
Silvia Delgado, a dietitian and health educator also with Kaiser Permanente Southern California, noted that a healthy diet is essential to helping students perform better in school and develop strong bones, muscles and joints.
She recommended that parents pack lunch bags together with their children, as that can help kids learn responsibility and organization and ensure a school lunch doesn't come home uneaten.
Finally, if your child buys school lunches, encourage them to add a fruit or vegetable to their tray, said Delgado, who practices in Baldwin Park. “If they don’t eat their school lunch, they will be very hungry after school and may overeat at home. Suggestion: Without a school lunch, they'll be hungry after school and may overeat at home. (for easier readability). This is also where a healthy snack can come in handy.”
Myplate.gov is a great resource for parents looking for healthy food guidelines for their children, and features great activities to do with the family. It also provides serving size recommendations for age groups among children.