Healthy Packed Lunches
A survey by the Food Standards Agency found that nine out of ten children take packed lunches to school that contain too much saturated fat, sugar and salt.
Click here to see our Packed Lunch statement
It might seem hard to find a balance of ingredients that will keep the kids interested without complaining, but it’s not as tricky as you might think.
A good starting point is to remember to include a variety of food from the four main food groups.
These are:
- One portion of vegetables or salad and one portion of fruit (fresh, canned or dried all count)
- One portion of milk or dairy (yoghurt, cheese, yoghurt drink etc)
- One portion of meat, chicken, fish, eggs, peanut butter, beans or any other protein
- One portion of a starchy food such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes
Here are some ideas for healthy packed lunches:
Monday | Tuesday |
Small portion of tuna (in water) and sweetcorn salad Currant bun Apple |
Small slice of deep pan pizza with ham and pineapple 1 pot of low fat yoghurt 4 cherry tomatoes 1 pear |
Wednesday | Thursday |
Peanut butter bagel 1 cereal bar 1 peach |
Cheese and salad sandwich on wholemeal bread 1 medium tomato 1 packet reduced fat crisps 1 plum |
Friday | |
3 mini pitta bread filled with chicken salad and low fat mayonnaise Pack of 3 small sponge cakes 1 satsuma |
Remember the five a day rule – we should all be eating five portions of a variety of fruit and veg a day. |