GUIDE TO A HEALTHY LUNCHBOX
PLUS NUTRITIOUS AFTER-SCHOOL SNACKS
August’s end signals the beginning of autumn and back to school, with new school bags, new teachers and new lunchboxes. The lazy days of 99s and late bedtimes are over, and a lot of parents worry about how to get healthy routines back in place. Here, I have recipes for breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks that will make easing into autumn that bit easier.
Our twins, Connor and Lucia, started school last year, and the change in them has been huge. They have come on so much, but it takes a bit of effort to adapt to that structure with the work Amelda and I do, which can be manic and all over the place. All modern families are the same, I think, and making sure that children eat well and healthily can be difficult when life is so hectic.
Over the summer, the routine slips and rules are a bit more relaxed. Some parents find that their children are eating more sweets or ice cream in the summer, or eating out more, and when this time of year rolls around, they want to get things back on track. This can’t be done too roughly. You don’t want the children to feel they are being punished, and it’s possible to gently get the healthy eating going again.
Irish strawberries are in season until October; they’re a wonderfully sweet treat that are great for lunches or lunchboxes. I always advise that people buy lots of strawberries, and other fruit, in bulk when it’s in season, and freeze them in bags to use in smoothies throughout the year. Home-made smoothies are wonderful because they feel like a sweet treat, but you know exactly what’s gone into them.
Children like routine, and in school time, Connor and Lucia have a very regular eating pattern. They have a good breakfast, usually porridge, sometimes a poached egg — or even egg-in-a-cup like my mother used to make us. Lucia wasn’t keen on eggs for a long time, but egg-in-a-cup — a boiled egg chopped up in a cup with butter and toast — convinced her. Then they have a simple lunch at school and home-made soup or sausage rolls when they come home.
I think it’s wonderful how most schools have a healthy-eating policy now — no fizzy drinks, no sweets; proper food. We’ve come a long way from ham sandwiches every day, but even at that, there’s nothing bad about ham you’ve boiled and baked off at home, sliced and put in homemade brown bread. We do that all the time, and we often roast a chicken at the start of the week — using the carcass for soup — and give the twins wraps and sandwiches for school.
There’s nothing wrong with a treat in the lunchbox once a week, but the right kind of treat. I have a recipe for healthy flapjacks, and also you can make home-made cookies. Freeze batches of the raw dough in the fridge for a week or two and just make a few cookies at a time.
I can see both sides of the argument for hiding vegetables in children’s food. I think a bit of both is no harm if they are reluctant. You can hide all kinds of things in the likes of salmon fishcakes or a blended soup. But my twins love things like sprouted broccoli or baby carrots, they are very cute looking. A bit of sauce on the broccoli can help, and cooking with a bit of honey gives carrots a lovely sweetness that children like.
Eating together as a family is important for helping children to get over their pickiness. If they see you eating different things, they are more likely to try them. Parents have to remember that you have to introduce a child to a new food six to eight times before they get used to it. Perseverance is key, but we must try not to beat ourselves up. Everyone won’t like everything, but it’s important to encourage them to try without it turning into a war.
A lot of the recipes here are written with children in mind, but the whole family can enjoy them. That’s the key to nurturing a child’s healthy relationship with food. Neven Maguire is a brand ambassador for the ‘Simply Better’ food collection at Dunnes Stores and owner of MacNean House & Restaurant and the Neven Maguire Cookery School in Blacklion, Co Cavan. The cookery school hosts classes for all skill levels, including parent and child courses. See nevenmaguire.com