Doing lunch
Nutritionists share tips for back-to-school meal packing
With only a couple of weeks left until kids go back to school Island parents are busy getting ready for the big day – including stocking up on lunch supplies. A quick walk around the Summerside Superstore recently revealed a number of families discussing school meal plans and picking items with extended shelf lives. Lesley Arsenault had her three school-aged children in tow as she picked up her groceries. Between school dietary restrictions, costs, health considerations and finding something the kids will eat, school lunches can be a challenge, said Arsenault. “I’m very adamant about the kids eating well, so finding healthy foods that can last in their lunch without spoiling, and giving them a variety of things so they don’t get bored of the same stuff all the time (can be tough,)” she said. To help give parents a leg up on those tough school lunches Angela Dawson and Katelyn MacLean recently took to the floor of the Summerside Atlantic Superstore to spread some helpful tips. The women are both dietitians in the employ of the grocery chain, Dawson in based in Summerside and MacLean in Charlottetown. They were also offering some treats for parents and kids alike, including banana chocolate chip and lentil muffins and fruit kabobs, which had candy eyes and looked like caterpillars. Both proved popular with Arsenault and her kids, as well as many other visitors to the women’s booth.
“It’s hard for parents to know exactly what’s healthy and if they are packing a healthy lunch. So we’re just trying to show them some different options and tell them about how many food groups they should be packing in a balanced lunch so their child will have more energy to learn in school,” said Dawson. She recommended parents shoot to cover at least three of the four foods groups, which are vegetables and fruit, grains, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives. Dawson used an example of a tuna sandwich on whole grain bread with some fruit or vegetables and a glass of milk as good, simple, lunch parents might consider.
For snacks, she recommended that parents aim to include two of the food groups. They also recommend investing the time to pre-plan and pre-prepare as many lunches as possible and to include their children in the preparation. This tends to help kids who are picky eaters try new things and helps all kids develop responsibility as well as good food skills.
“Just getting the child involved, whether it is helping to make something in the kitchen … pouring the sauce or making the dish, or even taking them to the grocery store,” suggests MacLean. And when all else fails when dealing with a fussy eater, they said, it’s also possible to sneak in some healthy elements to otherwise popular food items – like the lentils in the banana chocolate chip muffins they were handing out. Arsenault was sold on the idea, though she said she’s fortunate that her kids are not finicky eaters.
Still, she made sure to get a copy of the recipe before she left. Anyone interested in consulting with Dawson or MacLean need only inquire at an Atlantic Superstore location on P.E.I.