• Include a healthy portion of protein – this helps to maintain a feeling of fullness and reduce cravings. Protein sources – meat, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs, wholegrains, legumes (peas, beans etc) nuts & seeds.

• Children do not need sugar – this makes them hyperactive and less able to concentrate. Our body gets all the sugar it requires from a healthy diet of fresh fruit & vegetables. These are complex carbohydrates, which when broken down inside our body, become sugar molecules, providing us with energy.

• Sugar alternatives – artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame are not recommended alternatives for sugar. They increase insulin resistance (increasing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes) and are very hard for the body to process. Natural alternatives are stevia and xylitol. Both of these products are available at health food shops or organic food suppliers. I recommend using stevia, as it is a very cost effective alternative to sugar. Stevia is extremely sweet, you only need to use a little and it contains no calories! If you are interested in obtaining more information on stevia, there is lots of information available on the internet.

• Beware of allergies and foods that are banned at your child’s school / daycare. Allergies can have a devastating effect on those affected by them. Every person’s reaction to a food can be different, therefore every person suffering an allergy can display different symptoms. For some people, it can be a skin irritation, sinus problem or gastric upset, but for others it can be life threatening. If your school or daycare has asked you not to put certain things in your child’s lunchbox, please adhere to their requests, as it could be potentially life threatening for a child.

Sandwiches

Try to include protein here – cheese, egg, ham, chicken, nut butter (try almond, cashew etc available at some supermarkets). Use a wholegrain bread, from the age of 1 year, children are able cope with light grain breads, by about 2-3 years they can eat a heavier grain bread. Don’t be afraid of offering your child a salad option, as you would eat, a lot of children like salads. Try chicken, avocado, & tomato; or cheese, avocado & bean sprouts (squash the sprouts into the avocado to stop them falling out).

 

Fruit & Vegetables

Apple, banana, orange, mandarin, grapes, pear, avocado, tomato, carrot, celery or green beans – cut fruit & vegetables up into bit size pieces for easy handling.

 

Yogurt

Buy a natural yogurt and add your own fruit to it (put it in a secure container)

 

Crackers

Buy crackers with not too many ingredients in them. Steer clear of lots of flavourings as they contain lots of additives that children do not need. Try rice crackers.

 

Chip Alternatives

Pop corn (homemade with olive oil and a little salt), corn chips (try to buy ones with the least ingredients & flavourings), mini pappadums (these are made by Pataks & found with the Indian food at the supermarket), rice wheels, corn thins, pita bread chips, vege chips

 

Dips

Include a small container for dipping vege sticks or chips – humus, guacamole, salsa, greek yogurt

 

Other Foods

Cold chicken leg or wing, any cold meat, cheese cubes, boiled egg, sushi

 

Nuts & Seeds

(if allowed at your child’s school / daycare)

Almond, cashew, pistachio, macadamia, brazil, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds – these are a good source of protein and kids love them

 

Baking

Try baking yourself, mini muffins take about 15 minutes to prepare and about 15 minutes to bake, try only using ½ recommended amount of sugar (or stevia), the muffin will still be tasty, and much better for your child. There are lots of options for flavourings – coconut, banana, berry, apricot, peach, pear, or combinations of these, let your imagination go wild!

 

Special Treat Foods

Dried fruit (these contain lots of natural sugar so should not be given every day), muesli bar (equal to a chocolate bar for sugar, so not something that should be given every day), sweet biscuits

 

Drink options:

Water – purified is better, but tap water is fine too. This is all children need to drink!

Juice – make sure it is watered down, full strength is hard on the digestive system and has too much natural sugar. Buy a juice that has no added sugar in it.

 

Something to Ponder

Your child does not have a sweet tooth, you do! Until your child is given lollies and other “sweet treats” he or she does not know what they are. Do not think they are missing out, this is only your perception. Until a child is about 3 or 4 years old, the food they consume is completely under your control, they are only eating what you allow them to eat. If you do not give them the “sweet treats”, they will not want them.

Do your child a favour and don’t cultivate a sweet tooth in them. They will thank you for it one day!

Submitted At: 10 May 2011 4:25pm | Last Modified At: 10 May 2011 4:25pm

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