Make Your Child A Healthier Lunch

By Carolyn Farr Smith, Shireese Bell

Are you trying to plan a week's worth of lunches for your children and school's not even in session? It's a daunting task, we know.

But perhaps we can offer a little help.

Summer days may have led to some unhealthy eating habits, but it's time to turn things around and starting packing a delicious and nutritious school lunch.

Dr. Caughman Taylor, a senior medical director for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, offer these tips that can make those lunches healthier for your children.

Try these things:

• Try to combine items from two food groups when selecting snacks. For example, nuts or low-fat cheese and an apple.
• Try to avoid offering foods that contain lots of calories, but have no nutritional value, such as most chips and snack foods like cookies and snack cakes. Instead, offer fresh vegetables with low-fat ranch dressing or baked tortilla chips and salsa.
  
• Do not send sweetened drinks such as "juice drinks" or soft drinks in your child's lunch. If you do offer juice, make sure that it is 100 percent pure juice.
  
• Offer low-fat or skim milk and low-fat, low-sugar (or Splenda-sweetened) yogurt and low-fat cheeses.
  
• Avoid high fat, high calorie baked goods like Danish and toaster pastries. Read the labels on breakfast bars and look for those that contain 3 grams of fiber or more per serving.