How to choose a HealtHy scHool lunch

www.fuelled4life.org.nz

In today’s busy world, lunch order systems are becoming an increasingly popular option for parents. Ordering your child’s lunch online makes life a lot easier – but how do you know if what you’re purchasing is healthy?

It’s vital that we get it right, because the food in our children’s lunchboxes can contribute one-third of their daily calorie intake. A balanced lunch should contain one main lunch item, one everyday snack and at least one vegetable or fruit.

So, here are some tips to help you choose wisely from your school lunch order system:

Main luncH iteMs

Bread-Based items

• Select wholegrain or wholemeal bread for made- to-order items such as sandwiches, filled rolls and wraps

• Ask the supplier if they use wholemeal bread for their pre-made sandwiches. If not, suggest they include this as an option

• Choose lean protein, such as chicken, roast beef, canned fish, baked beans, eggs or edam cheese

• Add at least two salad vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber and carrot

• Replace butter with hummus, low-fat cream cheese, avocado or peanut butter

• While salad dressings are often used to replace traditional spreads, they are often high in fat, sodium and sugar

• Does the supplier use low-fat cheese? If not, suggest they offer this as an option

• Many deli meats, such as sausages, salami and some hams, are high in fat and sodium. They should be treated as occasional foods

• Yeast and chocolate spreads are also high in sodium or sugar, so are occasional foods

Hot meal items

• Order pasta dishes, noodles and rice dishes that come with lots of vegetables

• Nachos are popular with kids but the usual chips are not a healthy option, so ask your supplier to offer baked tortillas or pita breads instead

• Most pastry items such as sausage rolls and pies have high levels of saturated fat and are classified as occasional food.

• Also don’t be afraid to ask the supplier which sauces and ingredients they use

If we all advocate for healthy meals, the caterers will oblige – they want to make us

happy enough to come back!

Cold items

• Choose pasta salads or brown rice salads that come with vegetables and light dressing

• Check if vegetables are included. If not, ask your supplier to make them available

• If ordering sushi, ask for low-sodium soy sauce, and remember sushi is usually low

in vegetables, so don’t forget to order a salad or vegetable sticks to go with it

Snacks

sweet snacks

• Choose fruit-based snacks, like fruit salad, fruit and yoghurt cups, fruit custard, or fruit muffins

• Look for snacks made from wholemeal flour

savoury snacks

• Good options include natural popcorn, crackers with edam cheese, vegetable sticks with hummus, and unsalted, unsweetened nuts

• If ordering crackers, choose wholegrain

drinks

• The best drinks for children are water and plain reduced-fat milk

• Soup in winter and healthy fruit-based smoothies in summer are great options too

www.fuelled4life.org.nz