The British School

Healthy and interesting packed lunches are easy to provide as long as you do a little advanced planning. Let's face it, dashing around at 6 or 6.30am getting the kids up and ready for school whilst making breakfast is not the best time for us to fix the most ideal lunchbox. Invest in some small easy to open plastic containers for prepared food - makes less mess and is more environmentally friendly, also kids love to find out what's inside each tub.
The 6-point lunchbox checklist
The ideal, nutritionally balanced lunchbox will include foods from each of the following main food groups: 1. Bread/cereal (starches and carbohydrates) 2. Fruit 3. Vegetables 4. Meat or meat alternative (protein) 5. Calcium rich foods 6. Fluids, ideally including at least two 500ml bottles of water

Group 1 - Bread, Cereal or Starch Group
Breads and cereals are sources of carbohydrates, fibre, B-vitamins and minerals. Aim to use wholemeal or whole grain bread for sandwiches, pitta or Arabic bread make great roll-ups. Other ideas include soft tortillas, chapattis, bagels or savoury scones. Use left over pasta, couscous or rice for a salad. Mix with chopped up chicken, cherry tomatoes, red peppers and peas - or make up your own combinations. Mini homemade mini pizzas or pizza slices with a variety of toppings. Rice crackers, oatcakes, breadsticks or crisp breads with hummus dip, cheese or spread with vegemite. Potato salad - cold cubed potato mixed with cubed carrot, peas or vegetables of choice mixed with a little light mayonnaise, baked baby potato or homemade popcorn. A good quality cereal bar - always check the sugar levels, homemade flapjack, digestive biscuit or fig rolls. For sweeter treats opt for carrot cake, muffins, raisin loaf or wholemeal scones. Homemade bagel chips (virtually salt-free substitute for crisps) - slice a plain bagel into small rounds through the vertical plane. Lightly brush the surface with a little olive oil - you can flavour the oil with a little garlic paste for extra taste then bake until lightly toasted. Can be stored for up to 3 days in air tight container.

Group 2 - Fruit
Fruits are rich in antioxidants and also give valuable soluble fibre as well as vitamins and minerals. Children will often eat fruit more enthusiastically if it is cut up into finger portions in a simple fruit salad 'lucky dip', try different combinations of their favourite fruit - kiwi, strawberry and grape; mango and melon, pear and plum. Dried fruit such as apricots, small box of raisins, apple rings, dried figs or dates. Make a fruit puree which you can freeze so that by break time your kids will have a fruit slushy. Quarter oranges and freeze to make a fresh ice block of pure fruit juice. Kiwi can be cut in half and scooped out with a spoon. Fruit juice that doesn't contain added sugar or preservatives can be counted as one portion of fruit in a day.

Group 3 - Vegetables
Finger food vegetables are often favoured: baby carrots or carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, baby sweetcorn, celery sticks, cooked green beans, red/yellow capsicum cut into strips, steamed broccoli, cooked asparagus spears - provide a dip to dunk them into such as hummus, cream or cottage cheese. For a colourful tasty option - make mini kebab sticks of mixed vegetable and meat or a meat alternative (cut off the end of the stick to make it blunt before packing). If you child is 'anti-veg' find other ways to get them to eat a portion: vegetable omelette or frittata, or add vegetables to rice or pasta salad, home made pizza or quiche or use a vegetable pâté as a sandwich filler.

Group 4 - Meat or Meat Alternatives
Meat provides protein, as do vegetarian alternatives, and they are a rich source of iron and zinc, both of which are needed for growing children. Chicken pieces in a tasty sauce, ham or turkey strips rolled around vegetable sticks, kebab sticks with or without a dip. Home made mini chicken, vegetable or bean burgers, meatballs, fish cakes - make in advance, freeze and cook as needed. Eggs - hardboiled, egg mayonnaise filling for sandwiches, cubes or slices of Spanish omelette. Prawn or crab salad (make sure they have a freezer block in their lunchbox), tuna salad, salmon, sardines, or salmon pâté. Alternatives to meat can be found in the bean/nut families, and they can make ideal finger or bite sized foods - chick pea 'marbles', bean burgers, falafel, hummus, or a mixed bean salad.

Group 5 - Calcium Rich Foods
Calcium is need for growing bones, you can get calcium for a number of foods sources not just milk and milk products. Yogurt or fromage frais, choose ones that are free from additives and have less than 10% sugar (i.e. 10g per 100g of product). Plain 'bio' yogurt is probably the best option as this also helps digestive health - it can be jazzed up with raisins or chopped fruit. Individually wrapped small cheeses, home cut cheese sticks, cream or cottage cheese filling for sandwiches, alternative cheese toppings for homemade pizzas include fresh feta or mozzarella cheese. Other calcium rich foods include tinned sardines and salmon, dried fruit, broccoli, oranges, kidney beans, blackberries, eggs, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Choose calcium enriched alternative drinks such as soya and rice milk in small cartons; they come in all sorts of flavours such as vanilla, chocolate and banana.
Group 6 - Drinks
It is best to limit drinks to water or milk/milk alternative drinks and to make sure that fruit juices are drunk with meals to avoid sugars and acids in the fruit drinks damaging young teeth.
Treats
Treats are exactly what they should be, and to avoid your child guzzling sweets all day keep a sensible perspective on this whole issue. If your child is totally deprived of treats they may demand them to the exclusion of everything else. Aim to steer your child toward some good quality cake, flapjack or dessert - and save that special good quality chocolate treat when you're there to enjoy their pleasure.

LUNCHBOX PLANNER
Week One
Saturday	Chicken kebab,Cherry tomatoes,Oatcakes spread with vegemite,Satsuma,Yogurt,water.
Sunday	Couscous salad with diced vegetables,Hard boiled egg-quartered Strawberries, Flapjack,water.
Monday	Bagel with cream cheese,Mini pot of mixed beans,Kiwi + strawberry chunks,water.
Tuesday	Tuna pasta salad, Grapes,Frozen milk or soya milk drink, water.
Wednesday	Cheese and tomato sandwich,Sliced apple and pear,Muffin, water.
Week Two
Saturday	Hummus with Arabic bread,Red pepper sticks for dipping,Fromage frais,Sliced peach,Water.
Sunday	Ham, lettuce, tomato sandwich,Pineapple cubes in juice,Small bag of homemade popcorn,Calcium enriched soya milk drink,Water.
Monday	Chicken and mixed vegetable wrap,Small pack of pumpkin seeds,BananaMuffin,Water .
Tuesday	Cottage cheese dipBread sticks for dippingCarrot and celery sticksMango smoothieWater
Wednesday	Sausage (veggie or meat) bitesCitrus salad - orange and grapefruit,Flapjack,Water.

Sandwich Filling Ideas
Remember to use a variety of different breads - rolls, buns, scones, bagels or wraps. With sliced bread cut them into different shapes. Grated cheese and grated carrot Tuna and sweetcorn Shredded chicken with red currant jelly Mashed avocado and finely chopped spring onion Ham, tomato and lettuce Egg mayonnaise and shredded lettuce Cheddar cheese and pesto Turkey and coleslaw Hummus and sliced black olives Cream cheese and pineapple Salmon and cucumber Cottage cheese and chopped dates