Ask a Dietitian

As seen on BCTV October 3/00

Some key things to remember when planning your child’s lunch are:

• Include all four food groups in your child’s lunch (Fruits and Vegetables, Grains, Meats and Alternates, Milk Products)
• Follow Canada’s Food Guidelines for Healthy Eating
  * Enjoy a variety of foods – provide different fruits, try new sandwich fillings etc.
  * Emphasize fruits, vegetables and whole grains
  * Choose lower fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared with little or no fat.
  * Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine- pop has caffeine and should be limited.
• Think about hydration
  *Make the beverage choices nutritious and maximize the nutrients. Choose either low fat milk, 100% real fruit juice or V8 (not Splash), or water. You may want to send juice and a water bottle. If you have a child who is a picky eater, take note of how much juice and milk they drink. They may be consuming enough calories in their beverages to sustain themselves and therefore don’t feel hungry when the meal comes so they get picky. If they were really hungry, the food might be more appealing.
• Lunch Ideas
  * Sandwich with a lean meat or alternative, yogurt, cereal bar, fruit, water
  * Bran muffin, cheese, raw vegetables, trail mix, and juice
  * Crackers and cheese, celery and peanut butter, cherries and water
  * Chicken Pasta salad, yogurt and peach, water
  * Hard boiled egg (pealed), raisin box, liquid yogurt drink and 2 oatmeal cookies
  * Wrap vegetable and cheese sticks with lean meat slices, bag of small crackersSandwich ideas
  Use something other than bread: Pancakes, waffles, mini bagels, whole wheat pita pockets, English muffins, muffins.
  Try something other than jam with peanut butter: banana slices, banana chips, grated
  * carrots, crushed pineapple, raisins, sesame or sunflower seeds, chopped celery.
  * Alternated sandwiches: whole wheat hot dog bun filled with turkey slices, cheese and tomato, Banana bran muffinwich with hard cheese, Cornmeal muffin and BBQ chicken
• Snack Ideas
  Fresh fruit with a fruit yogurt dip
  Celery stuffed with peanut butter and raisins on top
  Trail mix
  Apple wedges and peanut butter
  Muffins and cheese
  Yogurt in a tube
  Canned fruit packed in juice
  Dry cereal
  Cereal and milk
  Freeze juice for Popsicles
  Freeze yogurt and milk blended for Popsicles
  Make fruit smoothies with yogurt or soft tofu, fruit and juice or milk

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV’s Noon News Hour!