重口味SM

Most kids need years of guidance and encouragement to eat well," says O'Connor (photo by Jim Oldfield)

Back to School: how to create a healthy lunch

What is a healthy lunch for your child? And how can you encourage your kid to eat the lunch you pack or put on the table? 

These are two of the most vexing questions parents face, as they get their kids ready for school each day, so writer Jim Oldfield consulted an expert at the 重口味SM for ideas on how you can meet the nutritional needs of your child at midday.

Step one is figuring out what makes up a healthy lunch. A good place to start is the , says Deborah O鈥機onnor, a professor in the at U of T and a researcher in the .

鈥淟ook at the Canada Food Guide and include something from at least three of its four food groups in your child鈥檚 lunch,鈥 says O鈥機onnor. 鈥淭he idea is to create balance by drawing on the four groups, and try to introduce some variety every day.鈥

This could include pepper strips, whole-grain crackers and a hard-cooked egg one day, for example, and zucchini sticks, cheese cubes and sliced ham the next.

and are also great resources for nutrition information, and both sites have lots of ideas on how to add variety to healthy lunches. Remember that although kids鈥 tastes change quickly, they often have to try foods several times before they like them.

鈥淪ome kids are easier than others, but many studies show that young children have to taste foods 10 or 15 times, or more, before they develop a taste for them,鈥 says O鈥機onnor, who is also a clinical dietitian and senior associate scientist at SickKids.

Step two is , and here can help. It suggests age-appropriate portions from each food group over a day, along with sample menus. (See the EatRight Ontario page on portion sizes for tips on how to visually estimate serving size.)

Parental concern does not end with a well-planned lunch, however. Perhaps the biggest challenge is helping your child establish good eating habits 鈥 so he or she will eat what you鈥檝e prepared at home or put in a lunch pack.

鈥淲ithout question, most kids need years of guidance and encouragement to eat well,鈥 says O鈥機onnor. 鈥淏ut there are some well-established strategies that work even with the pickiest eaters.鈥

Probably the most important thing is to be a good role model, says O鈥機onnor. She points out that kids like to do what their parents do, so if parents don鈥檛 prepare and eat healthy food at home, or they talk about grabbing a fast-food lunch at work, they shouldn鈥檛 expect different behaviour from their child. Menu planning a couple of days or even a week ahead can really help busy families keep cooking.

It鈥檚 also important to get your kids involved in cooking, says O鈥機onnor. Most children love the textures, aromas and colours of the kitchen. They鈥檙e often happy to wash, cut and get creative with vegetables, fruit and other healthy whole foods. 鈥淭ake you kids shopping for groceries or get them into an edible garden, so they develop an interest in where food comes from.鈥

Finally, don鈥檛 be a pedant. 鈥淎 lot of research suggests that an overly-restrictive stance on a children鈥檚 diets can backfire. Leave the junk at the store, put good food in front of them and let them decide what and how much to eat,鈥 says O鈥機onnor.

Jim Oldfield is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the 重口味SM.

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