With an abundance of artificial-colored, commercially processed, and sugar-laden foods, getting your children to make healthy decisions can be a daunting, but necessary task. Children require proper nutrition in order to make it through their school day. Good quality protein is necessary for proper growth and a healthy immune system. High quality fats are important for brain development, cell growth, and metabolism. Making sure that your child is eating a healthy daily dose of fruits and vegetables should be a top priority for parents. A recent study revealed that fifty-five percent of five-year-olds consume less than two servings of fruits and vegetables each day. How can we expect high-performance from our children if they are not putting high-performance, healthy foods in their growing bodies?
Why is it important to eat a healthy lunch?
Eating lunch helps you:
Concentrate: It gives your brain energy
Be active: A proper lunch gives you energy so you can have fun in the playground
Learn: The foods you eat help you to see, listen and help your brain work efficiently
Healthy alternatives to sweets include:
- Organic fruit like an apple or banana with 1-2 tablespoons of almond butter.
- Organic homemade trail mix (equal amounts of raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, dried golden or black raisins and cranberries, raw slivered almonds, dried chopped dates). Mix in a Ziploc® bag. Add your favorite healthy ingredients to create your favorite trail mix.
- Organic whole-wheat pretzels or crackers.
- “Bugs on a log”—celery with almond or peanut butter and raisins.
- Baked potato chips (instead of fried).
- Healthy Granola/Cereal bars (look for amount of sugar in each serving—every four grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon of sugar added to the product)
- Yogurt with fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas)
How do you make a healthy lunchbox?
Creating a healthy lunchbox is as easy as one, two, three …
- Pack a sandwich or roll
- Add fresh fruit or fruit snack pack
- Select one-to-two healthy snacks
- Include a thirst-quenching Water Bottle. (Water is the best drink as it stops you feeling thirsty. Other drinks like soft drinks are loaded with sugar. And diet drinks have artificial sweeteners, chemicals, additives and are not as good at re-hydrating & refreshing your body.
