What do you put in childs your lunchbox?

Only 1% of the packed lunches children take to school meet the nutritional standards set for school meals in England. How healthy are your lunchboxes?

According to a study, over a quarter of the children had a packed lunch containing sweets, savoury snacks, and sugary drinks - banned under rules on healthy prepared meals for local authority schools in England.

These standards say school lunches must contain protein-rich foods such as chicken and low fat starchy foods like pasta, as well as vegetables, fruit and dairy products.

Half of UK children eat a packed lunch - equating to 5.5bn lunches a year. All of the children in the study, were aged between eight and nine.

Do your children take packed lunches to school?

What did you have in your lunchbox as a child?

Do you have problems getting your children to eat healthily?

sandwich - tuna mayo, cheese or egg mayo.

mixed fruit - strawbs, blueberrys, raspberry and banana.

yogurt and or darylea dunkers.

water.

small bar of choc only on a friday.

i never took lunch to school and starved most of the time.

not a problem to make him eat healthy.

I had Marmite sandwiches on a good week it was Spam , an apple and a penguin or twix . In the winter a flask of soup with bread . At the end of the day i lived ..lol

The Gimp says"I never took lunch to school and starved most of the time"
He probably beat up the other kids and nicked their pocket money!

It worries me when I see Ham, Tuna or Chicken for school sandwiches - as soon as the temperature rises these items become very unsafe and will probably cause food poisoning by lunch time!!!

bug1 wrote:The Gimp says"I never took lunch to school and starved most of the time"
He probably beat up the other kids and nicked their pocket money!

no bug1, just a bit bitter about my eating habbits that was forced upon me at an early age lol. no breakfast, no lunch and eat loads for T, talking about this the other day with my sister and she normally doesnt eat until 3pm ( when school ends ) 25 years on..lol

A burrito is good for a packed lunch - fiber, vegetables and meat, very filling too. You can vary the ingredients to taste. With a carton of fruit juice, quite a healthy lunch.

Meat spoils between home and lunchtime in hot weather......not a good idea!!!!

from Dr. Miriam Stoppard ...

A healthy lunchbox needn't take ages to prepare - here's my guide to quick and easy lunches your kids will enjoy:

Pack in protein
It gives lasting energy and helps kids concentrate. Good choices are skinless chicken or turkey, tuna, a boiled egg, lean ham, cheese (cottage or Edam are lower-fat options) and beans.

Be creative with carbs
I mean the low-fat kind that give long-lasting energy, like wholemeal bread. If your child refuses to eat brown bread, try them with "whole white", which contains a third wholemeal flour.

For a change, try houmous, which they can eat with sliced carrots or cucumber - but not every day as it's quite high in calories, although it's packed with nutrients.

Be sparing with spreads
Keep them to a minimum and, if you use mayonnaise, go for the light type.

Keep it varied
If they always have sandwiches, include baguettes, bagels and pitta as well as sliced bread.

Pick and mix
Cherry tomatoes, grapes and slices of carrots and peppers count towards your child's five-a-day, plus they're quick to prepare and easy to eat.

Use leftovers
Make extra for dinner so there's some for next day's lunch. Pasta or rice salad works well, as does cold Spanish omelette or even home-made pizza. Stick on healthy toppings like tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and a little mozzarella rather than high-fat salami.

Sweet treats
Fruit, dried fruit and small yoghurts give more long-lasting energy than a chocolate bar. Chocolate gives a quick sugar high swiftly followed by a mid-afternoon dip. It's fine occasionally but, if you put it in every day, it'll probably get chosen every time above the fruit - so limit it.

Choose crisps carefully
Some of the small, low-fat versions only contain around 115 calories.

Watch out for fat traps
Bought meat pies tend to be very high in calories so check the label - and the salt content too.

Avoid empty calories
Fizzy drinks and squash have virtually no nutrients but often lots of sugar. Swap for semi-skimmed milk or water.

We never took lunches to school .had to come home dinner time for a cooked meal.[only one in the day]
my children took .crisps .and a few sarnies ...i often found these days later green under their beds .

sweets lol