Growing children need a lot of nutrients. They also need energy and strength. They are prone to falls and injuries during games which means that they put quite some pressure on the body resources and on the repair mechanism. One good way to keep your children prepared for the physical and mental rigors of school life is to feed them healthy. Packing healthy foods in their lunch boxes also inculcates in them good eating habits for life. So, instead of simply handing them money to buy packaged lunch at school or packing their boxes with chips, cookies and white bread, here are 11 healthy options that you can try out.
Whole wheat tortillas
Bread is the easiest to lay hands on at the supermarket and sandwiches are the easiest to make quickly at home. However, they may not be the best lunch options for your little one to take to school. Replacing white bread with whole wheat tortillas in itself will go a long way in making a healthier lunch option.
Make use of whole wheat flour for the preparation of the dough. Add water and a teaspoon of olive oil to knead the dough which should neither be too wet nor too dry. Now, make small ping-pong sized balls from the dough and roll it into a flat circle. Bake this on a pan and add very little oil to make the tortilla crisp. You can add low fat cream or cheese along with lean cold cuts to the tortilla.
Fruit salad without added sugar
Fruits are as wholesome as food can come. They contain vital nutrients like carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Fruits also add roughage to the diet and help in bowel movement and the digestive process. The natural fiber present in them is also very useful. Children enjoy fruits and there is a wide and rich variety available to suit all tastes.
Making a salad from fruits is the easiest thing to do. All you need is to do is to get a wide enough variety of fruits. Cut them into similar sized pieces after peeling away the skin. Add all the cut fruit into a large bowl and mix them with a spoon. Add a few spoons of honey to enhance the flavor and taste.
Energy packed trail mixes
Trail mixes are also delicious lunch options for they allow variety based on individual tastes and preferences. This kind of lunch will be especially useful when your little one is going for a picnic or excursion from school because it is light in weight and provides a quick boost of energy via the carbohydrates that it houses. It also provides sustained energy because of the mono-saturated and poly-saturated fats present in the nuts.
Preparing this is also as easy as the fruit salad if not easier. You will need about 30 grams of cereal mix. To this, add about 5-10 grams of nuts, raisins, pretzels and dry fruit. Add chocolate pieces or shavings to lend added flavor. Your child’s power packed lunch is ready.
Fresh vegetable dips
The feeling of fulfillment after lunch comes from two ways. One is a satisfied and filled stomach. The second is a satisfied palate or tongue. It has been scientifically observed that providing the tongue with the different tastes viz. sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and astringent leads to greater satisfaction. This can be done in a healthy manner using raw vegetables and making vegetable dips.
Choose from a variety of different tasting vegetables: carrots, cucumber, pickle and celery. Slice them vertically into long pieces. Add a sprinkling of salt on the cucumber and celery. Take some yogurt and add an equal amount of sour cream into it. Pack this as the side dish into which your child can dip the sliced vegetables for a tasty and wholesome lunch. Pack how much ever the child can eat for vegetables are always healthy.
Baked chips
Potato chips definitely figure among the top favorite foods in the world and you should not be surprised if they figure high in your child’s list as well. But, the same chips also figure high in their unhealthy quotient! This is because they have been deep fried in oil and thus have a very high fat content. If your little one likes to munch on chips, it would be a good idea to replace the potato chips with baked chips.
Start off by making flour tortillas and corn tortillas. Cut them to small, chip-sized pieces. Pre-heat the over to 400 degree centigrade. Spread the tortillas on a tray and add seasoning to them. Season them with garlic salt, table salt, cayenne powder, paprika and chilli powder as per your taste. Bake for about 5-6 minutes till the chips curl and turn golden brown. These chips are now ready to eat along with dips.
Grilled chicken
The good thing about a well-made grilled chicken is that it takes care of almost all the nutritional requirements for a child, the calories, the fats, the proteins and the sodium and calcium salts.
Preheat the grill. Warm a teaspoon of olive oil over medium fire and add green pepper and onion. Stir for five minutes in barbecue sauce. Season boneless chicken breast halves with pepper and salt. Add one cup of sauce in a large plastic bag and marinate the whole thing in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Discard the bag and marinade after that and cook the chicken for about 12 minutes on an oiled grill. Pack this chicken along with the barbeque sauce for a mouth-watering delight.
Mini-burritos
Large quantities of healthy foods do not affect the children. In fact, since it is a growing age, they require large doses of nutrients. Mini-burritos filled with rice along with black beans or re-fried beans form a wholesome and healthy lunch. The beans are rich sources of proteins which form the structure of the body.
To prepare burritos, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees centigrade. Wet a tortilla on either sides so that it is moist. In the meanwhile, cook beans with salt, pepper and other spices for taste. Place the tortilla directly on the burner ensuring that there is no blackening. Wrap the cooked beans in the tortilla. Add anchovy paste as the glue to hold the tortilla in a closed state. Wrap this roll in two layers of foil and bake for about 15 minutes. The burrito is ready to be unwrapped and eaten.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches are a magical lunch. They are easy to make, easy to procure and easy to eat. And the best part is that an almost infinite variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches can be made. Children also enjoy eating them.
You will need whole wheat bread, slice cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and onions. Stack them on slice of bread and add tomato ketchup for taste over them. Close with another slice. Prepare another stack using grilled chicken and honey mustard drip. Another variety could be made using marmalade and low-fat cheese. Place all these double-deckers in the sandwich toaster, two at a time, for about 3-4 minutes to have your hot and tasty sandwiches ready.
Healthy bagels
Bagels are fun to make and fun to eat. Again, while getting your bagels, ensure that they are the whole-grain variety to ensure least processing and therefore, the best digestion. You can top the bagels with cream cheese and vegetable spread.
Prepare the dough from whole wheat or multi-grain flours. Shape the dough into medium sized balls. Push your thumb through the dough and shape it into an even ring. Adding a bit of honey to the dough for taste is healthy and does not carry the disadvantages of sugar. To do this, boil water and honey in a pan. Drop the bagels into the boiling water and cook for about 45 seconds to a minute. Remove the bagels from the boiling water and place them on baking sheets. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. The bagels are now ready to eat.
Green saute
Greens are something that every a child hates. But they are very high in nutritional value and low in causing any kind of health problems. When it comes to greens like collards and kale, the secret lies in cooking and dressing them well. Presentation is the key as they say it!
Preparation begins with chopping collards, kale and lettuce. Saute them in healthy olive oil in a frying pan. Reduce the flame to the minimum and add salt, garlic and butter. Steam cook rice in a separate cooker. Serve the sauteed greens along with rice to form a healthy yet mouth-watering delight. You could also cook beans and add them to the dish. Again, depending on the preferences of your child, you could cook these greens lightly so they are crunchy or cook them long till they become soft and mushy.
Air-popped popcorns
The best thing about popcorns is that children love them. They are also easy to make and come in several flavors. If these flavored variants are used intelligently, the child will not have to eat more than once of the same flavor in a month. A sprinkling of parmesan cheese on the popcorn will also enhance its taste and nutritive value.
To make popcorns, you will need 3 spoons of popcorn kernels, a paper bag and some scotch tape if desired. Add the popcorn kernels into the paper bag. For enhanced taste, you can add different flavored kernels. Close the bag and seal it properly with scotch tape. Do not season the popcorns before you seal the bag. Place the bag in the microwave for about 1 minute 45 seconds. This time may vary but it is a precise period. Less than that and the corn is not popped while more than that results in burnt corn. Season the popcorn as per your taste after taking out from the microwave.
