School Lunches: Healthy Eating tips

Your children need to eat a variety of food in order to be healthy and to grow. So, packing healthy and nutritious school lunches, which they both enjoy and won't bring back home, is essential.

As parents, you can prepare a whole range of easy and nutritious foods for your kids to take to school. You should start by taking a look at the food pyramid and see what nutrition your child needs during the day to ensure your child gets enough of the right foods, in the right proportions. Be sure to include breads and cereals, meats, fruits and vegetables in your child's lunchbox.

Bread is a common lunch item for kids and there is a whole range of bread available from pita bread to muffins. For the sandwich filling, there is also a large variety available from meats to dairy to vegetables. So, keep sandwiches interesting so that your children enjoy them by changing your fillings often. Also ask your kids what kind of sandwich fillings or other lunch items they would prefer. It is good to get your children involved while preparing healthy food. This also keeps them interested in lunch.

For drinks, pack milk, or fresh juices and a bottle of water. Always encourage your children to drink lots of water and never pack your children any sodas or carbonated drinks.

You can also toss in a few healthy snacks for your children that they can eat during recess. Yogurt, fruits, dried fruit or nuts make great healthy snacks.

When packing your child's lunch, there are also a few other things that you need to know. One of the most important things that you should keep in mind, and should encourage your children to know, is to store their lunch boxes properly, preferably in a cool area. If the food is not stored in a cool or a proper place, bacteria may grow and make you sick. So, always advise your children to remove their lunch boxes from their school bags. Also, it is good idea to wrap the sandwiches and put them in bags. It is also good to include a frozen bottle of water with the lunch in order to keep it cool throughout the day. If you prepare the lunch the night before, keep it in the fridge before you remove it in the morning.