What’s for lunch on a school day? A local nutritionist gives Central Jersey Shore Macaroni Kid some tips on putting together delicious, healthy on-the-go meals!
Packing a lunch for your child or children as they head back to school? Good, because most school lunches are loaded with calories, fat and sodium. That’s why Marge Chapman, a mom and nutritionist from Wall Township who founded Trixie’s Fabulous Dressings, recommends packing lunch.
“Taking lunch doesn’t require someone to cook for hours to prepare a four-course meal for their child, but it does involve planning and executing ahead of time,” she said.
She organizes as much as she can on Sunday to prepare. That involves setting out bottled waters, five lunch bags (one for each day of the week) with each of her boys' names written on them, and portioning out and packaging “dry” snacks that won’t go bad. Each lunch includes a protein, fruit, veggie, and a healthy fat.
Healthy and Easy Back-to-School Lunch Ideas
Here are some of Chapman’s ideas for back-to-school lunches.
- Box it up. “Bento boxes are a nice way to pack a lunch as most kids don’t like their foods to combine or touch, it allows portions to be the right size, as well as helps the parent pack a well-rounded lunch with different varieties,” Chapman said. Include a turkey roll-up, unsweetened yogurt, blueberries, and sliced cucumbers. She buys a rotisserie turkey breast and serves it sliced, or opts for a high-quality deli turkey.
- Warm it up. Try a thermos filled with leftover homemade turkey chili. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of low-fat cheese on top and include baked corn tortilla chips. Round out the meal with grape tomatoes and/or romaine lettuce, and a small amount of guacamole. Add an orange or clementine.
- Wrap up it. Prepare a wrap sandwich with grilled chicken, raw spinach, avocado, and tomato. Include a fruit and nut trail mix.
- Snack it up. Opt for low-fat string cheese, hummus to dip (there are single-serving containers of hummus) carrots and a small pita bread cut into triangles to use for dipping in the hummus. Add grapes and a granola bar.
- Butter it up. Try a sandwich made with natural peanut or almond butter (the kind that is not made with added sugar or hydrogenated oils) and add an all-fruit spread on whole wheat bread. Add sliced celery sticks, apple slices, and cut-up cheese.
Avoid These School Lunch Blunders
Want to know what to avoid when packing a healthy lunch? In addition to foods colored with dyes, those that are processed and trans fats, Chapman recommends avoiding sugar.
“Sugar is in everything, and the amount of sugar can vary significantly from one brand to the other,” she said. For instance, 1 teaspoon of sugar is equivalent to 4 grams of sugar. No more than 10 percent of our daily calories come from added sugar.
“Try easing your child off of sugary drinks. Only pack water, or low-fat milk, instead of soda, fruit juices, or juice pouches,” she added.
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