Tips for a nutritious school year

The 2014-15 school year is almost upon us, and these months off are a great time to re-evaluate the nutrition children need when they return to school in the fall.

Alicia Smith, registered dietician and certified diabetes educator with Willis-Knighton Health Systems, believes the most important thing to keep in mind when packing lunches for your children is meeting guidelines for just general health.

“If you have any grains in there, make sure they are whole grain – like whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas for wraps. You also want to have some sort of calcium in there, kids need two to three servings of calcium-rich foods whether that’s milk, low-fat yogurt or low-fat cheese per day. If they aren’t getting it in for snacks, you will want to give them a low-fat string cheese or yogurt in their lunch, or milk especially since some schools will let you get milk from the cafeteria,” Smith said.

“Having milk or water instead of sweetened sugary beverages like sodas that have caffeine [is much healthier]. Not only do they have a lot of empty calories and extra sugar, that caffeine can dehydrate kids and cause them to be restless, so they aren’t going to learn very well if they are full of caffeine.”

Smith also suggests thinking outside of the box really does help with children not getting burned out on eating healthy.

“You have to let your kids help you pack their lunch. Put them in the driver’s seat, and let them decide. If you just pack whatever, then they won’t eat it and won’t have that fuel they need for the rest of the school day,” she said. “Sit down with them and say, ‘Let’s talk about what kinds of fruit that you want to eat.’ Make it fun. Make ants on a log – peanut butter on celery with raisins on it. Or give them that ranch dressing to dip it in,” she said. “A lot of times kids get burned out on sandwiches, so maybe give kids the option of wraps or making pizza on pita bread – think outside the plate. It can even be granola/trail mix with string cheese. It doesn’t have to be what we think of with a typical lunch – a sandwich, pretzels and your fruit. It can be whatever you want as long as you are incorporating all those different nutrients in there.”

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, it is also important to remember to keep the lunch cool by packing it in an insulated bag with an ice pack to keep the meal cold. Perishable foods should not be out of refrigeration for more than two hours.

Eating from the cafeteria will also provide the nutrients children need to get through the day and be successful at school.

“If they are eating from the cafeteria, [the cafeterias] are following guidelines, and with all the new rules and regulations, they are making school lunches healthier. They make sure they provide whole grains, make sure they offer fresh fruits and vegetables daily and also having milk available. This year, they are starting to cut sodium out of school lunches,” Smith said. “Choosing to get school lunch is a good option, but you want to talk to kids and remind them to get a fruit or a vegetable – the salad bar or the fresh apple they are giving you, get the low-fat milk instead of the chocolate milk some days. Work with them like you would at home; it’s a give and take in helping them make that decision.”

Parents also have a wealth of information available at their fingertips through different websites. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website, www.eatright.org, features a large selection of articles to help parents and children make good choices together for nutritious meals. The USDA’s website, www.choosemyplate.gov, discusses the change from the “Food Pyramid” of the past to the new MyPlate method of eyeing meals to make sure you are covering all the necessary nutrients.

“If you look at a plate and make sure half of your plate is full of fruits and vegetables, and then splitting the other half between whole grains and lean protein, and then adding dairy to the meal, it should be complete,” Smith said. The website has a section broken down by age group from preschoolers to college students that offers games, videos and activity sheets to get children informed and involved in their diet.

–Mandy Byrd