With eight in 10 parents slipping in chocolate and chips in lunch boxes, is your little one’s school lunch packing a healthy punch or full of nasty surprises?
What our kids eat for lunch has become a topic of much debate during the last decade, thanks largely to Jamie Oliver, as published by sister publication Sayidaty English.
His “Feed Me Better” campaign turned around the shocking state of school dinner and ensured the infamous Turkey Twizzler went bust.
And the children’s Food Trust Charity has launched a campaign to encourage children to “Take Two” of their five-a-day fruit and vegetables during school lunch.
As a direct result of campaigns like this, school-provided dinners are now a pretty healthy choice for your kids. They have to follow comprehensive guidelines, covering the types of food served and the way they should be cooked.
Sweets and crisps are banned, fruit and vegetables abound and recipes are closely monitored to ensure they contain enough of the key nutrients growing kids need, such as calcium and iron.
But the bad news is 60 percent of kids are still eating junk food at lunchtime, only this time moms and dads are responsible. More than half of parents choose to send their children to school with a lunchbox in the belief they can provide something better or tastier than what’s on offer in the canteen. But the latest research shows that for the 5.5 billion packed lunches eaten every year in the UK, this just isn’t the case.
Packing problem?
Research by the British Medical Journal in 2010 found that only a shocking one percent of children’s lunch boxes met the same high nutritional standards now applied to school-cooked meals.
And a further survey carried out by the Children’s Food Trust found that pupils packing lunches ate more sausages, pies, pastries, sugary drinks and salty snacks, in fact all the kinds of food that are now banned from sale in the canteen!
To make matters worse, figures reveal that primary school kids are eating on an average just one portion of fruit and vegetables at school.
Why lunch is so important
For parents who face a daily food battle with their kids, just getting them to eat any packed lunch at school can feel like a triumph. But, in practice, this often means a couple of bites of a jam sandwich, crisps, a fizzy drink and a chocolate bar. In other words, plenty of fat, salt and sugar but very little in the way of nutritional goodness.
“With more than a fifth of kids overweight by the time they start school, and one third obese by 11, what’s eaten every day at school is of huge importance,” says the National Obesity Forum’s David Haslam.
“So the onus is now on parents to provide healthy packed lunches with plenty of fruit, vegetables and lean protein even if your kids are fussy eaters.”
In a warning issued last year, the World Cancer Research Fund told parents that unhealthy lunch boxes would fail to protect children against diseases in later life. It added that obese kids were at an increased risk of a variety of killer health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
In addition to physical problems, studies also show how overweight kids who are teased are more likely to have low self-esteem and might suffer from depression.
Junk food is then often used as a comfort, kicking off a vicious cycle that’s tough to break.
Boosting brain power:
There’s also plenty of evidence that eating the right lunch can influence how well your kids perform at school. “Feeling hungry makes most of us feel irritable and unable to concentrate and this applies to children too, affecting their performance and response to stress,” says the British Nutrition Foundation’s Bridget Benelam.
Indeed, behavioral and academic problems have been found to be more common in children who skip lunch.
But the right food choices are just as crucial. “Research shows, that when children eat a healthier lunch at school they do better in their afternoon lessons,” states the Children’s Food Trust.
Therefore, lunch may be the most important meal of the day for schoolchildren. Recent studies by the universities of Oxford and Kents have shown that improved food at lunchtime not only boosted academic performance but also reduced the number of sick days.
Getting it right:
As parents we’d all prefer it if our children ate well at school. But by the time you’ve got them off to bed in the evenings, the last thing you feel like doing is heading back into the kitchen to create super healthy packed lunches.
As the Children’s Food Trust points out: “It takes a lot of effort to make a lunch that packs in as much nutritional variety as school-provided meals do under the national standards.”
And that’s before you add in the time it takes to shop for ingredients or even begin to worry about fussy eaters turning their noses up at what you provide. Little wonder so many of us are tempted to resort to slipping in fatty or sugary treats. Anything for a quiet life that ensures our children do at least eat something!
But are there other options? “If you’re struggling for time to make up healthy lunch boxes, it’s worth thinking about opting for school meals instead,” suggests the Children’s Food Trust, “especially as research shows it can help with fussy eating. “More than 80 percent of parents whose children have school meals say their child has tried food at school that they have refused to have at home.” And if you’re sticking with packed lunches for cost reasons, make sure you’ve checked whether you qualify for free school meals or if the school is running any special price discount.
10 easy ideas for healthy lunches they’ll love
1) Banish boring bread and vary starchy foods. Kids love wraps and pita pockets instead of plain old sarnies. Or you could include crackers, pasta, rice and scones. Introduce wholemeal varieties whenever you can. If your child refuses it, try the best of both breads that contain a mixture of white and wholemeal flour.
2) Be big dippers. Most children enjoy a dip! Try hummus, yogurt or cream cheese with sliced carrots, pepper and cucumber dippers.
3) Plump for protein power. Protein provides lasting energy and helps kids to concentrate. Good choices are skinless chicken or turkey, tuna, cheese, baked beans or a boiled egg.
4) Plan ahead. Make your life easier by making extra for dinner, so there are leftovers for next day’s lunch. Pasta or rice dishes work well.
5) Get fruity. Add dried apricots, sultanas, chopped grapes or apple pieces to savory pasta, rice or couscous salad.
6) Shape things up. Cut cheese or sandwiches into fun shapes using heart or animal-shaped biscuit cutters.
7) Fruit, dried fruits and small yogurts provide longer-lasting energy than a chocolate bar.
8) Ditch off drinks. Fizzy drinks and squash have virtually no nutrients in them, but lots of sugar. Swap for semi-skimmed milk, water or some well-diluted juice.
9) Set a good eggs-ample. Omelets and frittatas are a great alternative to sandwiches. You can fill them with vegetables and cheese to make them tasty and they chill well.
10) Get them in the kitchen. The more you get kids to join in the planning, buying and preparing a healthy lunch, the more likely they are to eat it.
— [email protected]
What our kids eat for lunch has become a topic of much debate during the last decade, thanks largely to Jamie Oliver, as published by sister publication Sayidaty English.
His “Feed Me Better” campaign turned around the shocking state of school dinner and ensured the infamous Turkey Twizzler went bust.
And the children’s Food Trust Charity has launched a campaign to encourage children to “Take Two” of their five-a-day fruit and vegetables during school lunch.
As a direct result of campaigns like this, school-provided dinners are now a pretty healthy choice for your kids. They have to follow comprehensive guidelines, covering the types of food served and the way they should be cooked.
Sweets and crisps are banned, fruit and vegetables abound and recipes are closely monitored to ensure they contain enough of the key nutrients growing kids need, such as calcium and iron.
But the bad news is 60 percent of kids are still eating junk food at lunchtime, only this time moms and dads are responsible. More than half of parents choose to send their children to school with a lunchbox in the belief they can provide something better or tastier than what’s on offer in the canteen. But the latest research shows that for the 5.5 billion packed lunches eaten every year in the UK, this just isn’t the case.
Packing problem?
Research by the British Medical Journal in 2010 found that only a shocking one percent of children’s lunch boxes met the same high nutritional standards now applied to school-cooked meals.
And a further survey carried out by the Children’s Food Trust found that pupils packing lunches ate more sausages, pies, pastries, sugary drinks and salty snacks, in fact all the kinds of food that are now banned from sale in the canteen!
To make matters worse, figures reveal that primary school kids are eating on an average just one portion of fruit and vegetables at school.
Why lunch is so important
For parents who face a daily food battle with their kids, just getting them to eat any packed lunch at school can feel like a triumph. But, in practice, this often means a couple of bites of a jam sandwich, crisps, a fizzy drink and a chocolate bar. In other words, plenty of fat, salt and sugar but very little in the way of nutritional goodness.
“With more than a fifth of kids overweight by the time they start school, and one third obese by 11, what’s eaten every day at school is of huge importance,” says the National Obesity Forum’s David Haslam.
“So the onus is now on parents to provide healthy packed lunches with plenty of fruit, vegetables and lean protein even if your kids are fussy eaters.”
In a warning issued last year, the World Cancer Research Fund told parents that unhealthy lunch boxes would fail to protect children against diseases in later life. It added that obese kids were at an increased risk of a variety of killer health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
In addition to physical problems, studies also show how overweight kids who are teased are more likely to have low self-esteem and might suffer from depression.
Junk food is then often used as a comfort, kicking off a vicious cycle that’s tough to break.
Boosting brain power:
There’s also plenty of evidence that eating the right lunch can influence how well your kids perform at school. “Feeling hungry makes most of us feel irritable and unable to concentrate and this applies to children too, affecting their performance and response to stress,” says the British Nutrition Foundation’s Bridget Benelam.
Indeed, behavioral and academic problems have been found to be more common in children who skip lunch.
But the right food choices are just as crucial. “Research shows, that when children eat a healthier lunch at school they do better in their afternoon lessons,” states the Children’s Food Trust.
Therefore, lunch may be the most important meal of the day for schoolchildren. Recent studies by the universities of Oxford and Kents have shown that improved food at lunchtime not only boosted academic performance but also reduced the number of sick days.
Getting it right:
As parents we’d all prefer it if our children ate well at school. But by the time you’ve got them off to bed in the evenings, the last thing you feel like doing is heading back into the kitchen to create super healthy packed lunches.
As the Children’s Food Trust points out: “It takes a lot of effort to make a lunch that packs in as much nutritional variety as school-provided meals do under the national standards.”
And that’s before you add in the time it takes to shop for ingredients or even begin to worry about fussy eaters turning their noses up at what you provide. Little wonder so many of us are tempted to resort to slipping in fatty or sugary treats. Anything for a quiet life that ensures our children do at least eat something!
But are there other options? “If you’re struggling for time to make up healthy lunch boxes, it’s worth thinking about opting for school meals instead,” suggests the Children’s Food Trust, “especially as research shows it can help with fussy eating. “More than 80 percent of parents whose children have school meals say their child has tried food at school that they have refused to have at home.” And if you’re sticking with packed lunches for cost reasons, make sure you’ve checked whether you qualify for free school meals or if the school is running any special price discount.
10 easy ideas for healthy lunches they’ll love
1) Banish boring bread and vary starchy foods. Kids love wraps and pita pockets instead of plain old sarnies. Or you could include crackers, pasta, rice and scones. Introduce wholemeal varieties whenever you can. If your child refuses it, try the best of both breads that contain a mixture of white and wholemeal flour.
2) Be big dippers. Most children enjoy a dip! Try hummus, yogurt or cream cheese with sliced carrots, pepper and cucumber dippers.
3) Plump for protein power. Protein provides lasting energy and helps kids to concentrate. Good choices are skinless chicken or turkey, tuna, cheese, baked beans or a boiled egg.
4) Plan ahead. Make your life easier by making extra for dinner, so there are leftovers for next day’s lunch. Pasta or rice dishes work well.
5) Get fruity. Add dried apricots, sultanas, chopped grapes or apple pieces to savory pasta, rice or couscous salad.
6) Shape things up. Cut cheese or sandwiches into fun shapes using heart or animal-shaped biscuit cutters.
7) Fruit, dried fruits and small yogurts provide longer-lasting energy than a chocolate bar.
8) Ditch off drinks. Fizzy drinks and squash have virtually no nutrients in them, but lots of sugar. Swap for semi-skimmed milk, water or some well-diluted juice.
9) Set a good eggs-ample. Omelets and frittatas are a great alternative to sandwiches. You can fill them with vegetables and cheese to make them tasty and they chill well.
10) Get them in the kitchen. The more you get kids to join in the planning, buying and preparing a healthy lunch, the more likely they are to eat it.
— [email protected]
