NUTRITION MAYURI BHAWAN Healthy lunch-box ideas Packing a healthy school lunch box will ensure that your child gets all the nutrients and energy they need for optimal classroom performance. By Lynne Gidish T he contents of a school lunch box are important to keep your child both well-nourished and performance-ready. Mayuri Bhawan, a registered dietician at Nutritional Solutions, offers this advice: “Always make sure that your child has enough food for the day and factor in meals and snacks for any extramural activities. Remember, peer-influence can affect your child’s attitude to food choices, this may result in a sudden refusal of a food or a request for whatever foods their friends are eating, so try to limit undesirable influences while remaining realistic. Children like being involved in choices so let your child help choose what’s on the menu. Some feel safe with the same predictable sandwich while others are more adventurous in their food choices and enjoy variety.” IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS A balanced lunch box consists of a wholegrain/unrefined starch, protein, fruit and vegetables, says Bhawan. “Limit unhealthy snacks by offering healthier alternatives (see table alongside) and always include a variety of foods from all four food groups. • Focus on vegetables and fruit. Offer one orange (for example, carrots/butternut) and one dark green vegetable (for example, peas, broccoli) each day. Limit dried fruit (especially the sugar-coated ones) and fruit juice and stick to fresh. • Choose whole grains and higher fibre grain products. Corn/lentils/beans/ chickpeas/brown rice/sweet potato/baby potato/seed loaf bread/Provita/Ryvita. • Offer full cream dairy until the age of two and low-fat dairy thereafter. Avoid sweetened yoghurt, rather buy plain low-fat or full cream yoghurt and add fruit for natural sweetness. ! “Always make sure that your child has enough food for the day.” – Mayuri Bhawan • Stick to leaner proteins such as chicken, white fish (hake/sole/kingklip), tinned tuna, omega-3 fatty fish (mackerel, pilchards, sardines, trout and salmon), beef, cottage cheese, baked beans and eggs. • Use unsaturated fats and spreads, for example, avocado, olives, olive oil, hummus, nut butters and nuts.

LUNCH BOX SUGGESTIONS HEALTHY SNACKS TO PACK INTO YOUR LUNCH BOX Starch OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 OPTION 5 Egg mayo Tuna pasta salad Lettuce wraps Hummus and crackers Finger foods Seed/health loaf Wholewheat pasta Seed crackers Wholegrain crackers Tuna Cold meat/meatballs Peppers and rocket/baby spinach Lettuce wraps with carrot and cucumber strips Mayo Peanut butter (on apple slices) (spread on the wholegrain crackers) (mix into cottage cheese) Strawberries Apple Fruit Bar Banana Handful of mixed nuts Mini rice cakes Bran muffin (corn on the cob) Boiled eggs mini Protein omelette/crustless quiche Vegetable Baby corn and baby carrots Fat Avo Fruit Pear Treats (occasionally) (lite/regular) (add to yoghurt) Homemade popcorn Plain yoghurt (pastrami/turkey/chicken) Biltong Cottage cheese Rosa tomatoes and baby carrots Sugar snap peas and cucumber sticks Hummus Basil pesto ToTo drink drink Water/ Water/ infused infused To drink fruit fruit water/ water/ Water/ infused infused infused rooibos rooibos fruit tea water/ tea (unsweetened) (unsweetened) infused rooibos tea (unsweetened) "" ! ! FIND OUT MORE

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FIND OUT MORE • Rhodene Oberholzer: www.enbonnesante.co.za; email: rhodene@enbonnesante.co.za; 072 595 6018 ● ● Jay Jay Kunvar:; Kunvar:; www.anuhealth.co.za; www.anuhealth.co.za; ● Jay Kunvar:; www.anuhealth.co.za; email: email: nhc@anuhealth.co.za; nhc@anuhealth.co.za; email: nhc@anuhealth.co.za; 011 011 849-0680 849-0680 011 849-0680 • Jay Kunvar: www.anuhealth.co.za; email: nhc@anuhealth.co.za; ● ● Joy Joy Steenkamp: Steenkamp: ●https://shop.medipost.co.za/; https://shop.medipost.co.za/; Joy Steenkamp: https://shop.medipost.co.za/; email: email: info@medipost.co.za; info@medipost.co.za; email: info@medipost.co.za; 012 012 426 426 4000 4000 012 426 4000 011 849 0680 ● ● Mayuri Mayuri Bhawan: Bhawan: ●www.nutritionalsolutions.co.za; www.nutritionalsolutions.co.za; Mayuri Bhawan: www.nutritionalsolutions.co.za; email: email: mayuri@nutritionalsolutions.co.za. mayuri@nutritionalsolutions.co.za. email: mayuri@nutritionalsolutions.co.za. 079 079 839 839 2023 2023 079 839 2023 • Joy Steenkamp: https://shop.medipost.co.za/; ends ends ends email: info@medipost.co.za; 012 426 4000 • Mayuri Bhawan: www.nutritionalsolutions.co.za; email: mayuri@nutritionalsolutions.co.za; 079 839 2023 Rhodene Oberholzer: ● Rhodene www.enbonnesante.co.za Oberholzer: www.enbonnesante.co.za ; email: ; email: rhodene@enbonnesante.co.za rhodene@enbonnesante.co.za ; email: rhodene@enbonnesante.co.za . 072 . 072 595 595 6018 6018 . 072 595 6018 ● ● Rhodene Oberholzer: www.enbonnesante.co.za The South African Schools Collection 2021 17 Foundation Phase_Nutrition.indd 17 Mealie 12 12 12 2021/04/19 3:20 PM