Choice issue over lunches

It's time to get back to organising school lunches - and work lunches for that matter.

Adults may know what their children should have in their lunches for optimum health, but the important thing is whether their children will actually eat it and whether it is practical to produce and pack, says Winsome Parnell, of the human nutrition department at Otago University.

New Zealand children were becoming fatter, but why was a complicated issue that health and regulatory bodies were puzzling over, she said.

Was it because their parents drove them to school or what was in their school lunches? It was probably a mix of many issues, including diet, exercise, lifestyle and parenting style, so changes to any one or several of those would help, One of the problems these days was children expected choice in everything, including what they ate.

Many were conservative about what they ate and made poor choices from a health point of view.

It was a matter of educating and negotiating with children, and offering choices within limits, Dr Parnell said.

What children had in their lunches reflected what they ate at home - what foods were available - and how much time parents were able to put into preparing food.

Dr Parnell helped conduct the national children's nutrition survey in 2002.

It revealed that younger children, who had less choice, tended to have healthier lunches than older children.

While sandwiches with a piece of fruit were the most common lunch, the mid-morning snack tended to be less healthy and was often a pre-packaged bar or other snack food that was high in fat or sugar.

"Chippies should be only for parties. Best would be a sandwich, vegetables, or home baking without too much butter. But a plain biscuit is OK. If you are going to choose a muesli bar, read the labels carefully and choose the healthier options, with least fat and sugar," she said.

She wonders if some of the environmental efforts being made in schools, such as reducing packaging, might make a difference to what is eaten as a morning snack.

She also suggests packing the morning snack separately, so the child is not tempted to eat all the lunch at the same time.

While most school lunches include a piece of fruit, Dr Parnell's main worry is that children are not eating enough vegetables.

Although a packed lunch does not traditionally include many vegetables, she recommends adding some in any creative way acceptable to the child.

Tomatoes and cucumber can make sandwiches soggy, but they can be included separately wrapped.

Cold cooked vegetables that the child likes are a good option.

Pottles of salad were ideal if a child would eat them, she said.

Soup, which could include vegetables, was ideal, but was difficult for children as schools generally did not have microwaves for heating it.

We have to be realistic, she said.

Alison and Simon Holst's excellent little book, School Lunches and After School Snacks (Hyndman, pbk, $10), which was first published in 1999, is still in print and includes lots of ideas, tips and recipes.

These are some of its suggestions for ways to add more vegetables to lunches and snacks:

Keep a selection of chilled, raw vegetable pieces and strips in airtight plastic bags, within easy reach in the fridge.

Add vegies to cheese, meat, egg, tuna, etc, in sandwiches, where possible.

Introduce new foods at home before sending them to school.

Raw vegies, alone or as dippers
- asparagus
- bean sprouts
- small, tender green beans in short lengths
- carrot sticks
- whole baby carrots
- cauliflorets
- celery sticks
- corn cobs cut in pieces after microwaving in their husks for 3 minutes
- cucumber sticks without seeds
- button mushrooms
- snow or sugar snap peas
- tender young radishes
- strips of swede
- young white turnips in quarters
- zucchini sticks

Dips for vegetables:
Instant peanutty dip
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp honey
Mix together until smooth and creamy. Taste and alter proportions if you like.

Creamy dip
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup light sour cream
½ tsp celery or onion salt
¼ tsp garlic salt
1-2 tsp chopped fresh herbs

Use vegies as fillings in sandwiches or rolls:
- asparagus rolls
- BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwiches
- beetroot sandwiches
- grated carrot and cheese
- hummus
- sweetcorn with relish and cottage or cream cheese
- sprouts with egg and lettuce
- ham and coleslaw
- slices of quiche or frittata
- cold corn or other vegetable fritters with a relish or sauce
- mini-pizzas on English muffins or buns with toppings such as corn, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkin and grated cheese
- celery sticks with cheese and nut or peanut-butter filling
- lettuce rolls filled with cheese or salad

Salads packed in pottles with a fork are easy to eat
- carrot and apple salad - grated and mixed with mayonnaise, sultanas and roasted peanuts
- tuna salad - cooked pasta, rice or couscous, a small can of tuna, a few black olives (optional), chopped tomato and parsley, chopped cooked green beans or broccoli, mixed with mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil
- cold left-over vegetables with mayonnaise, or oil and lemon or vinegar dressing, or tomato salsa or relish

Add grated vegetables, such as carrot, zucchini, pumpkin, finely chopped broccoli, peppers, or spring onions to your favourite savoury muffin recipe, and make mini-muffins.

Vegetables can also be used in sweet cakes such as carrot or zucchini cake.

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Freebies
The Otago Daily Times has five copies of Alison and Simon Holst's School Lunches and After School Snacks to give away.

To enter the draw for one, write your name, address and daytime telephone number on the back of an envelope and send it to: School lunches, Editorial Features, Response Bag 500011 Dunedin, or email playtime@odt.co.nz with "school lunches" in the subject line, to arrive before February 9.

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