Alleviate your guilt with these nutritionist-approved supermarket packaged foods and alternatives for your kid’s lunchbox.
Trying to figure out what to put in kids’ lunchboxes can sometimes be challenging. You know it needs to be nutritionally sound but you’re also struggling for time. Buying readymade packaged foods from the supermarket can be an easy solution but processed products can often be high in sugar or salt.
In the video below, dietitian and nutritionist Marcia Townend shares some packaged foods that are actually fine for school lunches, as well as some simple alternatives.
Often, experts don’t recommend putting supermarket packaged foods into a kid’s lunchbox because:
- the extra processing and packaging means increased costs
- they can come in larger portions, making it difficult for young children either to finish or portion control
- they are high in salt and sugar, which can lead to health problems in the long run
Read: 10 easy food swaps for a healthy lunchbox
However, we all know it’s not possible to provide our children with a home cooked lunch every day, and so the following supermarket buys are healthier options:
- single serve milk packets for calcium
- hummus with wholegrain crackers (avoid cheese dippers as they are high in fat and salt. You could cut smaller cheese slices from a bigger block instead.)
- lightly salted fava beans or chickpeas
- baked beans
- lightly salted popcorn (instead of chips or biscuits)
- dried fruit or bliss balls
- muesli bars (15 grams of sugar per 100 grams or less)
A healthy kid’s lunchbox is possible even with packaged foods
Not all packaged foods are created equal and we can easily get rid of some mum guilt, so long as we choose the right products for our children.
A healthy kid’s lunchbox all depends on the right ingredients and the right combination of nutrients.
Shopping for a new lunchbox? Our affiliate partner Biome have Australia’s widest range of lunchboxes for kids and adults that are non toxic and waste-free.
