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UF nutrition expert suggests ways to improve children's school lunches

July 30, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It’s almost time to put away the barbecue grill and break out the school lunch bags again, and a University of Florida nutrition expert has some ideas for making those sandwiches and snacks almost as much fun as summer vacation.

Karla Shelnutt, an assistant professor of foods and nutrition in the department of family, youth and community sciences, says a nutritious lunch helps your kid do his or her best. When kids eat well, they’re ready to learn and do better in class. Nutritious food helps protect kids from getting sick and reduces health risks when they get older. Healthy meals also teach healthy habits for life.

Shelnutt, also an Extension specialist with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, offers the following tips for packing a healthy lunch each morning so it doesn’t come home untouched each afternoon:

  • Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into fun shapes, such as stars, flowers or fish.
  • If your child has nut allergies or attends a school with restrictions on nut products, try sun butter and jelly sandwiches. Sun butter is made with sunflower seeds and is safe for kids with peanut or tree nut allergies.
  • Put the sandwich on a stick! Make a lunch kabob with lightly toasted bread cubes, cheddar cheese cubes, ham (cut into 1 1/2 –inch cubes), and apple slices on a skewer. Serve with low-fat honey mustard dressing. For an Italian twist, use mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes, olives and basil with Italian dressing for dipping.
  • Concoct a trail mix with your kid. Have your child select his or her favorite ingredients. Try pretzels, raisins, baked cheese-flavored crackers, granola, popcorn and any other ingredient your child loves and is safe to eat.
  • Use whole-grain bread. Try various types of breads, including pita, bagels, tortillas, flatbread and crackers.
  • To pack a nutritional punch in sandwich spreads such as tuna, egg salad or even reduced-fat cream cheese, mince carrots and celery in a food processor and add to the spread.
  • Use red leaf or dark green leaf lettuce. The darker it is, the more nutritious.
  • Shop for groceries together to teach your kid about food and help him or her make healthy choices.
  • Identify healthy foods offered in the school cafeteria and serve them at home. It can take 20 exposures to a new food before a child accepts it.

For more information about how to bring up healthy children, visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_series_raising_healthy_children.