Lunch lessons: Put kids at the head of the class

Pack up those lunch boxes for the upcoming school days with more than just the usual. Try garden vegetable wraps for a more healthful alternative.

Remember when school lunch was a boring peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

Well, times have changed; now it's falafel in pita, veggie wraps and roast beef panini. So as you prepare to send your kids to school this September, remember to think outside the proverbial lunch box.

Because whether you pack their lunch each day or rely on the school cafeteria to provide one, the emphasis now is on eating healthfully.

Kids will be kids, and left on their own might think baloney on white bread, chips, a cookie and can of soda make a balanced meal, but experts agree a much more nutritious lunch is essential for keeping minds alert during lessons and bodies energetic at after class activities.

Samantha Cassetty, R.D. nutrition director at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute in New York and the working mother of a five-year-old explains, "Good nutrition starts with setting a good example for your children and providing healthy foods at home. By following parents' good example, kids will be better prepared to make nutritious choices at school. Get kids in the habit of eating fruits and vegetables, choosing whole grain breads, pasta, cereals and enjoying low-fat dairy products such as milk."

Cassetty says parents often forget to monitor beverages kids drink so try to limit juice to one glass a day and cut back on other sugar-sweetened beverages like lemonade.

Make sure they're getting fruit and vegetables with their lunch and a source of low-fat dairy such as milk, yogurt or cheese. She also suggests rounding out school lunches with lean sources of protein like chicken or turkey breast, roast beef, lean ham and whole grain bread or crackers.

If kids don't eat certain foods at home, odds are they won't eat them at school either, so ask for input before packing lunch boxes. Lunch should be tasty and fun as well as nutritious because boring choices will likely return home or be relegated to the cafeteria waste basket.

Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into fun shapes or roll up low fat meats and cheese in whole wheat breads then cut into pinwheel swirls. The sandwich becomes more appetizing and the bite size pieces are easier for young hands to handle.

Cassetty says "All children, even picky eaters, enjoy playing with their food so give them an opportunity to build it or dip it. Try wrapping a cheese stick with a slice of turkey and serve with whole grain crackers or give kids vegetables like carrots and celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat creamy salad dressing as dip or fruit slices with yogurt for dipping."

When it comes to how much kids should eat, Cassetty's opinion is, "The biggest myth about food portions for children is they need to finish everything on their plates. In fact, children can regulate their appetite far better than adults. Parents should let kids eat until they are full, but they need to make sure they're providing plenty of healthy food options such as fruits and vegetables to fill up on."

Michelle Goldstein of Summit, a working mother of twins age 7, says, "Kids also feel better when they're part of the planning so have them help pack their lunches because they're more likely to eat foods they choose. I offer my girls a choice between pre-determined foods and let them decide which to include for lunch and snacks."

It's not difficult and Goldstein says, "There are tempting desserts without all the bad stuff. I recently discovered Kozy Shack organic vanilla or chocolate soy puddings; they've got the rich creamy texture of traditional offerings but no dairy so they're perfect for lunch boxes."

Cassetty recommends substituting sugary candy bars with low-sugar, whole grain Kashi Granola Bars and Quaker Simple Harvest Chew Granola Bars and substituting whole grain crackers with hummus or peanut butter for chips.

Other healthy snacks busy moms can consider are: Del Monte mixed fruit cups in 100 percent juice (about $3 for four 4.5 oz servings); Funky Monkey 100 percent natural freeze-dried fruit in four flavors (a dozen one ounce bags are $20.40 on and Motts Individual Serving red or green apple slices (eight 2 ounce packs are $3.99 at Shop Rite).

And with today's tech-focused generation exercising less and childhood obesity rising, school cafeterias have jumped on the healthy lunch bandwagon as well, removing foods high in sugar, sodium and trans fats from menus. They're now replacing baked items for fried; healthy grains for white flours and serving a wider variety of fresh fruits and salads.

"Since our school nutrition policy was fully implemented last fall, children around the state are eating healthier foods in school and we applaud those schools for their nutritious creative menus and programs that promote good health," says Charles M. Kuperus, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture

Toms River School food service director Peter Brattan is enthusiastic about the state school nutrition policy guidelines saying, "The biggest change we made here is eliminating French fries from our menus and offering one entree salad each day of the week."

School milk is healthier, too. Almost 300 New Jersey schools are tossing out old cardboard whole milk cartons for contemporary re-sealable chug bottles filled with 1 percent and 2 percent low fat milk in white, chocolate or strawberry.

Brattan says his district saw a significant increase in milk consumption since serving the new look plastic bottles last year. That's good news because, as Cassetty explains, "Milk is an absolute must for children because it's difficult for them to meet daily calcium requirements without drinking it."

But, if even with all this help, your child still finds it difficult making healthy food choices, take heart -- there's hope. The school year is just beginning and, Cassetty says, "If a child doesn't like something don't give up. Research shows it can take up to ten exposures to a food before a child likes it."