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Healthy
Eating
The crusade to get children to eat more healthfully during the school day is
one that health-care professionals, educators, and parents are serious about --
and with good reason.
Despite the fact that poor eating habits in children not only contribute to
childhood obesity but also may increase the risk that they will develop certain
chronic diseases as adults, experts say. The prevalence of childhood obesity in
the U.S. has doubled since the 1970s.
Getting kids to take a healthy lunch from home is one way to fight the
high-fat, high-sugar, and high-sodium offerings found in many school cafeterias
and vending machines.
Avoid Brown-Bag Boredom
If you run out of fresh ideas for brown-bag lunches, here are a few suggested
by Jody Villecco, Whole Foods Market's top nutritionist, and Jyl Steinbeck,
author of 10 cookbooks for healthy living, including the upcoming Busy Mom's
Make It Quick Cookbook:
· Mozzarella cheese sticks with
baked tortilla chips, a container of salsa, and orange segments
· Fruit, cheese, and meat kabobs:
Alternately thread turkey (or other low-fat meat), cheese cubes, bell
pepper, and pineapple chunks on Popsicle sticks.
· Yogurt parfait: A 6-8 oz.
container of low-fat yogurt, a snack pack of low-sugar, high-fiber
cereal, berries, grapes, apple slices, and/or banana
· A low-fat tortilla spread with
low-fat cream cheese, sprinkled with shredded carrots and raisins.
· A pita pocket stuffed with
lunchtime favorites like tuna, turkey and/or cheese, and chopped
vegetables (or with peanut butter and jelly).
· Cinnamon-raisin pita bread
stuffed with cream cheese and grated carrots.
· Whole-wheat bread with peanut
butter, banana, and chopped dates.
· A hollowed-out red or green
pepper stuffed with tuna salad.
· A hollowed apple filled with a
mixture of farmer cheese, granola, and raisins
· Scooped-out dinner rolls filled
with tuna or egg salad.
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