Healthy lunchbox

Go into a school today and see what the kids are eating. You will be horrified. From junk food to greasy rice dishes, burgers, and donuts… you name it, they’re having it. And it’s not doing them any good.

When I ask mothers why their kids’ lunchboxes are not healthy, they tell me that either
a) they don’t have enough time in the morning to create a healthy lunchbox, or
b) they want to but don’t know what to put in it.

Here’s the thing: your child’s eating habits as an adult will reflect what they used to have as a child. If you want your child to snack on healthy food when they’re teenagers and adults, then make sure you start introducing these snacks at an early age.

Instead of white bread cheese sandwiches and biscuits for their lunchbox, why not try these options: boiled eggs, raisins, dates, olives, corn-on-the-cob, fresh mushrooms, vegetable sticks, raw nuts and seeds, goji berries.

You can add little toothpicks to make eating fun. Or even child-friendly chopsticks.

If you add a sandwich, make sure it’s made with wholegrain bread and a healthy filling like hummus, mashed avocado, or raw honey.

You’d be surprised what eating habits kids form in school. When my daughter was younger I used to send corn-on-the-cob and raisins with her to school. At some point I started wondering if she might feel left out among her friends, or isolated as the ‘strange kid who eats healthy’. But she came home one day and asked me to pack more corn and raisins because her friends were taking hers!

Eating habits start early, so make sure you do too.

Get more great healthy parenting tips from my book I Want Healthy Kids, sold in bookstores around Bahrain or online on Amazon. The Arabic version is also out and available at all Jarir outlets and select bookstores around the Arab world! For more information, visit www.IWantHealthyKids.com. And make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the latest: @AliaAlmoayed