Fresh ideas for fresh lunches

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 312, 7 November 1989, Page 4

Fresh ideas for fresh lunches

How often do we cry "What can I have As the school term draws to an end, so too does our list of ideas to

hear our children' s for lunch today". make our childrens lunches tasty, interesting and nutritious.

Here a few suggestions for a healthy lunch. Sandwiches and breadrolls are a good start to a healthv lunch.

Use a variety of white and wholemeal bread/bread rolls. Try to make interesting sandwiches & rectangle shapes e.g. triangular, layered sandwiches, round sandwiches & rectangle sandwiches: and use a variety of fillings. Combinations of fillings make more interesting sandwiches, so: egg, cheese, cottage cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, parsley/chives, onion/spring onion, pickled onion, meat, cooked chicken, fish, raisins/dates/nuts, coleslaw, baked beans, spaghetti, creamed corn, peas, celery, peanut butter, marmite, banana, apple. Dagwood sandwiches are a great idea for using up leftover crusts. Just place filling on one corner and fold bread diagonally. Pita bread pockets make an interesting change to sandwiches and rolls (when you can get them)! Kids often love cheese on toast (cold) or toasted sandwiches for school lunches which are great snacks. It's a good idea to let children make their own lunches (under your guidance). We can encourage them to chose savoury fillings rather than sweet fillings such as jam, honey, hundreds & thousands as these fillings have a lot of sugar which causes tooth decay. Watch the

amount of butter/margarine that goes on to the bread - use butter/margarine sparingly for good health. Cheese and crackers, dried fruits and nuts are ideal snacks for the lunchbox. Include a piece of fresh fruit and/or crunchy vegetable such as apples, bananas, oranges, carrot sticks, celery sticks and tomatoes daily. Yoghurt makes a good lunchtime snack, especially if you can lay your hands on a small polysterene yoghurt chiller to keep yoghurt cool and fresh. For a sweet treat in the lunchbox try a variety of muffins, scones, pikelets and fruit loaves. Try to discourage biscuits, cakes, sweets and softdrinks as these foods are full of sugar and 'baddies' for teeth. pies, fish and chips, pizzas, sausage rolls, doughnuts, potato crisps and ice cream make a good lunch occasionally, but these foods contain loads of fat, so save them for a treat and not everyday. It's a good idea to pop a piece of fruit or a vegetable or some fruit juice in the child's school bag on days when they do buy their lunch, making a more balanced meal. Watch the amount of fizzy drinks your child is having because these are loaded with sugar. Water, milk (plain or Turnpage 5

Lunches

From page 4 flavoured) and diluted fruit juice are healthy alternatives which we should be encouraging our children to drink. Let's hope we can keep our children happy and healthy with an interesting school

lunch and don't forget ( about breakfast. Make sure they have something in their tums 1 before heading off to , school. Cheers and happy munching! Robyn Frogley 1 Community Dietician ,