How to keep those school lunches healthy

The kids are back into the swing of school, the Christmas holiday period is becoming a distant memory and, for some, the daily grind of the morning routinue is well and truly setting in.

One of the struggles for many parents is coming up with a variety of a healthy lunch options that keep kids interested and energised for the day. Many of us in our busy lives tend to favour convieneince and often this is where nutritional value is compromised.

And we're surrounded by food marketing that influences our choices far more than we consciously realise.

There's so much information out there about what's good and what's not and some of it is conflicting which makes a well intentioned parents job even more complex, then add into the mix more than one child with differant food preferences - the struggle is real.

Many of our local schools, particularly primary schools, are moving towards becoming water-only where students are only able to drink water at school and during school events and many schools also have nurition policies or guidelines which encourage students and parents to look at the types of food that are coming through the school gates.

Many schools have also been working alongside organisations that provide programmes around healthy food choices and work with the school to develop nutrition policies and a healthy choice culture. Some of our schools even have onsite vegetable gardens where the students are learning about, growing and preparing food themselves.

A number of schools also have on site canteens or options to purchase lunch either daily or weekly, some of these options offer healthier choices, but the vast number still consist of bakery goods.

So whats the answer? Well there is no standard easy answer however these tips may be helpful:

*Take the time to familarise yourself with how to read the nutrition labels on food products and more often than not the more processed and packaged it is the less the nutritional value.

*Pack a variety of foods from each of the food groups including lots of fruit and vegetables.

*Steer towards whole grain varieties of carbohydrates and limit sugars and fats as much as possible.

*Encourage children and young people to drink water only throughout the day.

*Try to change it up regularly to ensure they did get tired of the same thing day after day.

*Check out the heart foundation website for some lunchbox ideas

If you are interested in ways to make healthy change in your life, check out the Healthy Families Whanganui Rangitikei Ruapehu website and join the movement to create a culture where the healthy choice is the easy choice where we live, learn, work and play.