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how about a gets better nutrition in your child’s lunch box?

It is September and a new school year begins, which means that for many families it is a month of extra organization: school supplies, activities, transportation and lunch boxes. It is a fact that children are demanding and hate monotony in food. Bread and cheese again? And then they end up asking for cookies and sweets because it is the reality that is presented to them in an attractive way in supermarkets and often associated with a caricature. And the parents, tired and without time, end up giving in knowing that it is not the best opportunity, but the possible solution if they do not have the snack planned.

With good planning and knowing where to get ideas, it becomes quite easy to create a daily routine. The key is to have ready-to-use homemade solutions that children like. Then add seasonal fruits and vegetables and don’t be too repetitive.

For some children, involving them in the running process can help; this is the case with healthy cakes, pancakes, bars or smoothies. But involving them in the planning is essential. That is, sit down with them and explain what options they will have that week and the reason for those combinations. And, of course, ask for their opinion.

I leave you with a tip that helps in managing the lunch box throughout the school year: leave a sheet on the refrigerator door with the list of recipes made to ask for an evaluation of how it went. It will be up to the children to write or, if they are younger, to the parents/grandparents to point out the comments and, in this way, identify the ones that were most successful, the ones that we should drop and the ones that stay. from time to time or needs to be modified. Also leave room for children to proactively leave suggestions. And don’t get frustrated when you hear “I didn’t like it.” We know that others have been successful.

What is put in the lunch box has an impact on children’s health. And since most of the day they are in school, what they eat determines their level of energy and concentration. Through food, we can create conditions to maximize good growth and performance. What we want is that, at the end of the day, when we return to see the lunch box in which we have put our effort, it is empty.

Here is the recipe for a nutritionally healthy school lunch box:

• Good quality grease. We find nuts (later on you will find suggestions for various forms of presentation), avocado (sliced ​​inside a wrap or in guacamole) or fish pâté (sardines or tuna);
• Protein. Yogurt, boiled egg, hummus, tuna/sardine pate, milk, cheese, nuts, hemp seeds;
• Slowly absorbed carbohydrates. Oat flakes (so versatile that they have various forms of presentation, such as muffins, pancakes, bars, granola, etc.), wholemeal and/or seeded bread, wholemeal wrap, wholemeal and/or seeded toast;
• Two servings of fruits and vegetables. Varying the fruit is key. And in court too. Sliced ​​apples, sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning, are more successful than a whole apple. Taking sheets already spread with almond butter on top is a suggestion that can also work. The vegetables that tend to have the most stickiness are carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes;
• A bit of variety. Although the children like it very much, if you send them a boiled egg for four days in a row, the one will arrive in which they will hear: “I don’t like this anymore.” And since the solution cannot be to cross healthy options off the menu, we have to anticipate this reaction. The solution will be to vary the mode of presentation and planning. The egg, in addition to boiled, can be included in a pancake, quiche, muffin or cake. Don’t send the same thing on consecutive days;
• Main ingredients. If your child loves bananas, make banana muffins. If you love broccoli, make some broccoli vegetable nuggets. And if you love chocolate, make sure you check out Chocolate Chip in a Healthy Brownie.

And since none of this is done without good planning and a little imagination, here are my suggestions for logistics and inspiration for putting together a lunch box:

• Use social networks or websites to find recipes. There are many nutrition professionals on social media promoting healthy snack ideas, from sandwiches to cookies, yogurts, smoothies, wraps, etc. If you are new to this topic, it is best to choose only one page and select five recipes. I leave here an Australian and an American suggestion;
• Freeze single dose. Prepare healthy recipes for muffins, cookies, pancakes, quiches, cakes or smoothies and freeze them in individual portions, for example, on parchment paper or in glass jars. So for two months you always have options ready. If you plan a recipe a week for a month, you will have solutions for many weeks.
• Freeze half a loaf. Already with filling, such as cheese or tuna or sardine pasta. And if you make homemade mayonnaise, with olive oil and egg, it is a healthy option that lasts a month in the freezer;

Choosing the best utensils can also make a difference. To enhance the experience of enjoying food prepared a few hours ago, check out these ideas:

• Insulated lunch box just the right size for everything you need;
• Ice bags, essential at any time of the year, but that do not overwhelm you. If you don’t have one at home, check out how you can make one out of a simple sponge;
• Boxes to store all the food, always remembering that nobody likes to eat applesauce. It is convenient to have boxes with dimensions adjusted to the amount of food you send. The boxes with compartments are a secret of success, because in addition to preventing the food from mixing, they guarantee the preservation of the flavor for longer and it is not necessary to wrap them all in paper;
• Glass jars that you can save and reuse to send yogurt with fruit, hummus or even smoothies;
• Silicone molds that can be put in the oven and come with a lid to freeze. To save space, you can wrap them in parchment paper and put them all together in a bag;
• Reusable bags to carry fruit smoothies or overripe fruit.

It is true that the palate is educated and when the child is hungry he ends up trying what he has. However, conquering them implies creativity. A good example of this is the way food is presented. Let’s think about almonds: they can be whole, raw, whole, toasted, chopped, inside a muffin, in the form of almond “flour”, in cereal bars and nuts, in almond butter with chocolate, etc. If we try them once raw and the reaction is not good, do not leave them aside: include them in another way. So we’re also demystifying the “I don’t like it” because it will actually be a “I don’t like it like that” and not that food. With this, I do not advise you to fall into the temptation of disguising the food because that way we will never really get you to have a varied diet.

Good experiences and share with me your lunch boxes identifying me with #I can eat?

True or false? Cold water and hot bread were never good for the belly

Real. This Portuguese saying translates very well inadvisable habits for good intestinal health. If your intestinal transit is not regular, keep this proverb and know that in the morning the water must be lukewarm and the bread must give way to sour fruit.

A frequently asked question in consultations: are beans fattening?

No food is responsible for making us fat, just as no food is responsible for making us thin. Still, when comparing beans to white rice, did you know that the former is a better solution? Three tablespoons of beans are equivalent to two tablespoons of white rice in terms of carbohydrate content. But beans have substantially more nutritional value, as they have more protein and fiber, which doesn’t cause spikes in blood sugar and allows us to stay full longer.

A Video Tip: Three Healthy Vegan Lunch Box Ideas

to save this Newsletter For some time now, I have been leaving here some more snack suggestions, made by a nutritionist, but this time vegan. You’ll find a healthy version of Nutella, as well as popcorn.

Did you like this newsletter? Do you have doubts about food that you would like to clarify? Write me at [email protected].
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mariana chavez She is a clinical nutritionist, author of the podcast Aprendi a Comer, on Rádio Observador, and the book Dieta Única (ed. Guerra e Paz, 2016) [ver o perfil completo].