Some simple guidelines from Soreen
Remember lunch boxes when you were a kid? Some kind of sandwich on thick white bread, a bag of crisps, a chocolate biscuit and a carton of sugary squash. Well, not anymore. Tastes have changed, attitudes have changed and that of course means the contents of the lunch box have changed too. For the better.
Today, lunch box ideas for children need a lot more thought, care and attention than ever before. You need to fill their lunch boxes with inspiration, in the shape of nutritional and healthy food and drinks. Stuff that’s good for them and that tastes good too. And because kids get bored quickly, you need to think about variety as well.
To help you, Soreen have put together a few lunch box ideas and guidelines for you to think about. We’ve included a couple of Soreen products in there, because a squidgy goodness boost half way through the school day is no bad thing for a flagging child:
You need to fill them up - so salad and fruit by itself won’t do. Kids need protein, carbohydrates, fibre and vitamins to help their bones grow and keep their brains sharp, so they’ll want a sandwich, wrap, quiche, pasta or similar as a ‘main course.’
Sandwiches are fine, just think a bit more about the content - mix between wholemeal, granary, multi-grain and white and brown breads.
And try wraps for a change as these often go down great with kids. For fillings, tuna mayo & sweetcorn or fish paste and cucumber make a tasty change and so does a chicken salad wrap. Just adding a little hummus or marmite to a sandwich can also boost the taste factor.
As a change from sandwiches - try a carbohydrate-based salad, made with pasta, rice, or potato. Or maybe a mini quiche or a hard-boiled egg. Or perhaps a hummus dip with breadsticks.
Avoid sugary drinks -go for water, milk, or pure fruit juice. If you’ve time, making and bottling your own smoothies would be a refreshing option.
Add a snack or treat -to keep them going. Which is where the Soreen range can prove useful, because our squidgy goodness comes in all shapes, sizes and flavours that are as healthy as they are tasty and convenient. Two slices of our Original malt loaf or Apple & Sultana Fruit Loaf are both good lunch box ideas and the same goes for our Snackers and Fruity Five snack pack. And of course our lunchbox loaves In Malt or Banana flavour, deserve a place on name alone.
Don’t forget your five-a-day options - by including a small bag of raisins or sultanas, or a seasonal fruit like a Satsuma, apple, banana, pear, peach or plum. A good idea is your own freshly prepared fruit pot, or a tasty salad pot with cucumber, peppers cherry tomatoes and celery sprinkled with a little lemon juice or garnished with coleslaw.
So there are a few thoughts and suggestions on how to give your child’s lunch box a good nutritional balance. Cooked school meals are now becoming much healthier because they have to conform to government guidelines, but there’s no reason at all that lunch boxes can’t become a lot healthier too if you apply some guidelines of your own.
