A nutritious lunch from home helps kids stay away from the high-fat, high-sugar, and high-sodium stuff in school cafeterias and vending machines. Research shows that America’s children are missing out on five essential nutrients to their growth and good health: calcium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin E, and potassium.
An ideal lunch provides good nutrition plus just enough calories to fuel body and brain throughout the day. Sandwiches are fine for the first few weeks, but after that, kids get bored.
Ask kids what they want favorite fruits, vegetables, dips (kids love dips). Let them have choices, but make the choices healthy ones. Let them choose a trendy lunch box or attractive insulated bag that looks like a fashion accessory. And don’t worry, slipping an occasional soda, bag of chips, or candy bar into that new accessory is not a problem.
Kids need lots of variety to keep them interested. For balanced nutrition, make meals with adequate servings of at least three of these five food groups: dairy, fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein.
