Whether they’re heading back to school after the summer holidays or it’s your child’s first day, it’s going to be a really exciting time with new friends to make and fun things to learn.
And because learning about good food habits from early in life is one of our most important lessons, it pays to put some thought and planning into it, especially with lunches – did you know lunches provide around one third of our daily nutritional needs?
Here are our five top tips;
1. Get your child involved
Children often relate better when they participate and feel they can make some decisions of their own. Involve them in preparing their school lunch. Try to make it part of their routine and make it fun.
Choose a lunchbox together and they can personalise it with stickers. And if they’re just starting school this year, try and get them a lunchbox they can open and close themselves – their teacher will thank you for it!
2. To help your child get the most from their lunchbox, try to include the following each day and gradually introduce any changes over time:
- One to two portions starchy food like potatoes, rice, pasta, wholegrain or brown bread to keep your child going through the school day
- One or more portions of fruit and vegetables, like apples, oranges, bananas, berries or salad in a sandwich/wrap or vegetable sticks
- One portion of dairy foods like milk, cheese or yoghurt
- Small amounts of high protein foods like deli meats, fish, like tuna or salmon, or vegetarian options like hummus or egg
- A small bottle of water – Using a straw or brightly coloured drinks bottles can make water more fun
3. Try some variety but don’t force it.
Nobody wants ham sandwiches every day but trying new foods with children can sometimes be a challenge. Don’t make a big deal of any changes you are trying – just introduce new foods without special comment, and show how much you enjoy eating them. You can find lots of practical tips on our weekly lunchbox planner at www.safefood.eu
4. A clean and safe lunchbox
You can help keep lunches cool and safe by following these tips:
- Try to keep lunchboxes away from radiators or direct sunlight as this can make a tasty lunch ‘go off’ – an insulated lunchbox or bag can help or a cold water bottle can also help keep lunches cool.
- Discard any perishable foods that haven’t been eaten at the end of the day
- Wash and dry reusable water bottles, lids and lunchboxes every day in warm soapy water.
- Encourage your kids to wash their hands before eating, including before eating lunch from a lunchbox.
5. Stay positive and stick with it
Focus on enjoying healthier options and don’t protest too much about any unhealthier choices. The key thing to remember with any changes is to try and stick with them – it can take up to 10 times before you succeed.
The more frequently children can try healthier foods, the more likely they will eat them but negotiate and compromise a bit, because this is also part of role modelling a healthy approach when it comes to lunch and food.
You can find more great tips on safefood.eu
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