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Basic principles
There are certain basic principles that you need to keep in mind:

• it takes planning - you need to plan ahead so that you buy the correct foods for making snacks and lunch boxes
• resist the “easy” option to buy cold drinks, crisps and chocolate bars - in the long run this is going to ruin your children’s health
• resist your children’s demands and manipulations for high-fat snacks and fizzy cold drinks
• remember that children are different to adults - they have a much smaller stomach capacity, so they need regular snacks and some children have a much higher energy requirement because they are more active than adults
• remember that children are similar to adults - they also like interesting, and tasty food which looks good enough to eat, but they may not appreciate very sophisticated foods
• lunch boxes may have to replace three to four meals a day - that breakfast that was not eaten, the mid-morning snack, lunch and the mid-afternoon snack - a whole menu in one box!
• packaging is important - buy a sturdy plastic container that is big enough to accommodate the food you want your child to take to school without getting squashed, and consider buying a small non-breakable vacuum flask or vacutainer for keeping cold foods and drinks cold, and hot foods and drinks hot
• eating a variety of foods gives children and adults the best chance of obtaining a balanced diet
• select foods from all the food groups every day if possible
  • milk and dairy products;
  • fruit and vegetables;
  • breads and starches;
  • protein foods like meat, fish, eggs and legumes;
  • fats and oils, including nuts

The basics
Children need healthy food and drinks to snack on or to take to school. Here are some suggestions:

a) Foods - Variety is the spice of Life!

Cereals, breads and starches

• Wholewheat, brown or rye bread or buns, various healthy breads, crisp bread (rye or wheat), wholewheat biscuits
• Pita bread, or hot dog/hamburger rolls, or pancakes /flapjacks, or mini pizzas, or bagels (buy the wholewheat varieties if possible)
• Wholewheat muffins or muffins made with fresh fruit like banana, dried fruit like raisins/sultanas/dates, or nuts; cheese muffins
• Oat cakes or oat crunchies, health or energy bars (only for children who are very active and do not have a weight problem as these foods are quite high in fat)
• Granola cereal or unbuttered popcorn
• Muesli or bran rusks
• Rice cakes (buy various flavours)
• Baked potato with a filling (keep warm in vacutainer)
• Potato salad (use lite salad dressing or dilute mayonnaise with fat-free yoghurt)
• Cooked corn on the cob or mielie bread

Protein foods

• lean cold cuts (ham, beef, chicken, tongue)
• grilled chicken pieces (wings or drumsticks)
• cooked, chopped or minced meat or chicken/turkey
• cooked or canned sausages (only for thin and very active children as sausages contain quite a lot of fat)
• homemade hamburger patties (use lean mince)
• boiled eggs
• cooked flaked fish
• canned fish such as tuna or pilchards or sardines
• smoked fish like snoek or mackerel
• biltong (cut off fat)
• meat or fish spreads and paste
• cooked, minced legumes or baked beans, tofu (buy at health shops)

Milk and dairy foods

• yoghurt (plain mixed with honey and nuts or fresh fruit, or read-made flavoured, low-fat varieties)
• cottage cheese (flavour plain cottage cheese with tomato sauce or piccalilli, mashed banana or avocado, nuts or dried fruit, or buy ready-made flavoured cottage cheese - check the fat content and buy the fat-free versions)
• cheeses (all types, use grated or cut into cubes)
• cheese spread

Fruit and vegetables

• fresh fruit - apples, pears, naartjies, oranges, plums, peaches, grapes, litchis, mango, pineapple or melon pieces, figs
• dried fruit and fruit rolls, mebos, dates, or fruit dainties
• carrot or celery sticks, baby tomatoes, cucumber wedges, lettuce
• vegetable muffins (grated carrots and baby marrows can be added to a basic muffin mix)
• pumpkin fritters
• potato cakes

Fats and oils

• Mono- or polyunsaturated margarine or lite margarine as a spread on breads, etc
• Nuts, peanut butter
• Nutella spread
• Crisp bacon (crumble and add to fat-free cottage cheese)
• Avocado - mash and use instead of margarine
• Low-fat or lite salad dressing, or mayonnaise diluted with low-fat yoghurt

Flavourings
(Add taste, colour and variety to lunch boxes and snacks)

• Chutney - try different varieties
• Tomato sauce - the best source of lycopene, an antioxidant that protects against cancer
• Piccalilli, or mild mustard or pickles
• Gherkins
• Olives
• Vinegar (add to mashed sardines for extra flavour)
• Lemon juice (add to mashed banana to prevent discolouration)

b) Drinks and liquid foods

• Milk, plain or flavoured
• Homemade milk shakes (puree fruit with low-fat milk, add honey and/or vanilla flavouring)
• Yogi-sip
• Milk-fruit juice blends
• Fruit juice, still and sparkling
• Soda water - flavoured, still and sparkling
• Energy drinks for children who participate in sport or are very active
• Hot chocolate or cocoa made with skim milk (keep warm in vacutainer during winter)
• Soups (keep hot in vacutainer during winter)
• Cold water and ice for sports meetings

If you print out this topic and keep it handy in your kitchen, you will never again be at a loss when deciding what to give your children as healthy snacks or what to pack into their lunch boxes. – (Dr I. V. van Heerden, dietician)

Read more:
Kids and health risks: take action
 

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