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177 Frances Street, RR#5, Mitchell, Ontario N0K 1N0 |
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Parent Corner: Lunches & Snacks with appeal
September is here and parents (for the most part) are happily sending children back to school – or to school for the first time. That means once again packing lunches and not just nutritious lunches, but ones our children will actually eat.
With young children, food has to be appealing and easy to eat. Serving sizes that are too large or fruit that is difficult to peel can turn a young child off eating. Also, young children often have difficulty finishing lunch in the given time or with the distractions of the lunch room. Here are some tips to help through the year in one piece.
Tips for Lunches and Snacks with Appeal
· Young children like bite-size, easy-to-eat pieces. For instance, send two mini-muffins instead of regular-size muffin, slice a tortilla wrap in 5-6 pieces and quarter a sandwich.
· Watch portion sizes B too much is a turn off. Try mini-bagels, just half a sandwich, mini-yogurt and juice boxes.
· Send fruit that is ready-to-eat like orange wedges, grapes, strawberries, melon slices, or pineapple tidbits. Nick bananas at the stem, and break the peel of clementines for easy peeling.
· Add interest with more variety. Lots of choices in small containers adds interest.
Be clean
Clean hands, a clean working area & clean utensils are a must to prepare food that is safe to eat
Keep cold food cold
Make sandwiches the night before & keep them in the fridge
Pack items like coleslaw, potato salad & pasta salad in a thermos
Use an insulated lunch bag
Add frozen water, juice or milk or an ice pack to help keep food cold
Keep hot food hot
Pack hot foods in a thermos. They should be piping hot when packed and put in the thermos in the morning.
Examples of hot foods include leftovers, soups, chili, hot dogs, pasta and baked beans
Make ahead
tips
Bake double batches of muffins and freeze the extras to put into lunches.
Bake breads & loaves (banana, pumpkin and date are some ideas) then slice, wrap and freeze individually. They can be added, frozen, to the lunch bag and will thaw by break.
Make extra pancakes on the weekend and freeze individually on cookie sheets. Wrap in packs of two so they’re ready to add to lunch bags.
When making one-pot dishes like soups, stews and casseroles, make larger batches and freeze individual portions in microwave safe dishes. Thaw individual portions in the fridge over night; reheat to piping hot in the morning and spoon into a thermos.
Cut up extra veggies when making stir fry dishes to use with veggies and dip for the next day.
When cooking pasta or rice, cook extra and freeze it in 1 cup portion sizes. These grains thaw quickly (place in strainer and pour boiling water over) and are handy for making pasta or rice salads in a flash.
How will I know if my child is getting enough?
You’ll need to ask! A healthy, active child’s appetite is your best guide to how much food to pack. Younger children need smaller portion sizes. Since boys need more energy per day than girls, some boys may need more servings of food. If your child tells you he’s still hungry after finishing his meals, pack more whole grain products, vegetables and fruit. If food is coming home at the end of the day, pack smaller portions.
Here are some suggested potions according to
Canada’s Food Guide:
|
Food Group |
Number of servings to pack for the school day |
Examples of one serving
|
| Grain Products |
2-3 |
1 slice of bread; 1/2 cup pasta or rice; 1/2 bagel, bun or pita; 1 cup flaked cereal; 1 small muffin; 8 soda crackers |
| Vegetables & Fruit |
2-4 |
1/2 cup juice; 1 medium apple, orange, banana, pear, plum, carrot, pepper; 1 stalk of celery; 1/3 of a cucumber; 1/2-1 cup of grapes; 3 tbsp raisins; 1/2 cup applesauce or fruit cup; 2 slices of pineapple; 1 cup tossed salad |
| Milk Products |
1-2 |
1 cup of white or chocolate milk; 1 cup of soy beverage; 3/4 cup yogurt; 50 grams hard cheese; 2 slices processed cheese; 2 tbsp cheese spread |
| Meat & Alternatives |
1/2-1 |
50-100 grams meat, fish or poultry; 1-2 eggs; 1/3-2/3 of a can of salmon or tuna; 1/3 cup tofu; 2 tbsp hummus; 1/2-1 cup baked beans or bean salad |
What is the difference between fruit juices and fruit drinks?
Fruit juices contain 100% fruit juice and provide your body with essential vitamins and minerals. Most fruit drinks do not contain very much actual fruit juice and do not provide the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Fruit drinks are made mostly of sugar and water.
CAUTION:
Products labeled: "drink, ade, beverage, punch, blend, cocktail or delight", are not juice. For example, "apple drink" and "cranberry cocktail" are not fruit juices.
Do not be fooled by the saying "contains real fruit juice". If the label says "drink" on it, then it is not fruit juice and is a less nutritious choice.
Although some fruit drinks have vitamin C added, they do not have potassium, B vitamins, and other nutrients that juice contains.
My child is a picky eater, what do I do?
For the picky eater, make a list of the foods your child will eat in each of the food groups and use that as your guide when buying lunch supplies. Children are much more likely to eat their lunch if they had a say as to what went in it.
Here is a sample list to get you started. Be as creative as possible and even add things that you might have as leftovers. Keep this list on the fridge so you can add new things that your child might have tried and decided s/he likes.
|
Grains |
Fruits & Veggies |
Dairy |
Meat & Alternatives |
Treats |
|
Bread Pita Crackers Dry cereal Pasta |
Apples Applesauce Grapes Carrots |
Milk Cheese Yogurt |
Hard boiled egg Shaved ham Hot dogs Tuna |
Cookies Marshmallows Pudding |
Ideas provided by Stratford Early Years
To view previous Parent Corner topics click below:
Activities for cold winter days
Lunches and Snacks with appeal
Perth Care For Kids is committed to supporting the importance of early childhood education and development by offering a variety of flexible, quality programs and services for children, families and caregivers.
We are proud to be the host agency for the Perth-Middlesex Early Years Centres.