Start the School Year Off Right with Healthier Lunches

Back-to-school is a time to start fresh – and that includes rethinking kids’ lunchtime routines. With childhood obesity affecting nearly one in five children in the U.S., you may be concerned about keeping your young ones at a healthy weight. “Packing their school lunches is a great way to keep their nutrition on track,” says pediatrician Akiko Kawamura, MD, with LVPG Pediatrics–Madison Farms, part of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and Jefferson Health. 

As you’re filling their lunch box, aim for veggies and fruits to make up half of the meal. For the rest, use whole grains and proteins such as lean poultry or beef, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, and tofu or other soy products.

Try these tasty treats and tricks in your child’s lunch:

• Tweak kids’ favorites. Instead of using white bread, try whole wheat or whole-grain bread, English muffins, tortillas or pitas as the base of a sandwich. Get creative with the fillings, too. Swap out jelly in a PB&J sandwich and replace it with apple or banana slices.
• Skip the salty snacks. A handful of homemade trail mix (made of unsalted nuts and seeds, and dried fruits like cranberries, apples, cherries and raisins) is a great substitute for potato chips, pretzels and other salty snacks.
• Think small. Cheese, grilled chicken, fruits and veggies are easier to eat if you cut them into slices, cubes or small chunks.
• Try tasty dips. Spice up a sack lunch with salsa or hummus. Both go well with raw veggies, apple slices, whole-grain crackers, cubed foods and other healthy treats.
• Be imaginative. Want to make lunch feel interesting, fun and full of love? Make square sandwiches into fun shapes (using cookie cutters), write a note on their napkin or decorate the bag with colorful stickers.

Once you have lunch ready, make sure it’s packed properly. “When lunches with perishable food aren’t kept cold enough, harmful bacteria can multiply quickly,” Dr. Kawamura says.

These tips will help keep your child’s lunch at the right temperature:

• Prepare the food the night before and refrigerate overnight. Pack lunch bags right before leaving home in the morning.
• Use a soft-sided lunch box or insulated bag that’s made for keeping food cold.
• Pack at least two ice sources to keep perishable foods chilled to a safe range. Your options include ice packs, a frozen water bottle – the preferable drink – or frozen 100% juice box.

You hope your kids are eating their lunches but it’s possible that some are trading lunch foods. Be sure to have a conversation with your children about not trading food items with their friends, and not just because you want them to eat what you packed. “Food allergies affect up to 3 million school-age children according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology,” says Dr. Kawamura. “Something as small as a bite of a peanut butter sandwich could trigger a catastrophic reaction in a child allergic to peanuts.” It’s better to have your child bring home part of their lunch, instead of giving it to others, and vice versa.

Once your kiddo is back home, be sure to clean their lunch box and any lunch accessories (containers, insulated tumblers, etc.) before you use them again. Once they’re cleaned and dried, you’re ready to pack another round of healthy school lunches!