Published: Friday, 20th August, 2010 4:07pm

Encourage good eating habits in your child's lunchbox

Yes it's back-to-school time again for many and while kids are concerned about looking good and getting the coolest pens and pencils for the coming school year, mums are faced with the challenge of providing a tasty and nutritious lunchbox.

The most important thing is to ensure that the lunchbox has something from each of the food groups i.e. carbohydrate, protein, fruit and vegetable and dairy. Fruit is a great way to pack a lunchbox with essential nutrients. Fruit is tasty, a good source of energy and packed with vitamins and minerals. On average Irish people only eat three portions a day of fruit and vegetables with children eating even less. 67% of Irish kids are not eating fruit daily and 60% don't eat enough vegetables. That means 2/3 of Irish kids are not meeting their recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables which are essential for their health now and in the future. Focusing on the lunchbox, and bringing a packed lunch to school including fresh fruit, is a great way to include more fruit in a child's diet.

Keelings, the Irish family which has been producing fruit for the Irish market for three generations, is passionate about the benefits fruit in the diet can offer and believes that back to school is an ideal time to create good eating habits. Research shows that fruits and vegetables can not only help prevent nutrient deficiency disorders, but also reduce the risk of heart disease and many cancers. WHO attributes approximately 3 million deaths a year from such diseases to inadequate fruit and vegetable intake.

Speaking about the importance of including fruit in the lunchbox Aveen Bannon, nutritionist with the Dublin Nutrition Centre said: "Many parents struggle for ideas on how to make the lunchbox interesting and tasty while ensuring that it is nutritionally balanced. Packing your kids' lunches for school is a great way for you to monitor the nutritional content of their meals and for your child to learn about healthy food and help with preparation. The lunchbox may seem like a small meal but can provide up to a third of your child's daily calories. Fruit is a natural provider of vitamins, minerals and disease fighting phytochemicals. By introducing a variety of delicious colourful fruits and vegetables to your children, you will be helping to establish healthy eating patterns that will last for a lifetime."

"When it comes to school lunchboxes, bring the kids with you when you are shopping for fruits and explain to them why each particular fruit is good for them and tell them which ones are in season," Aveen said. "I often suggest that kids keep a colour chart and that they try to eat as many colourful fruits and vegetables as possible. By eating a variety of colourful fruits they will maximise their intake of vitamins while making fruit fun. If your child doesn't like eating fruit on its own you can incorporate it into sandwiches or smoothies. Combinations like apple and cheese, chicken & mango or turkey and pear make tasty sandwich fillings.

"It's always a good idea to look for Irish in season produce, such as Keelings, which are fresher and make it to the supermarket quicker and are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants."

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