Healthy Lunches for Healthy Kids

Healthy Lunches for Healthy Kids

With childhood obesity on the rise and an increased awareness of how food can affect physical, emotional and mental health, parents are becoming more concerned about their children’s nutrition and how to implement healthy food choices. Like adults, children need a balanced diet and ideally each meal, including lunch, should be balanced with the proper portions of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

To put it simply, the goals of healthy eating include the following:

1. Make every bite count.  In other words, every bite should be high in nutritional value.  This can be achieved by eating a variety of whole and real foods.
2. Keep blood sugar levels stable.  Unstable blood sugars can lead to hyperactivity, difficulty focusing, emotional instability, sweet cravings, etc…  This can be achieved by ensuring that meals and snacks are not only made up of carbohydrates (e.g. grains, fruits, starchy vegetables), but also include protein and healthy fats.  Protein sources include fish, lean meats, eggs, nuts & seeds and legumes.  Healthy fat sources include olive oil, coconut oil, nuts & seeds, avocados, legumes, etc…

Parents often report to me that meeting these goals are easy during dinner, but not as feasible when you have to pack a lunch that are transportable and tasty.  Please see below for some ideas that have been tried tested and true.

Instead of pre-packaged cold cuts for sandwiches, try using slices from a roasted chicken, turkey or roast beef

• Chicken fingers are usually popular amongst kids and an easy way to ensure they are getting protein—try breading it with ground flaxseeds to give them a boost of fiber
• Stir fries, soups, chilies & curries are an excellent way to incorporate a variety of foods (as long as you have a thermos).  Some children who do not like their veggies will tolerate them if they are in a soup or stir fry because they are chopped up into smaller pieces, they are softer and there are other flavours to mask the flavour of the veggies.
• Sushi Rolls! There is something about sushi rolls that makes eating so much more fun and exciting.  You can include anything in the rolls.  I often make mine with chicken, brown rice, avocado and whatever veggies I have available in the refrigerator.
•  Make good use of legumes!!  Instead of butter or mayonnaise, use humus as a sandwich spread—this will provide another healthy source of protein & fats.  Another option is to, add chickpeas and beans to your child’s salad.  Sometimes, a small side of chickpeas mixed with olive oil, salt & pepper, and lemon juice will do the trick!

For snack ideas:

• Veggie sticks with hummus or white bean dip
• Whole grain crackers with guacamole—the main ingredient in guacamole is avocado, which is a great healthy fat source.  You can also blend in other vegetables without your kids even noticing
• Sweet potato fries/wedges—these can be baked with any assortment of herbs & spices and serve as a good alternative to chips
• Nuts & seeds with fruit.  Due to nut allergies, many schools do not allow nuts, but seeds (e.g. pumpkin or sunflower) are a great option.  You can also spread nut/seed butters on fruits such as apples.

Written by Eileen Park

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