Importance of Healthy Lunches

As we begin the new school year, we want to thank you for the many ways you support us including sending the children with healthy breakfasts and lunches to fuel their learning. Preparing a lunch for your child can start to feel burdensome over the course of the year. Here are some helpful tips for packing healthy lunches:

How can we build a healthier lunch?

Did they enjoy dinner?

• Consider sending leftover dinner in a thermos!

What are their favorite fruits?

• Consider rotating different fruit selections throughout the week.

Do they prefer raw or cooked veggies?

• At school, we routinely serve raw cucumbers, carrot sticks, and red/yellow/orange pepper slices
  Bags of frozen vegetables can support a variety of veggies in lunches. Small portions of frozen veggies can be blanched quickly or steamed in the microwave.

Be aware of the sugar content in packaged yogurt and snacks. It can be difficult to know how much sugar is in the packages snacks we send. One teaspoon of sugar is equivalent to 4g of sugar. Look at individual serving sizes. How much sugar is in each snack you send? More than 4 grams and your child is likely to experience a sugar crash after lunch.

Here are some additional articles to inspire us all to pack Healthy Lunches!

1. Seven Ways to Exercise at Home with a Toddler / Preschooler
2. Understanding the Impact of Different Sugars on Young Children
3. How to Reduce Sugar in Your Children’s Diet

Enjoy!