Nutritionist and mother of three, Katie Thorp, shares practical tips for successful lunch box preparation. Acknowledging the challenges parents face, she emphasises the importance of involving children in the process, promoting balance in meals, offering bite-sized options, avoiding new foods in the lunch box, and staying organised by preparing in advance. Thorp encourages parents to focus on building a positive relationship with food and reassures them that doing their best is all that anyone can ask.
As a Nutritionist and a mum of three busy daughters, I can appreciate how challenging packing a lunch box for every day of the school year can be! We always want the very best for our children, however, having the motivation and energy to pack food that is enjoyable, nourishing and filling, is tricky at times. There are always so many competing priorities for children at school, they don’t want to be sitting and eating their lunch for hours, they want to be out and playing with their friends! This can mean that regardless of what delicious array of foods you have packed, some days your child will simply eat none of it. This can be a bitter pill to swallow. Just know that you’re not the only one. The packing of a school lunch box day in and day out is hard for everyone. You’re doing your best and that’s all anyone can ask of you.
Helpful tips for planning and preparing your child’s lunch boxes:
Involve your child
One thing we do know is that children who are involved in the process of planning and preparing their lunch boxes are much more likely to engage with their food and eat the contents of their lunch boxes. This might look like taking them to the supermarket with you, to select some options for the upcoming school week. Or it might be getting together on a Sunday, to plan the options they would like to eat for recess or fruit snack that week. Get them in the kitchen, doing a little bit of food preparation, so there are options ready to go on the busy school mornings. Empowering your child to be involved can go a long way to building their confidence around food.
Balance is great
Where you can, try to provide a balanced lunch box for your child. This ensures they are getting a wide variety of minerals and vitamins for their growing bodies. You might like to include some lean protein (chicken, eggs or nuts), some whole grains (wholemeal bread, popcorn or crackers), dairy (cheeses, yoghurts or some custard), plus a colourful assortment of fruits and vegetables. Even if your child doesn’t come home having eaten everything in their lunchbox, all the exposure to these nourishing foods is still incredibly beneficial. Always remember, the parent provides and the child decides. You’re doing your part, by simply providing these delicious foods from each of the food groups. It’s up to your child whether they do/don’t choose to eat them.
Make it bite-sized
Kids (and let’s be honest, adults too!) love bite-sized foods. Children are much more likely to engage with foods that don’t appear to be too overwhelming. When you are able to, cut the fruits, vegetables and sandwiches into smaller and more manageable pieces. Children’s eating time at school is never very long, so making foods easy to eat can be helpful to quickly fill up their tummies before it’s time to play.
Don’t introduce new foods
The lunch box is not the place to be introducing a whole lot of new foods for your child. Food that a child has never seen before, is unlikely to be eaten at school, when there are simply too many other things going on and the environment feels unpredictable. If you are wanting to increase the variety of options your child is likely to eat, introduce these new foods at home, in a relaxed and calm environment. Once they have had a few repeat exposures to the new food, then it might be time to try them in the lunch box. Go slowly and try to keep the process relaxed and fun.
Get organised
One of the hardest parts of a lunch box is trying to give it the time it needs on a busy school morning, when there are so many other things going on. Getting dressed, eating breakfast, getting shoes on, packing bags and scrubbing teeth. The list can feel endless! Where you can, do some things on a Sunday that will make your school week a little easier. Make something with your child such as a Weetbix slice, that they can then pack in their lunch boxes each morning. Chop up some carrot and capsicum sticks, to pair with some hummus for afternoon tea. Or plan dinners that can then be used as leftovers for lunches. Doing a little bit of preparation on the weekend can ease the pressure of the busy school mornings.
As parents, we’re all just doing our very best. Does this mean we get it spot on, every single day? Absolutely not! Being a parent is the hardest job on earth and providing food for our families for all the meals, can get incredibly tiring. Remember, we are simply trying to develop a positive relationship with food for our children. Do your best to involve your child, get a little bit organised when you can and provide a fun and calm food environment – this will go a long way to making lunch boxes less overwhelming for you and your child.
WRITTEN BY KATIE THORP
PARENT | SENIOR NUTRITIONIST
