Healthy and tempting lunchbox treats
children should at least have the following three group types of foods in their lunchboxes - dietician
POLOKWANE – Clinical Dietician, Kulani Mtileni, suggests that children should at least have the three group types of foods in their lunchboxes, namely starchy foods (bread, potato chips), proteins (cheese, eggs or fish) and fruits which will provide them with essential vitamins and minerals.
“Some schools have tuck shops on the premises and I recommend that these schools call on dieticians for assistance and advice on what to sell to learners at schools, and what not to sell,” he says.
He states that there are children aged between two to seven years who are picky eaters when it comes to different kinds of foods, therefore they lose all the vitamins and minerals they need for the body to function, which causes the immune system to weaken and also causes malnutrition. He says it also slows down the brain development in a child in a very bad way.
Parents should therefore avoid giving their kids lots of sugary foods and foods with fibre.
He suggests that before going to school, give them either milk to drink, bread with peanut butter or soft porridge.
“Parents should try limiting sugary foods and fibre, because too much sugar usually causes obesity, and too much fibre tends to bloat most kids for several hours, which causes them not wanting to eat any other foods,” says Mtileni.
According to Change4Life, if your child doesn’t like wholegrain, try making a sandwich from one slice of white bread and one slice of wholemeal/brown bread. Fruits such as bananas, apples and apricots are not only high in minerals but also in protein. Remember to keep fruit in dry places and not in the sun as spoilt fruit can be bad for your child’s health.
Kulani says your children would love to find the following healthy foods in their school lunchboxes:
• Potato chips.
• Bread with peanut butter.
• Fish fingers.
• Fruit yoghurt.
