Healthy Lunchbox ideas

Children staying for lunch will need to bring in healthy packed lunch.  We like to encourage the children to eat healthily,  we also understand we all sometimes need help with ideas for our daily lunch boxes.

We have some lunchbox tips below and there are two links that give more ideas about lunchboxes and nutrition. We would request that nuts are not included in any lunchboxes due to allergies. 

• Lunches should be based on Starchy Carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes, rice or pasta;
• include a Fresh Fruit, Vegetables or Salad;
• include a source of Protein, such as beans, pulses, eggs, cheese (or a non- dairy alternative) meat or fish;
• include a side dish such as a yoghurt (or a non-dairy alternative), tea cake, fruit bread, plain rice or corn cakes, plain popcorn or jelly.

Children often like food they can eat with their fingers, you could try:

• Chop up raw vegetables, such as carrots or peppers, give them hummus or cottage/cream cheese to dip them in.
• Chop up fruit, such as apple, satsuma segments, strawberries, blueberries, halved grapes or melon slices. (Add a squeeze of lemon juice to stop them from going brown.)
• Breadsticks and wholemeal crackers make great finger foods, give them hummus or cottage/cream cheese to dip them in.
• Choose malt loaf, tea cakes, fruit breads or just fruit, instead of cake, chocolate, cereal bars and biscuits. Fruit can be fresh dried or canned (in juice, not syrup).   Note: Dried fruit is not recommended as a snack between meals as it is high in sugar and can be bad for teeth, but it is ok when eaten as part of a meal.