Pack Healthful Lunches for School

From Tammy Roberts, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist, Missouri Extension 

During elementary school or roughly between the ages of 6 and 12 children grow one to two feet and nearly double their weight. “A healthful lunch contributes to that growth and development” said Tammy Roberts from University of Missouri Extension. “It is also an important factor in your child having enough energy to have a successful day at school and the ability to learn.”

Children are much more likely to eat their lunch if they have helped to plan or pack it. Make sure they get a good sources of protein, calcium, whole grains when possible, and a fruit and vegetable each day. There are many healthful choices that your child can choose from:

Protein- peanut or other nut butter, nuts, seeds, hard boiled eggs, turkey, chicken or tuna

Calcium- lowfat milk purchased at school, cottage cheese, string and other types of cheese, yogurt, or pudding

Grains- mini bagels, round flat buns, English muffins, rice cakes, tortillas, pita bread, pretzels, whole wheat crackers

Fruit- orange slices, apple slices (soak them in fruit juice to prevent browning), applesauce, peaches, grapes, bananas, clementine, mixed fruit, any dried fruit or fruit leather or 100% juice

Vegetables- raw vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas or cherry tomatoes. Edamame is becoming popular among lunch packers.

 It is important to make sure the food stays safe. If you will be packing foods that need refrigeration or foods that need to stay hot be sure to purchase an insulated lunch bag. There are small ice packs that can be frozen and added to the lunch box to assure the food will be safe. “You can freeze juice boxes or water bottles to pack with lunch” said Roberts. “That will keep the rest of the food cool and assure the juice is cold at lunch.”

Children are blessed with creativity. Use some of these ideas to get them started and then let them create their own healthy gourmet lunches.