Preparing a school lunchbox can be a mind-boggling task for many moms during school season. On one hand, kids want something different every day, and on the other hand, it’s challenging to strike a balance between giving them what they love and the necessary nutrients they need.
To help you figure out what to add in your kids’ lunchboxes, we put together a guide of essential nutrients and foods that support kids’ growth and development and fuel them with energy throughout busy school days.
1. Begin with Bread:
Bread is a healthy source of fiber, carbohydrates, and a wide range of minerals and vitamins. For your kids’ lunchbox, opt for soft bread, toast, or buns. You can also choose multigrain toast or gluten-free bread for a higher fiber content and easier digestion.
2. Add protein:
An essential component in your child’s growth, protein contains key nutrients like iron, omega 3, zinc, and vitamin D. Meat, eggs, fish, and beans are excellent sources of proteins to include in your kids’ lunchboxes. Tofu, hummus, and soy are good alternative sources of protein for children following a vegetarian regimen.
3. Infuse hydration:
Hydration is very important for both children and adults. The lack of a decent water intake can cause dehydration, fatigue, muscle cramps, and headaches. Fuel your kids with foods that have high water content like cucumbers (95%), lettuce (96%), oranges (88%), and strawberries (91%) to keep them hydrated throughout the day.
4. Include dairy in moderation:
Dairy products are rich in calcium, protein, vitamins A, D, and B12 which promote healthy bone development. If your kids hate drinking milk every day, adding a bottle of chocolate milk, a fruity pack of yogurt, or a cheese sandwich to their lunchbox is a great way to incorporate calcium into their daily diet. We recommend adding only one dairy product to your kid’s lunchbox to avoid bloating or indigestion from occurring. For lactose intolerant kids, almond, soy and coconut milks are great sources of vitamins E and D and omega 3 fatty acids.
5. Fuel them up with vitamins:
Making a healthy lunchbox for your kids requires knowing the key vitamins they need on a daily basis and adding the foods that contain them. Vitamin A promotes a stronger immunity system, healthy vision, and tissues and can be found in yellow/orange vegetables like carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and peppers. Iron is essential to the formation of red blood cells and muscle-building and can be found in apples, pomegranates, spinach, and prunes. The family of vitamin B (B2, B3, B6, B12) provides healthy circulation, stronger metabolism, and nervous system. Good vitamin B sources can be found in leafy greens, kiwi, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. Potassium is an important mineral that transports nutrients to blood cells and helps regulate fluid balance in the body. Bananas and avocados are great sources of potassium.
6. Treat them to something sweet:
Now that you’ve added all the essential elements for a healthy lunchbox for your kids, you might as well add something sweet to pamper them. Add a mini muffin, a small piece of cake, or their favorite chocolate bar.
Introducing Breadfast School Lunchboxes:
Worried about what to prepare in your kids’ lunchbox every morning? We got you covered! Breadfast’s ready-made lunchboxes have all the nutrients your kids need on a school day. Our Lunchboxes will be available starting September 15th and include Mini Pizza Lunchbox, Chicken Lunchbox, and Hot Dog Lunchbox. Count on Breadfast to deliver all your back-to-school needs during school season, from stationery, ready-made lunchboxes, tupperware, and many more. Order now.
