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Schools

The Low-Down on School Lunches

What you pack inside your child's lunchbox has a direct effect on learning capabilities, experts say.

One of our chief responsibilities as parents is to teach our children healthy habits. So it’s no surprise that one of the most important things we can do to ensure a good school day is to pack a lunchbox full of nutritious, power-foods that will keep our kids full and focused.

Experts say the items you pack inside that lunch box affect the mood and behaviors of the children, so monitoring carbohydrates and sugars is a big job. The ability to function, focus and learn well in school is greatly affected by a child’s diet, making it more important than ever to pay attention to what you are packing.

“Too much sugar and carbohydrates often have an adverse affect on kids' behavior, making them hyperactive, which makes them anxious, jittery and restless,” according to Dr. Lorraine Hutchinson, a Cupertino therapist specializing in weight control.

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Hutchinson says there have been countless studies that indicate that children act up and have disciplinary problems in school directly after lunch, because of the poor food choices that were made at lunchtime.

She says that making healthy foods readily available to kids and having healthy options packed in their lunchboxes each day will contribute to a solid lifelong relationship with good eating habits. And she warns parents that all eyes are on them when it comes to their own eating habits, so modeling good behavior is paramount.

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“As parents and adults, we should show by example,” Hutchinson said.

Packing healthy choices for kids is key, and Jennifer Toller, assistant supervisor of the ’s child nutrition services department, offers a few tips that will ensure some nutritional success in the lunch-packing arena.

“Kids have such a small amount of time to eat, and if the lunch option is really complicated, they’re simply not going to eat it,” said Toller. “Make things easy to eat, easy to open and easy to eat.”

Toller, whose department serves about 3,500 students a day at 12 elementary and middle schools in Campbell, also encourages parents to avoid packing dessert in a lunch box, adding that with so little time at lunch, that brownie is more appealing to a little one than the apple slices.

Toller offers a few additional lunch-packing tips for moms and dads embarking on another year of early-morning sandwich making:

  • Pay close attention to the balance of your child’s lunch rather than counting calories to ensure you’ve packed a well-rounded meal.
  • Avoid the empty calories hidden inside juice boxes and offer water, instead. If your child doesn’t like water, try flavoring it with fruit or a hint of juice.
  • Include fun finger foods that your child will enjoy eating such as crackers and cheese or cucumbers and hummus.
  • Use unprocessed items, avoiding those bags of Doritos and Oreos and opting for blueberries and pretzels.
  • The more colorful the better: Most natural foods are colorful; choose your items based on this.
  • Make sure there’s a good balance of carbs, fat and protein.
  • Be creative. Nobody likes the same old sandwich every day, so be creative. Use last night’s leftover grilled chicken and wrap it up in a whole-wheat pita with some hummus, or make a salad or bean dip.
  • Cut up veggies with a hummus or bean dip or fruits with a yogurt dip.
  • Be careful about nitrates in lunch meat and always pack a cold pack with items that need refrigeration, such as yogurt or milk.
  • Always go for whole grain.
  • Nuts, yogurts, cheese and cut-up fruits and veggies make for a very protein-packed lunch.
  • Check with your school to see what the “hot lunch” program offers. Toller insists the healthiest option for parents in Campbell is to have students eat at school.

“In our case, the best option is for kids to eat lunch at school,” said Toller.  “It’s just $3 a day, and all meals meet nutrition guidelines for calories and fat. We have salad bars at all of our school, which have at least five to six fresh fruits and vegetables. We’re really excited about that.”

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