|
Tortilla wrap with grilled chicken, lettuce and red pepper
slices (with reduced calorie mayonnaise) |
|
|
|
Rice, bean and ham salad (boiled rice, kidney beans, green
beans and chopped ham) with a little olive oil and lemon juice
|
|
Granary roll with canned salmon, lettuce and cucumber (reduced
calorie mayonnaise)
|
|
|
|
Couscous salad with grilled chicken, chopped peppers and
sultanas
|
|
Tuna and pasta salad with canned tuna, chopped peppers and
a little olive oil and lemon juice
|
|
|
|
English muffin with egg and cress (with reduced calorie
mayonnaise).
|
|
Wholemeal roll with tuna and sweetcorn
(with reduced fat spread)
|
|
|
|
Wholemeal pitta with ham, reduced fat Edam cheese and green
pepper slices (with reduced fat spread)
|
|
Chick pea and vegetable curry with boiled rice
|
|
|
|
Lentil and vegetable curry with chapatti
|
|
Pasta and salmon salad (boiled pasta, grilled salmon and
chopped cucumber) with reduced calorie mayonnaise
|
|
|
|
Mini vegetable and pepperoni pizza (mini cheese and tomato
pizza with mushrooms, peppers and pepperoni)
|
|
Tortilla wrap with mixed beans, grated cheese, lettuce and a
little soured cream
|
|
|
|
2 roast chicken drumsticks
|
|
Mini
pittas with hummus, cucumber
and grated carrot |
|
|
|
Bagel with salmon (grilled or canned), cream cheese and
cucumber
|
|
Pasta salad with grilled sausage, chopped peppers and tomato
pasta sauce
|
|
|
|
Rice
salad with spring onion, chopped peppers and
sweetcorn
|
|
Soft white roll with grilled sausage, lettuce and tomato (with
reduced fat spread and a little ketchup) |
|
|
|
Granary roll with sliced egg, lettuce and tomato (with reduced
fat spread)
|
|
Pasta salad with prawns, cucumber and chopped peppers (with
reduced calorie mayonnaise)
|
|
|
|
Crusty brown roll with sliced beef, lettuce and tomato (with
reduced fat spread).
|
|
Wholegrain crackers with reduced fat cheddar cheese and pickle
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ten Top Healthy Lunch Box Tips
1. Base the main part of the lunch on starchy foods like bread, cereal, rice, pasta or potatoes.
2. Get creative with some alternatives to sandwiches, for example, wholemeal
pitta pockets, tortilla wraps or pasta salad.
3. Include some protein such as lean meat, chicken, tuna, ham, cheese, egg or hummous.
4. Aim to have at least one fruit or vegetable based food or drink in the lunch box to count towards your childs five fruit and vegetable portions a day.
5. Children need to eat regularly to maintain energy levels, so dont forget to
include a snack. This might include a treat such as a piece of fruit, a small
packet of crisps, crackers with cheese, a biscuit, yogurt, samosa, chapatti, a
scone, fruit bun or chocolate.
6. Add a portion of semi-skimmed milk or other dairy food such as cheese or
fromage frais.
7. Fluids are an important part of a childs diet. Try a variety of different
drinks such as a carton of fruit juice, water, yogurt or milk drink.
8. Try the mini-sized versions of your childs favourite foods a healthy
lunch box does not mean giving up all the foods children enjoy.
9. Pop a cool pack or a frozen drink in the lunch box to keep it cool and
remember to wash hands before preparing and eating food.
Adults and children need a regular intake of energy and other nutrients to keep going and stay healthy. As well as providing fuel for the body, energy is important to help them concentrate in the classroom. Studies show that children perform less well at school in a variety of tasks, when energy levels are low. Snacks can help fill the gap between meals, particularly for children who are physically active or growing rapidly.
Snacks can be part of a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet includes breakfast, lunch and dinner; and a snack between meals can help keep us going. As with all foods, different snacks provide different nutrients so variety is the healthy way.
There are lots of different types of snacks. These might include fruit, crisps, crackers with cheese, chocolate, biscuits, yogurt, vegetable sticks, samosa, chapatti, toast, scone, fruit bun, nuts or a sandwich.
Many fruits and veg can make handy snacks such as raisins, grapes, dried apricots, Satsumas, tomatoes, carrot sticks, slices of red or green pepper, apple pie, bananas, pears and kiwi fruit. Choosing fruit or veg as a snack, counts towards our 5-A-Day target.
Water is essential for life. Children should drink plenty of liquid everyday. It is important to drink more when the weather is warm and when we are physically active.
Humans can live without food for a few weeks, but without water we can only survive a few days. Water is a vital part of the bodys cells.
Human blood is 95% water, the human brain is 75% water and even bones contain 22% water. In total, our bodies are about 66% water. The body needs water to digest food, transport nutrients and to remove waste.
Water helps control body temperature. Evaporation of water through the skin helps the body keep cool and we lose much more water from the body when the weather is hot. Even in cool weather, we can lose about two litres each day through breathing, sweating and urine.
British Nutrition Foundation (BNF)
Healthier
Packed Lunches
http://www.nutrition.org.uk
Audience: kids and parents
A mouth-watering range of
healthy eating lunch box recipes for kids produced by the British
Nutrition Foundation. The good news for parents is these lunch box recipes
meet new nutrient standards for school lunches.
Department of Health (DH)
Food in
Schools
http://foodinschools.datacenta.uk.net
Audience: parents, teachers, health professionals and regulators
A simple guide for schools, families and the wider school community to
encourage kids to choose
healthy eating and a
balanced diet. This information has been tried and tested in a
pilot scheme which ran in 126 schools in the South East of England.
Food Standards Agency (FSA)
A Month of
Lunch Boxes
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/sep/lunchbox2
Audience: kids and parents
Use this excellent
healthy lunch box planner to take the pain out of making your
child's packed lunch. This planner gives families a whole month's worth of
lunch box ideas. These recipes have been put together to make
sure they create a
balanced diet and stick within your guideline daily amounts (GDAs)
for salt, fat and sugar.
Fed Up with
School Dinners?
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/children/lunchboxsect/
Audience: kids and parents
A guide to help families and kids "Get Started" on putting together a
healthy (and fun!),
balanced lunch box.
Food and Drink Federation (FDF)
Foodfitness
http://www.foodfitness.org.uk
Audience: adults and young people
Practical advice on
healthy eating and how to incorporate
regular exercise into your daily lifestyle.
It's Your
Choice
http://www.foodfitness.org.uk/itsyourchoice.aspx
Audience: teenagers
A practical guide to
food labels and
guideline daily amounts for teenagers.
Join the
Activaters!
http://www.jointheactivaters.org.uk
Audience: 5-9 year olds
A resource for the family, teachers and all those promoting
healthy eating and an
active lifestyle to primary school kids.
foodlink
http://www.foodlink.org.uk
Audience: kids, parents, teachers, health professionals, environmental
health officers
A complete guide to how to prepare
food safely.
What's Inside
Guide
http://www.whatsinsideguide.com
Audience: consumers
The "What's Inside Guide" shows you how to use new
food labels to find out what's inside the food you are buying.
You can use the GDAs featured on food labels to
see
how many calories, sugars, fat, saturates and salt are in each
portion of food. This makes putting together a
healthy lunch box and a
balanced diet for your child, much, much easier.
School Food Trust
http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk
Audience: parents, teachers, health professionals and regulators
The School Food Trust (set up with funding from the former Department for
Education and Skills [DfES] now Department for
Children, Schools and Families [DCSF]). The Trust's website has lots of
useful information about healthy eating at school. It includes the
School Meals Review Panel report which covers nutrition standards
for school lunch.
Scottish Executive: Healthy Living
http://www.healthyliving.gov.uk/healthyeating/index.cfm?contentid=1597
Audience: kids and parents
A weeks worth of simple
lunchbox ideas from the Scottish Executive.
Year of Food and Farming
http://www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk
Audience: schools and organisations working with young people
The Year of Food and Farming promotes healthy living by giving young people
direct experience of countryside, farming and food. The Year will run
throughout the academic year from September 2007 to July 2008.
