Healthy packed lunch ideas for kids slideshow

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Lively lunchtime

You might think your child's packed lunch is healthy, but studies by the Children’s Food Trust show only around 1 in a 100 children open their lunch box to find a meal that meets their nutritional needs. New standards for school meals mean they provide a wider range of foods and nutrients than some packed lunches could offer. Previous research suggests children who had packed lunches had more sugary drinks and a less nutritionally balanced meal at lunchtime than pupils who had school meals. However, new guidelines on lunchbox choices adopted by many schools help parents ensure their children eat healthily too. Some children with health conditions need foods that may be banned by a school’s Healthy Eating Plan. Children shouldn’t be alienated from their friends during lunchtime if their diet is different, as socialising is an important part of mealtimes. Your dietitian or doctor can supply written information to the school to confirm your child’s dietary needs.

Nutritious

According to the NHS, a balanced lunchbox should contain:

A starchy food, such as bread, naan, pitta bread, rice, potatoes or pasta
A protein-rich food such as meat, fish, eggs, peas, beans or lentils
A dairy item, like cheese or yoghurt, to provide calcium and protein
Some vegetables or salad, and a portion of fruit

Sandwich alternatives

Starchy foods are a good source of slow-release energy and should make up a third of the lunchbox. Try to ring the changes to keep your child interested. Instead of a white bread sandwich, try bagels, pitta bread, wraps or crusty rolls and use wholemeal or seeded breads. If your child doesn't like wholegrain bread, try the sliced breads made with half-white and half-wholemeal flour to boost their fibre intake. A slice of deep pan pizza with a cheese and vegetable topping, such as sweetcorn or peppers, makes an interesting change, or try breadsticks or wholemeal crackers served with a soft cheese or hummus dip. You could also cook extra pasta or couscous in the evening and include it as an alternative to bread by making a pasta salad.

Protein counts

Non-dairy sources of protein include meat, fish, eggs, beans and nuts. However, it's best to leave nuts out of your child's packed lunch as many schools ban them to protect pupils with a nut allergy. It’s also easy for a child to choke on nuts if they’re not paying attention to chewing food well.

Instead, include one of the following in your child’s lunchbox:

2 slices of cooked meat – remember sliced processed meats like ham are higher in salt than meat you have cooked yourself, so using leftover home cooked meat from the previous night’s evening meal is a good idea.
A piece of cheese – individually wrapped cheese portions of 30-40g weight found in supermarkets are a handy way to serve it, and with plenty of different cheeses available, this gives your child more variety.
Half a small can of tuna, salmon, mackerel or sardines served in a wrap or pitta bread for easy eating. Remember to remove any bones and choose fish tinned in oil or spring water rather than brine.
2 tablespoons of chickpea spread, eg hummus – served with carrot or celery sticks.

Cram in the calcium

Calcium is essential for a growing child. Include a pot or pouch of yoghurt, or some cheese in your child's lunchbox daily. Fromage frais desserts are also useful. Ready-to-eat pots of custard or rice pudding are also calcium rich, but your school may not allow these because of the added sugar content.

Fantastic fruit & veg

Recent surveys found that just under half of lunchboxes contained no fruit at all. This is a missed opportunity to easily include one of your child's 5-a-day.

If possible, vary the fruit each day, include cherries, strawberries and raspberries alongside more traditional apples and bananas. Soft fruits are cheapest if bought frozen, and a portion in its own little container will thaw by lunchtime, but remember to send a spoon. Other fruits like melon and kiwi are also enjoyable, but if prepared before school may turn ‘slimy’ before lunch. Quarter a kiwi fruit and re-wrap in clingfilm as a whole fruit to reduce this effect. Tinned apple is 100% apple with no added sugar, but gives a firm fruit to send in a container with a spoon or fork. Still not being eaten? Try creating a pick-and-mix effect to make it seem more appealing. Dried fruit is also quick and convenient, and is often sold in lunch box size quantities. Include easy finger foods like sticks of carrot, cucumber or peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

Sweet alternatives

If your child has been used to a chocolate bar in their lunch box here are some alternatives to satisfy a sweet tooth and keep the school happy:

Mini fruit muffin
A fruit bun or slice of cake
A slice of carrot cake or banana bread
Sugar-free jelly pots or fruit jelly
Yoghurts
Homemade flapjacks with a drizzle of chocolate
Fresh fruit or dried fruit

Crisp alternatives

Most manufacturers have made their crisps less salty and now use healthier fats for frying. Crisps from multipacks are never more than 190 calories a serving and so are a lower calorie snack choice than most packets of sweets and chocolates. If your child likes crisps, why not try these crispy alternatives?

Baked or 'air popped' crisps
Rice cakes
Breadsticks
Homemade popcorn without sugar or salt
Oatcakes
Vegetable chips
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Keep your cool

It's important to keep food at the right temperature, and that applies to school lunch boxes too. It's no good preparing a balanced meal when what your child sits down to is at best a soggy sandwich and a warm drink, at worst a risk of food poisoning. Use an insulated bag with a built-in freezer block for really hot days, or freeze a carton of fruit juice or a yoghurt pouch and place it in the box in the morning where it should defrost by lunchtime and keep other items cool. Pack salad ingredients separately rather than within sandwiches where they can make the bread soggy and ask the school to provide lunchbox storage out of the sun.

Make it fun

If you're going down the packed lunch route, make it fun! Help your child choose a colourful lunchbox and decorate it with stickers. Have theme days such as Italian with pizza or breadsticks, or Mexican with flour tortillas and a bean dip. Include some of your child's favourites. Children often need to see and taste new foods several times before they accept them, so a lunchbox is not the time to try new flavours. Introduce them at home, perhaps at the weekend instead.