Celery is a good addition for a healthy lunch snack. Just be careful when cutting.
Now that school is starting, kids need to have healthy lunches so that they can be focused and energized for the day. Whether they get a school lunch or pack their own here are some tips for kids to have a balanced meal at school. That means something from each food group.
When at school, kids should ask the person serving lunches what is the healthiest choice. Sometimes there are chicken nuggets, pizza or other foods kids like, but it is not the best choice to get. After getting the healthy lunch entrée option, there is usually a fruit or vegetable bar at school and kids should grab something every day from there.
I think that getting the regular milk is better than flavored milk because usually the flavored milk has artificial flavors or added sugar. The regular milk is a healthier option. In Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, he is pushing to have flavored milks removed from school because how unhealthy they are to growing bodies. Even before I saw the show, I always got the regular milk because I knew it was a healthier choice.
Even when kids pack their pen lunch, they can still get the milk from school. If not, parents should buy juice packs that have 100 percent juice in them. Reading labels is important because a lot of juices have artificial flavors or added sugar.
When kids are packing their own lunches, they should start off by packing their sandwich. A healthy sandwich can be packed with protein with either peanut butter or meat. You should be cautious about possible food allergies of other kids at school so make sure you are aware of classmate allergies.
A sandwich will have multiple food groups in it. It starts with a good bread like whole wheat. Here is where reading labels is important because some breads are better than others. If you have meat, add cheese and lettuce and there are all four food groups in one.
Having vegetables in the lunch is also a good idea. What I like to do is have cucumbers or carrots in my lunch and sometimes celery. I like to fill little container with salad dressing or peanut butter for dipping in my lunch. But don’t forget to wash them out as soon as you get home.
For Anna, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is more of a food status quo. She already had healthy habits.
Fruit is a good option too. Apples, grapes, bananas or grapes are a good addition to any lunch. When it comes to fruits and vegetables you have a lot of healthy choices.
Kids like to go overboard on snacks or treats for their lunch so you should hide the really good treats or prepackage them so kids can just grab one pack and put it in their lunch. When buying snacks in bulk, have kids measure out one serving to limit how much they take for lunch.
Healthy eating habits are good, but we should still enjoy being kids. From time to time it is okay to have a treat and have chicken nuggets or chocolate milk for lunch. Just not the pizza for breakfast they serve at school. That is no way to start the day.
A healthy day starts with a healthy breakfast. To be prepared for the entire day, kids need to be energized and focused. That starts with a well balanced breakfast. You know what they say, Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast and lunch leads to healthy kids.
