Healthy Lunch Box Ideas

Lunch should supply approximately one third of the daily energy requirements your child needs, as well as a third of protein, carbohydrate, fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals:

 

Try to include:

• One protein rich food such as fish, meat, eggs, poultry, tofu, pulses/beans or houmous
• One carbohydrate food such as wholemeal or granary bread, pasta, oatcakes or rice. Try wholemeal/brown ‘complex’ carbohydrates as they release sugar much slower to help give      children sustained energy
• One preferably two portions of fresh fruit or dried fruit
• One dairy food or calcium rich food such as cheese, yogurt, milk
• One portion of salad or vegetables such as carrot sticks, celery, cherry tomatoes,      cucumber, or a good amount of salad in a sandwich
• 200-300ml of water or unsweetened fruit juice

 

Choose one from this list:

 

Wholemeal pittas with grated cheese and tomato or soft cheese and cucumber

Wholemeal sandwiches with tuna, mayo and cucumber

Wholemeal or white pasta twirls with tomato and vegetable sauce

Brown/white rice salad with tinned salmon, tomatoes, cucumber & spring onion

Homemade soup in flask and wholemeal or granary roll

Small pot of houmous with wholemeal/white pitta, oatcakes or breadsticks and chopped cucumber, peppers, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes

Tinned tuna/salmon or chicken or egg salad with lots of crunchy vegetables

Tortilla wraps with avocado and chicken salad or any of the above fillings

Chicken drumstick with crunchy salad (peppers, carrots, lettuce, cherry tomatoes)

 

Choose two from this list (preferably one or two fruit and one vegetable):

 

Fresh fruit salad (minimum 3 different pieces)

Two pieces of whole fruit – try smaller sized

One portion of dried fruit and one fresh fruit

Cherry tomatoes

Raw carrot sticks

Cucumber stick

Celery sticks

 

Calcium rich foods:

 

Cheese cubes

Natural yoghurt with fresh fruit to add in

Fruit yoghurt

Small carton of milk

 

Healthier Extras/Snacks

 

Flapjack with seeds and dried fruit

Small pack of dried fruit

Plain popcorn

Rice cakes (plain or flavoured)

Blueberry or fruit muffin

Mini oatcakes with houmous

Boiled egg (children like to shell them themselves)

Seed mix – pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds with raisins

 

Drinks

 

Include a bottle of still water in your child’s packed lunch. We only allow water or unsweetened fruit juice as a drink. Soft/fizzy drinks are not allowed as they are packed with sugar and often colourings, additives, preservatives and aspartame (a sugar substitute), which can become addictive and affect moods.

 

UNHEALTHY LUNCH BOX

Avoid processed foods in your child’s lunch box as they are high in sugar, saturated fats, salt and often have chemical additives, preservatives, colourings and sugar substitutes that can change children’s behaviour and can prevent them from concentrating.

 

Things to avoid are:

Crisps – high in fat, salt and often contains monosodium glutamate MSG

Sweets – high in sugar and colourings

Soft/fizzy Drinks – high in sugar, colourings and or aspartame (a sugar substitute)

Chocolate – high in fat and sugar

 

 

IMPORTANT: Please can you not send any nuts or peanut butter in to school as some children are allergic to them.