Really people??? Almost anything is better than Lunchables! This particular one includes breaded chicken poppers, American cheese, pretzel sticks, fruit juice and chocolate kisses. I think we can all agree that this is not a healthy meal given that there is not a fruit (no, Capri fruit punch does not count) or vegetable in sight and it contains a whopping 540 mg of sodium and 6 grams of saturated fat. You are not setting the bar very high if this is what you are comparing yourselves too. A lot of school districts have worked very hard and have made vast improvements in their menus, but there is no escaping the fact that school lunches are still too high in sodium, fat and unhealthy carbs. This weeks school menu did offer salads and fruit, but the entrees consisted of pizza, hamburgers, and chicken nuggets.
The fact is, with a little preparation, you can absolutely make your child a healthy lunch. Your options are not limited to school lunches and Lunchables.
While I was boiling some potatoes for dinner yesterday I popped in a couple of eggs and my daughter had hard boiled eggs and cheese for lunch today with carrot sticks, hummus and sliced strawberries. Other lunches this week have included veggie chips, peanut butter and apple slices, raspberries and spinach littles.
When the weather gets cooler, I plan on sending a thermos with soup or dinner leftovers.
There are literally tons of great lunch ideas online. You don't have to make them Pinterest-worthy, just tasty and healthy. And yes it's ok to slip in a little treat if the rest of the lunch is well-balanced. My daughter has declared Fridays treat day so tomorrow she'll get some organic Oreo cookies for snack.
I do still plan on working towards healthier school lunches as part of the overall goal of family medicine to improve the health of all children. There are kids whose parents cannot to make a lunch of any kind and rely on subsidized lunches. The Healthy-Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, which addresses some of the issues with school lunches is getting a lot of push back from food industry groups and some members of Congress. I absolutely do not want to see the gains that have been made like getting rid of soda be pushed back by politicians and the CEOs of Kraft and Nabisco. If you care about our national child obesity crisis, please consider getting involved too. You can find more information at:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/healthy-school-lunches/
