Why should you include dairy in your child’s lunch box?

According to Consumer Education Project of Milk SA, the weekday challenge is about balancing work, school, home and family demands. Facing severe time constraints and competing agendas, we still have to find smart ways to help our kids eat well, avoid unnecessary snacking, and be physically active during weekdays. 

This highlights the importance of starting each day with a healthy, nutrient-rich breakfast – even if that’s breakfast on-the-run, or just popping a yoghurt and a fresh fruit in your handbag for your kids to snack on the way to school.

Your child’s lunch box

Planning our kids’ school lunches and snacks for the school week helps keep healthy eating on track and keeps our focus on providing them with nutrient-rich whole foods, ensuring we are including fresh, seasonal produce. 

Taking time to prepare for making school lunchboxes at home is also gentler on the pocket than giving your child money for tuck shop foods, which do not always adhere to healthy eating guidelines.

This daily attention to eating well and developing the habit of being physically active every day is critical for South African children. ‘Be active!’ is one of the South African Food-based Dietary Guidelines.

Studies have shown that childhood obesity and overweight are increasing rapidly. In addition, nutritional deficiencies and the resultant stunting of normal childhood development and growth are still prevalent in South Africa.

The South African Food-based Dietary Guidelines provide a simple framework to help maintain a healthy diet, assist in keeping weight in check and make nutrient-rich food choices. 

They highlight five types of food that should be included in your child’s daily diet – starchy foods; plenty of vegetables and fruit; legumes such as dried beans and lentils; dairy such as milk, maas, and yoghurt; lean meat, eggs, fish and chicken. 

Too often, though, the typical South African diet is found to have little variety of foods and a low intake of vegetables, fruit, and dairy, while processed foods, sugary and salty foods, as well as drinks high in sugar are consumed all too regularly.

The benefits of whole foods

Whole foods are foods that are minimally processed or not processed at all, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, milk, eggs, whole grains and legumes. The benefits of whole foods are that they are naturally complex, nutrient-rich foods providing a spectrum of nutrients that our bodies need to maintain healthy functioning. The health benefits of whole foods are more than the sum of their nutrients.

Take charge of school-box lunches and snacks

Good lunchbox choices for learners in primary school take into consideration both their nutritional needs and their priorities at break time. Most young kids look forward to the bell because what they most want to do is run out and play. Therefore, lunchbox foods need to be easy to handle and consume. 

The importance of planning

Planning healthy options for lunchboxes by shopping for whole food ingredients over the weekend and prepping lunchbox ideas when you have the time avoids last-minute decisions, which tend to be less healthy and more costly. It helps to have a variety of suitable, convenient and nutrient-rich options on hand, and to involve your kids in planning their school lunches and snacks. 

Choose nutritional value and convenience

Keep your focus on both the nutritional value and convenience of your lunch box choice. 

For example, adding a dairy component to a lunchbox such as a small full-cream yoghurt or a portion of cheese is easy to do, and it will boost their daily intake of vital nutrients such as calcium and Vitamin A. Flavoured milk is a great alternative to an energy drink after sports practice. It helps to rehydrate, refuel and repair while providing all the essential nutrients provided by milk. 

Of course, budget is also a big consideration, and making up lunchboxes at home is more cost-effective than providing cash for takeaways and tuck shop snacks.

Top tips for healthy school lunch boxes

• Plan, shop, and prepare on weekends
• Get your kids involved in making up their lunchboxes in a fun way
• Choose healthy options that are convenient, easy to handle and eat
• Focus on nutrient-rich whole foods and include fruit, veg, milk and whole grains
• Add dairy options daily such as milk, cheese, yoghurt or maas
• Avoid sugary drinks, sugary foods and salty snacks