Your Health and Well-Being
From Community Health
Lunch Box Tips - Part 2
Foods should be simple, ready to eat, and appetising after several hours storage in the lunch box.
Foods such as sandwiches can be prepared ahead, frozen, then taken for each day’s lunch box.
Suitable foods to freeze include: bread, cooked meat, cheese, peanut butter, baked beans, mashed
eggs, yeast or vegetable spreads.
Food is usually in a lunch box for several hours. Choose an insulated lunch box, one with a freezer
pack, or include a wrapped frozen drink. Follow safe food preparation methods.
Water and milk are the best drinks for children. They can be frozen to help keep foods in the lunch
box cool. Fruit juice, cordial, sports drinks, flavoured milk, and fizzy drinks are high in sugar and
not necessary. These drinks can increase the risk of tooth decay, are filling and may take the place
of healthier foods.
Many schoolchildren don’t eat their lunch, which can be frustrating. Check out the following
possible reasons: The lunch box style - your child may have an issue with their lunch container.
They might prefer a brown paper bag, want a container like their friends, or they may find it
difficult to open. Boredom - try to pack a different lunch every day. Fiddly and sticky - some
children are put off by fiddly packaging or don’t like getting sticky hands. Fruit can be made easier
to eat - remove orange peel, cut a kiwifruit in half, include a spoon.
If your child hardly eats anything from their lunch box despite your best efforts, ensure they have a
nutritious breakfast and dinner. Trust that your child will eat when hungry and don’t be tempted to
add chocolate, chips and lollies “just to make sure they have something”.
Food advertising and their friends’ food choices will influence children. Not all children go to
school with lunch boxes filled with chips and lollies, despite what your children say. Keep offering
healthy lunch box choices in a variety of ways, as children learn to eat what is familiar to them. It
may take time to change your child’s food preferences to more healthy choices.
(Information from www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)
Community Health at Yea Hospital – phone 5736 0400 and at Alexandra Hospital – phone 5772 0800
“Your Health and Well-Being” articles are available on the Alexandra District Hospital website under Health News –
www.humehealth.com.au/alexandra.