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Dear Parents,
 I have a special interest in our children’s nutrition
and am trying to educate the children on the importance
of healthy eating habits. As an incentive, I have
started giving them team points for bringing and eating
healthy food items in their lunch boxes, such as fruit,
veggies, yogurt, milk, whole grain bread and rice….
etcetera.
Our kids can be picky eaters and they may or may not
eat the food that we choose for their meals. But it is
always helpful to consistently provide a variety of
healthy food choices to begin with, in their lunch
boxes. It is also helpful to get them involved in the
decision and let them have the opportunity to make some
choices:… an orange versus an apple or a banana; … food
chopped in small pieces that they can pick up and eat
easily or large pieces;… etc. These are all small
choices by which they can state their own preferences
and they could make a big difference and they could have
a positive result, in having the food eaten or partially
eaten, versus not eaten at all.
Since human beings are creatures of habit, as parents
we have to create an environment where the good and
healthy habits are promoted, so that we can provide a
good example for our children and hopefully pass along
healthy habits for future generations. Once we all start
putting healthy food items in their lunch boxes, they
get accustomed to seeing those foods, and experiencing
their taste, look and colour. We hope our children will
keep these healthy food choices in their menus as they
grow into healthy adults.
 I have done some web searching and found some helpful
sites, which I think they could be used as a guide, for
lunch box preparation:
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/sep/lunchbox2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_childrenlunchbox.shtml
http://slideshow.ivillage.com/food/creative_lunches_for_kids/tk_intro.html
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/list_kids.html
http://www.netmums.com/h/n/FOOD/recipes/ALL/101//#tips
http://www.food.gov.uk/healthiereating/eatwellplate/
Juan Ramirez
School Nurse
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