Nationwide the school lunch program is making changes to offer your children healthier foods. Whether your child eats at school, or takes a homemade lunch, ensure your child makes healthy food choices to improve his energy level and help him absorb more information at school.
Packing a healthy lunch starts by encouraging your child to grocery shop with you. Engage her in the process of selecting healthy foods. Let her pack her own lunch, with your supervision. Help her choose more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low-fat or nonfat milk.
One way to help your child choose healthy foods is to encourage her to eat a rainbow, naturally colored foods contain powerful nutrients that help fight off disease. They also provide the fiber, vitamins and minerals your child needs.
Red fruits like apples, strawberries and cranberries support heart health and memory. Orange foods like carrots, mangoes and peaches contain vitamin A and Vitamin C that strengthen the immune system and improve eye health and heart health. Green vegetables like broccoli, peas and spinach support healthier bones, teeth and eyes.
Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables strengthens the immune system, lowers the risk for certain cancers, helps hold off type 2 diabetes, improves memory, maintains heart health and helps build strong bones and teeth.
Match the portion size to the child's daily caloric needs. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children 5-13 consume about 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day, depending on their age, gender and activity level. Teens 14 to 18 years old need about 1,800 to 2,400 calories a day. The key is to ensure the calories come from wholesome, healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, grains, protein and dairy.
If you are aiming for 1,200 calories a day, your child needs one cup of fruit, 1.5 cups of vegetables, 4 ounces of grain, 3 ounces of protein, and 2.5 cups of dairy. In general, children 2 to 6 years old should get three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit each day. Kids older than six and teenage girls should eat at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit. Teenage boys should have five servings of vegetables and four servings of fruit daily.
Encourage your child to eat all the healthy foods in his lunchbox by placing the foods in a single dish with multiple brightly colored compartments and a single lid. Cleverly shaped foods and creative combinations can add to the fun as your child packs her lunch and opens it at school.
Learn more about the McDonald County Health Department on Facebook, by calling 417-223-4351 or by visiting www.mcdonaldcountyhealth.com.
General News on 08/28/2014