Birchley St.Mary’s Primary School Year 5 Healthy Living Week
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducted national research into the contents of children’s school lunchboxes. Everyday 5 million lunchboxes are prepared in homes in the UK and a staggering 4 out of 5 were found to contain too much salt, saturated fat or sugar; and over 50% failed to include any fruit.
I found this information quite shocking which is why for my demonstration I decided to highlight the important nutritional requirements needed in lunchboxes.
Protein – helps to keep children alert throughout the day. Foods such as chicken, ham, egg and tuna are high in protein and therefore finding ways to include such foods in lunchboxes is important.
Complex Carbohydrates – foods such as wholemeal bread, pasta, rice and bananas are complex carbohydrates and they provide a slow energy release and can therefore provide energy for longer.
Calcium – for growth, healthy teeth and bones. The UK Dairy Council conducted research and found that over 2.5million children don’t get enough calcium in their diets. Include cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais and smoothies in lunchboxes.
Fruit and Vegetables – it is important to get 5-a-day as they provide vital vitamins and minerals.
Recipes
Here I have included a couple of recipes that I demonstrated on Friday 17th July. Why not have a try yourself and ensure you have a healthy lunchbox.
Chicken Tikka Wrap
100g Cooked Chicken Tikka
50g Cucumber, finely sliced
50g Natural Pro-biotic yoghurt
Few mint leaves, finely chopped
1 Wholemeal Wrap
In a small bowl mix together the chicken tikka, cucumber, mint and yoghurt. Place your wrap onto a chopping board and place your chicken tikka yoghurt mix onto your wrap. Fold the bottom of the wrap over your chicken tikka yoghurt mix, then fold in each side and then continue to roll the wrap into a cylinder shape. Slice in half and place in a sealed sandwich bag.
This recipe contains Protein from the chicken, Calcium from the yoghurt, Complex Carbohydrates from the wholemeal wrap and vitamins and minerals from the cucumber and mint.
Tuna, Sweetcorn and Pepper Pasta Salad
150g Wholemeal pasta shells
100g Tinned Tuna
50g Sweetcorn
50g Yellow, Red, Orange or Green Pepper, finely sliced
1 lemon
Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente (or so that the pasta still has a little bit of bite to it). Then combine the pasta with the tuna, sweetcorn and pepper. Instead of using dressings such as salad cream, mayonnaise or vinaigrette, use the juice of the lemon as this helps provide a healthy fresh and simple dressing for the pasta salad.
This recipe contains Complex carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals.
Cornflake and Raspberry Granola
150g Natural Pro-biotic Yoghurt
A handful fresh raspberries
A handful cornflakes
1 tablespoon acacia honey (normal honey is fine)
In a small bowl mix the yoghurt and raspberries together gently pushing down on the raspberries allowing some of the raspberry juice to mix into the yoghurt. Now fold the honey through the yoghurt and top with the cornflakes. Tip: To prevent the cornflakes from going soggy, put them in a small plastic bag so that the child can place the cornflakes onto the yoghurt themselves at lunch time.
This recipe contains calcium, complex carbohydrates and vitamins and minerals.
Things to avoid in lunchboxes
Cereal bars – can contain more than 40% sugar and more than 30% fat. Sugar in a bowl of sugar gets dissolved by the milk whereas in cereal bars it can stick to childrens teeth.
Corner Fruit Yoghurt Pots – yoghurts that have fruit corner can contain 5 teaspoons of sugar in the fruit corner alone.
Processed Cheese – processed cheese such as cheese strings contain high levels of saturated fat and salt – just one cheese string can contain a childs RDA of salt.
Fruit Juice ‘Drinks’ – ensure children only drink fresh fruit juice. Fruit juice drinks can contains as little as 6% fruit with the rest being made up of sugary water.
Thankyou to everyone at Birchley St.Mary’s primary school who made me so welcome for my healthy eating demonstration. I hope that my tips and advice will be useful to you in creating exciting healthy lunchboxes in the future.
Many thanks,
Andrew Ferguson.
