How to make school lunches interesting

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 273, 7 February 1989, Page 14

How to make school lunches interesting

It's that time of the year when parents are beginning to wonder about the control they have over their children' s lunchtime eating.

Responsible parents will be looking to school lunches as a means of assuring that their youngsters eat nutritious and well-bal-anced food during the hours they are away from home. The overweight child is generally an unhappy child so providing a nourishing wellplanned school lunch is one way to assure that sensible eating habits are maintained. Weight Watchers have long been aware that good eating habits taught in the home mean that children are informed from an early age about the value of good nutrition. Rccent studies of five year olds show that those who are overweight at six months of age weigh an average of 12 pounds (5.45kg) more than children who were normal weight during infancy. Furlher studies revealed that 80 per cent of those overweight babies remain overweight for the rest of their lives! There are several steps Weight Watchers say that parents can take to help their children succeed at staying at an ideal weight. So what can we do if we fcar our child is eating too much? Weight control in a growing child is a serious business. If you fear your child is already over normal weight, providing a nutritious and interesting school lunch is one way a parcnt can help that child grow up healthy and slim. If a parcnt is responsible for the preparation of a school lunch then there are three extrcmely important factors to bear in mind. They are: adequate nutritional content, an awarcness of energy needs and the importance of allowing the child to participate in the preparation of his or her own school lunch. Careful selection Adequate nutritional content calls for careful selection of foods so that a child will experience not only a well balanced meal but a visually appetising one. This can easily be accomplished by keeping in mind the various food groups from which choices can be made. Parents are advised to encourage the child to make selections from fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, fish and poultry, legumes, eggs and cheese, milk and dairy products and fats of vegetable origin. These foods all add up to

sound nutritional choices. A child's energy needs must be considered as well. If your child is overweight then an appropriate kilojoule-controlled lunch, including fresh fruits for dessert and attractively prepared and presented vegetable snacks, should be developed. Weight Watchers strongly urge that parents encourage their children to play an active part in planning a weekly lunch menu. Also encourage the child to accompany you to the supermarket to help you choose the foods that will make up the school lunch. As a result, with genuine support from a concerncd and informed parcnt, young people learn early about good eating habits. With the youngster's active involvement there is a much better chance of the lunch being consumed rather than swapped, as is often the habit, for sweets or chocolate. One thing to watch at this time of the year is the danger of foods spoiling in the summer heat. During the hotter days the use of eggs and mayonnaise-based foods should be avoided. The heat can bring about a change in these foods that could be the cause of serious stomach upsets. Weight Watchers stress the importance of choosing suitable foods that run no risk of spoiling while sitting in a school bag unrefrigerated while temperatures are high. Appealing food One factor that should also be considered is the colour and texture of foods. School lunches should be appealing as well as nutritious - the appearance and texture of the food selection is an aspect that should not be overlooked. Training young people to understand the importance of good nutrition is not easy, but it's a job that both parents and teachers should be aware of. Too often a parent will buy the new clothes, books and pencils but is inclined to put less emphasis on a child's food - an ingredient that has a vital effect on performance during the school year - and a lifetime! Weight Watchers suggests that if parents have questions about either the composition of school lunches or need ideas they should call their local Health Department or phone 'Dial a Dictician'. This service is available in

Auckland, phone 733276 (Feb onwards) and Christchurch 792-281. The following are some healthy school lunch suggestions:Packed lunches taken to school have to survive quite a battering in school bag. Pack carefully, unless lowkilojoule drinks are on sale at school the lunch ought to contain a suitable beverage. Tips for sandwich making: Choose moist fillings and omit butter. Cut sandwiches in small portions and varied shapes. Choose a variety cf breads. Slice meat thinly. Several thin slices of meat seem more than one thick slice. Wrap lettuce or tomatoes to be eaten with sandwiches

in clear plastic. Sandwich fillings: thinly slice.d tomato with relish - thinly sliced roast port with unsweetened apple puree - thinly sliced ham with mustard - thinly sliced chicken with slimmer's mayonnaise - chopped hardboiled egg, chopped celery and cottage cheese to bind ingredients - minced luncheon meat or breakfast sausage with gherkin - minced ham, chopped green pepper and cheese - cold meat loaf with tomato relish - salad sandwich - sliced cucumber, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and radishes. (Serve a protein filler with these). Lunch-box kebabs: Pine apple pieces with cubes of cooked ham - cooked

chicken cubes with cucumber twists - roast beef cubes with chunks of gherkin - cheese and ham cubes - roast pork cubes with apple slices dipped in lemon juice - luncheon meat cubes with tomato wedges - cooked lamb cubes with green pepper chunks or cooked beetroot - slice a frankfurter in lin./2.5cm lengths, dip ends in mustard and sandwich together on a toothpick. More tasty lunch-box fillers: 1 chicken drumstick, 65g creamed cottage cheese, tomato shell stuffed with 65g cottage cheese, tomato shell stuffed with 50g tuna fish, low-calorie fruit-flavoured jelly packed in a wide-mouth vacuum flask.

Cheese and ham roll-ups: 25g sliced cooked ham, 1 sliced processed cheese, 1 gherkin, roll ham and cheese around gherkin. Stuffed celery: Stuff celery sticks for low-kilojoule packed lunch fillers. Egg filling: Mash hard-boiled eggs with slimmer's mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Spread in celery sticks. Blender filling: Liquidize cottage cheese with a little orange juice until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add chopped chives or any favourite herb. Spread in celery Egg balls: Mash 2 hard-boiled egg yolks with 2 tcaspoons lowcal mayonnaise. Form into 2 balls and roll in

grated cheddar cheese. Dessert ideas for the lunchbox: Sliced banana in orange juice: Thinly sliced quarter banana into 50ml unsweetened orange juice and pack in an airtight container. For the nondieter, sprinkle with desiccated coconut. Jelly boat: Cut a small slice from the stem end of an orange. scoop out pulp leaving the orange shell intact. Make up a low-calorie fruit-flavoured jelly mix according to package directions and allow it to cool slightly. Fill orange shell with jelly and refrigerate until set. Pack in lunchbox. This dessert will not melt readily. Use the orange pulp in fresh fruit salad.