Do you read nutrition labels? If you can’t pronounce the name of an ingredient, do you really want your child to eat it? Some words, even if you can pronounce them are intentionally designed to confuse. For instance, any word ending in “ose” is a sugar.
It can be very challenging to get your children to eat the foods needed for healthy bodies and strong bones. To ensure that your child is eating the correct foods at lunchtime, parents often send along a pre-packed lunch. Good intentions, however, can easily go awry if the fat, sodium and sugar content of the foods selected are not closely monitored. Parents should do their homework which begins at the next trip to the grocery store. Study the ingredients lists and nutritional labels and make sure to compare them with the serving sizes.
Researchers have shown that poor eating habits during childhood lead to chemical and anatomical changes which can then lead to heart disease later in life. Scientists agree that no more than half of a food’s calories should come from fat and saturated fats should be completely avoided.
Here are some examples that we as parents have included in our child’s lunch sacks not knowing the true values.
- Jif Creamy Peanut Butter – two tablespoons, 190 calories (130 from fat); 16g fat (3g saturated); 150mg of sodium; and 3 g of sugar.
- Sargento String Cheese – one piece , 70 calories (40 from fat); 4.5 g fat (3g saturated); 200 mg sodium and 0 sugar.
- Dannon Yogurt – strawberry fruit on bottom. 210 calories (15 from fat); 2 g fat (1 g saturated); 140 mg sodium; and 38g sugar
- Dole Fruit Gel Bowls – peaches and strawberry. 80 calories ( 0 fat); 90 mg sodium; and 20 g sugar.
- Little Debbie Swiss Rolls – two cakes, 270 calories (110 from fat); 12g fat (3 g saturated); 140 mg sodium; and 25 g sugar.
For some healthy options, you must focus on natural, whole foods. It is important to avoid the refined sugars and white flours as well as processed items with chemical additives. Explore your health food store or the health food section in your local grocery store and experiment with the extensive array of treats your little ones will enjoy.
Some healthy suggestions:
- Pack bottled water instead of soda
- Choose raw veggies and nuts instead of other sweet snacks
- Whole grain breads make the sandwiches more nutritious
- Apple slices with almond butter is a healthy treat
- Pretzles are great but watch the sodium intake
- Raisins and dried fruits are great alternatives, but be sure to watch the sugar intake (too much sugar weakens the immune system)
- Instead of the usual bread try using pita bread or tortilla wraps for a unique change
- Leftovers make a yummy lunch treat
There are many creative ways to pack a lunch for your little ones. It is important to read lables and monitor their sugar intake.
Make bringing a sack lunch fun again with unique and different ways, yet nutritious for your little ones. Try implementing storage containers for their lunches which will keep the sandwich from getting soggy. Try carrot chips instead of carrot sticks, the ideas are endless.
Make your child’s lunch nutritious and fun, it can be accomplished with little effort and loads of creativity.
Until next time,
Great tips. I definitely try and pack healthy snacks in my daughter’s lunch box – the only one on your list it might be wise to avoid is nuts. My daughter’s school actually prohibits nuts or granola bars with nuts etc. because of nut allergies. I am sure they go to the extreme to protect themselves to avoid any liability issues.
Jiffy Creamy Peanut Butter is actually good for your body and I’ll tell you why. Many people think it is a very fatty and consider it to be an empty calories, but in fact it is a healthful food.
It contains fiber that helps your body to get rid of waste quickly through the digestive track. It has vitamin E and other minerals that lowers heart disease and rejuvenates and replenishes your skin. Most of the fat comes from polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats that are GOOD FATS that Lower LDL and higher HDL in your blood that lowers hart disease. Also peanut butter offers a “Filling affect on the body” which makes you not to binge eat and last till your next meal. One serving also contains 8g of protein which if valuable for kids because they are very active and is necessary for muscle generation (weightlifters, runners, and athletics rely heavily on this substance because it is 8 cents per 1 gram of protein).
Yes there are bad fats in jiffy peanut butter they come in the form of PALM OIL, and HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE. The bad oils are used to make the peanut butter not to separate (natural peanut butter separates and leaves oil on top). Dosage of peanut butter depends on a child’s metabolism.
I recommend that you should buy the all natural peanut butter (less sodium, no bad oils,and little to none preservatives). It will be separate when you buy it. Solution would be mix in the oils with preferably a knife. Store in the fridge upside down so when you open it the oils will be on the bottom.
All of the other foods on your list I personally agree they are moderately bad for children. For servings probably 1-1.5 is good for children. That would be 1 sandwich with fruit and not jelly in side(bananas are good), and on a snack like celery, or carrots instead of ranch.
Overall there are some bad things about peanut butter, but the goods out weight them significantly. I didn’t know that it was good for awhile and avoided peanut butter, but further research changed my opinion. Here’s some helpful links on the issue.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20041215/peanut-butter-packs-healthy-punch
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/5752.html
http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/blppp.htm