What makes a healthy school lunch?

Use your imagination to make lunches appealing and interesting, and encourage your children to be involved in the selection and preparation of their lunch. When children are involved in food preparation they are more likely to experiment with different types of foods.

You should avoid giving your children high fat, high sugar and energy dense items such as chips, lollies, high sugar muesli bars or soft drinks.

It helps your child if food is packed into separate containers for each recess and lunch break. For example, a small box of cut fruit pieces for the morning fruit break, another small box of wheat crackers and low fat cheese slices for play lunch, and a larger box with sandwiches, fruit, etc. for lunch time. Water is the best drink for children all day at school.

Lunch Box Suggestions

Go For Your Life (VIC) suggests including the following foods in your child's daily lunchbox:

    Fresh fruit
    Crunchy vegetables
    A dairy food - cheese, milk or yoghurt
    A protein food - slice of lean meat, hard boiled egg or peanut butter
    Starchy food - bread, roll, flat bread, fruit bread or crackers
    Water

Weigh Up Your Lunch Box with this interactive game!

There are plenty of other websites with great lunchbox ideas to help parents prepare interesting and tasty lunches for their children. Take a look at the following:

• Go For Your Life
• Nutrition Australia
• The Children's Hospital at Westmead
• CHOICE
• Health Insite
• Tooty Fruity Vegie Program
  
  

Fruit Breaks in the Classroom

Many schools also allow children to snack on fruit and vegetables during specified class times to keep up energy levels and increase healthy food intake. Some schools call this ‘bite and write', ‘crunch and sip', or ‘brain food break'.

Schools can also strongly influence the food that children take to school by educating parents and encouraging a healthy, balanced lunchbox.