Mealtimes the Food Optimising way means piles of delicious child-friendly favourites that are naturally low in fat, sugar and salt.
Time constraints, tantrums and pester-power can sometimes cause this nutritious diet to go a little awry when it comes to the children's lunchbox! Crisps, biscuit bars and chocolate are convenient lunchbox fillers and you can guarantee they'll be eaten! Whilst these salty, sugary and fatty snacks are fine in moderation, the recent reports on the rise of childhood obesity and behavioural problems are hard to ignore.
We've got tons of suggestions for optimising your child's lunchbox with nourishing nibbles and crafty ways to disguise the greens! There are also some inspired ideas for your own lunchbox!
Little changes
Merely changing the bread type can make a sandwich more interesting and fibre-filled. Mini wholemeal pitta bread is excellent for stuffing with Free fillings like tuna, chicken or flavoured cottage cheese. Children are also quite fond of tortilla wraps as they make perfect little parcels for fillings.
Novelty factor foods such as stringy cheeses and stackable crackers are extremely popular with children. Unfortunately these can be very high in salt. A healthier choice is to buy a selection of packet cheese from the Pick & Mix cheese section in the supermarket. Even easier simply slice a portion of cheese from your whole block for them to nibble on.
Involve your child in making lunch they're more likely to eat something that they've chosen, they'll learn all about food preparation and they'll pick up tips about what's healthy!
If you invent a sandwich filling or lunchbox item, give it a silly name - it makes it much more edible to children!
Sandwich suggestions
These sandwich fillers are fab for packing into pitta or topping a wholemeal roll!
Tuna crunch - mix 1 tablespoon very low fat mayonnaise with tuna in brine. Add very finely chopped crunchy vegetables such as cucumber, peppers and spring onions.
Cheesy wonder - mix together grated cheddar, carrot and a little red onion with very low fat fromage frais for a tangy cheesy-coleslaw style filling.
Spicy chicken - flavoured chicken fillets such as tikka or tomato are available in most supermarkets. Alternatively, to make your own, Schwartz Shotz seasonings such as Cajun or Smoky BBQ are fabulously Free and liven up ordinary chicken pieces. Another chicken option is to layer grilled chicken, tomato, lettuce and bacon for a classic club sandwich.
Pink cheese - layer thick cheese spread with chopped beetroot or red cabbage & for a colourful addition to a pack-up!
Grated egg - boiled egg, grated lengthways results in a superbly stringy sandwich filler! Mix with very low fat fromage frais and cress to make it spread further.
Cottage cheese - scrumptious varieties such as pineapple or prawn make a tasty sandwich!
Load up their lunchbox
There are lots of fab and filling sandwich accompaniments without loading your child's lunchbox with high sugar and high salt snacks:
Dips
children love the novelty factor of dips and they're also a great way of getting vegetables into their lunch. Very low fat fromage frais mixed with chives or garlic, or houmous make yummy dips for pepper strips, carrot batons or breadsticks.
Boiled egg or two
Rolled up slices of ham
Chicken drumsticks
Cherry tomatoes
Perfect puds
A piece of fruit can often languish uneaten at the bottom of a child's lunchbox. There are ways of getting their daily portion into them, all it takes is a little imagination!
Sugar-free jelly with chopped up fruit pieces, e.g. satsuma segments and raspberries
Chopped banana in a vanilla yogurt
Chopped strawberries, apple, grapes and melon mixed with a little orange juice
Small packet of raisins such as Sun-Maid Raisins
Delicious drinks
Whilst we're often aware of how sugary canned soft drinks are, it may come as a surprise to learn that so called juice drinks often contain just as much sugar and little actual juice! Some great drinks to pack into a lunchbox include:
Cartons of sugar-free fruit squash
Home-made milkshake using a cordial such as Sugar Free Crusha Milkshake Syrup
Smoothies made using natural yogurt and blended fruit.
Flavoured water, e.g. Strathmore Mineral Water Co No Added Sugar Still Spring Water with Spring Fruits Juice.
There are lots of fab and filling sandwich accompaniments without loading your child's lunchbox with high sugar and high salt snacks: