Healthy Eating Tips

School is here and what do you pack in those lunch boxes?

Need some ideas?

How about a sandwich made with whole wheat bagel, whole wheat wrap or pita pocket? Add fresh spinach leaves rather than iceberg lettuce and your child will get some additional fiber and Vitamin A. Plus Popeye will smile!

If your child doesn’t eat sandwiches….try rolled up slices of deli meat possibly skewered onto toothpicks. Little kids will enjoy cheese shapes cut out with cookie cutters. Serve them with crackers and a veggie. Try stringless sugar snap peas, cucumber slices or grape tomatoes for variety.

You can even pack a Chef Salad in a plastic container! Remember to eat your five fruits and veggies each day.

And yes, you’ll want to pack a snack or a fun food. How about fresh fruit kabobs, yogurt or lite pudding cups, popcorn, baked chips with salsa, or a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie?

With a little extra planning, those “what do I pack for lunch?” mornings might become a little bit easier and healthier. Most importantly, make every attempt to engage your child in preparing his or her own lunch, so that food trades at school lunch time are minimized.

Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. When you wait until you are thirsty, you are already getting dehydrated. It’s important to drink before you get thirsty. Large quantities of caffeinated and sweetened drinks are not part of the solution because they can contribute to dehydration.

To determine the amount of fluid needed daily, a quick rule of thumb is:

Adults or children over 100 pounds: Divide your weight in pounds in half. This number represents the ounces of fluid needed daily. Remember that fluid comes from foods, too. If this number is a large increase of fluid for you, then divide this number in half again. Small gradual changes work best. (example: A 200 pound man would need to consume 100 ounces of fluid daily. If that represents too large a quantity of fluid, then divide that number in half again, to 50 ounces, and work upwards as tolerated).
Children weighing less than 100 pounds have special fluid needs and this formula is not appropriate for them.

Add lemon or lime to your water. Drinking unsweetened tea or coffee counts as fluid. Drink up to 16 ounces of low-fat, skim or soy milk each day. Monitor your intake of diet sodas. Research on diet sodas indicate that consumers worry about overuse of artificial sweetener consumption and don’t always view diet sodas as “healthy”. Juice, which has nutrients, should be limited to 8 ounces per day, as should regularly sweetened sodas. Just remember to use common sense and know where your calories come from.