 |
Keep Out! Five Foods to Ban from Your Kid's Lunch Box
Keep Out! Five Foods to Ban from Your Kid's Lunch Box
More and more parents are reverting to packing lunches until school cafeterias clean up their junk-food acts -- but here's the catch: It's easy to sabotage your own good intentions. Avoid these lunch-box fillers like the measles -- they're not good for your kids' health or their waistlines!
1. Juice drinks: We all know that soda is as nutritious as sugar water, but drinks "made with real juice" aren't much better. Just 1 ounce of raspberry or peach punch, iced tea, and other sweetened fruit drinks can contain over a teaspoon of high-fructose corn syrup -- and it's about as healthy as trans fat. Among other things, the syrup seems to throw off the body's weight-regulating mechanisms. If you wouldn't feed your children pure sugar, think twice about dropping these drinks into their lunch bags.
Better choices: Water, low-fat milk, V8 juice, one of the fruit-veggie juice blends (Vruit, Juice Plus+), or a small container of 100% fruit juice. Real fruit juice is better than juice drinks, but it's still high in sugar and calories, so watch quantities.
2. Cold cuts: Meat sandwiches, although they are the most common lunch-box entrée for elementary school kids, shouldn't be everyday fare. Bologna and other processed meats -- yes, even turkey Lunchables -- are brimming with saturated fat (9 grams, nearly half the recommended daily value), sodium (1140 milligrams, about half the daily max), and preservatives.
Great replacements: Check out these easy, kid-friendly lunch ideas.
3. Fruit-topped whole-milk yogurt: Although yogurt is filled with protein, calcium, and vitamins D and B12, whole-milk yogurt has lots of fat, too -- much of it saturated. What's more, yogurt that's topped (or bottomed) with a jam-like fruit mix can pack almost as much sugar as a candy bar!
Far smarter: Choose low-fat yogurts and pack a container of berries or fresh fruit chunks for your child to dunk or stir in.
4. Fruity roll-ups: Two problems here, unfortunately. First, many brands have only a smidgen of fruit and maybe some fiber. A puree of apples or pears from concentrate makes up about one-third of a roll-up; the other two-thirds are additives and sugar. Second, these stretchy fruit strips are so sugary and sticky that they cling to teeth long after they're eaten, creating the perfect environment for cavities -- especially if your child doesn't brush after lunch. (Do you know one who does?)
Better bet: If your child loves roll-ups, buy all-natural brands, and reserve them for after-school treats -- followed by a brushing.
5. The obvious (or maybe not) potato chips: No matter how much we wish that potato chips counted as a serving of veggies and cheese puffs were a form of dairy, these snacks are as bad as it gets. Consisting mostly of fat and sodium, they're actually worse than empty calories. But that's not the surprise. This is: Potato chips are the #1 lunch-box snack among little kids -- they're given to 55% of K–5 students.
Savvy substitute: Try a new, crispy-thin snack we just taste-tested called Garden Harvest Toasted Chips. Made by Nabisco, these have a satisfying chip-like crunch, are made from whole grains, and have the equivalent of a half serving of veggies or fruit. So why would kids go near them? Because they don't taste, you know . . . healthy.
Your reward for making all those lunches? Kids who get into the habit of eating fiber-rich foods now -- which include all fruits and veggies -- are likely to stick with this healthy habit as adults. If they do, by age 32 their RealAge could be only 29.
Learn how to keep your kids healthy from breakfast time to bedtime with more tips from the RealAge Parenting Center.
Permalink
: Comments (5)
Comments
taihini and almond butter can be good alternatives to peanut butter especially in recipes. Posted by: NaturalAllergyRelief | April 28, 2008 at 09:22 PM
By the way, what is the story with all the kids with peanut allergies? I find it quite comical; although I am sure the parents of these kids are not laughing. This was unheard of in the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. Kids ate just as much peanut based products back then as well. At my daughter's school, there is a peanut free zone in te caf. Posted by: Valerie Paul | April 08, 2008 at 02:22 AM
Greetings to Michelle,
It is helpful to see alternatives, I agree. And we are on a tight budget. My peanut-butter-loving daughter has a friend with a severe nut allergy so I understand your struggle around snack choices. Does your son like cream cheese? A calcium-rich alternative to peanut butter ants-on-a-log is to instead load the celery with either Neuf-chatel or the 1/3rd less low-fat cream cheese then combine it with raisins = ants on a snowy log. It's got a similar sweetness and the creamy texture. If you get him a small thermal pouch, chill it in the fridge over night than pack the snack it should hold through the day. Best to you, Rose Posted by: Rose | November 26, 2007 at 12:45 PM
this is helpful info for most families. Unfortunately for our family we are low-income and will be until I finish college and get my career under way. My husband is a youth pastor and just cannot make enough. My 6 year old gets free lunch and I happily accept that since it helps the family budget. I do however pack a daily snack for him. It's frustrating that a fellow student has a peanut allergy. There are so many healthy things I would send but cannot. For instance: the only granola bars that I deem healthy enough for my family are made by Kashi. I cannot send those to school with him because they have nuts. He loves "ants on a log" celery, spread with natural peanut butter & topped with raisins - can't bring that. I find myself resorting to whole-grain crackers, a small apple or fruit cup packed in juice all the time with a small 100% juice box. They eat their snack late afternoon and it is not refrigerated. Could you offer healthy snack options that contain no nuts and can be eaten in under 5 minutes (that's all the time they are given to eat). Posted by: Michelle Livingston | October 25, 2007 at 01:34 PM
Thanks a lot for all your HEALTHY help
You guys, are so wonderful .
I ' am always reading your articles without never being tired
There's alway's something new to learn down there.
Keep it up !
I am proud of you and I admire all your effort
Thanks again Kathy Posted by: kathy | September 20, 2007 at 02:12 PM
|
|
 |
