Packed with punch

Schools are set to reopen after a long summer break and it's time for parents to dust off lunch boxes - ready to pack them with delicious delights. Many parents will be planning the usual ‘sandwich, crisps and a biscuit' combination, which can often be full of saturated fat, salt and sugar.

With the UAE having a high prevalence of obesity among school-going children, parents need to come up with healthier options while packing their lunch box.

Get wise

It's easy to abandon boring sandwiches and salty snacks, and replace them with balanced, healthy packed lunches that children will enjoy. But it doesn't mean spending extra hours in the kitchen, or being a culinary genius.

One of the tricks is to cook extra pasta when you're making a pasta dish anyway, or make double the amount of soup you need when you're cooking it for dinner - this will help you prepare things that are a bit different.

Parents should not refrain from trying out variety or something different such as putting some dried fruit in a child's lunch box instead of fresh fruit, or making a fruit smoothie at breakfast which can go into a bottle for lunch.

Remember that different doesn't necessarily have to mean difficult. It's fine to give them a cheese sandwich, but how about trying cheese with grated apple in it, or cheese with beetroot?

Another important part of the healthy lunch box-mindset is getting the kids involved in making their packed lunches. By doing so, parents can pass on some culinary skills to the kids and encourage them to eat what they make.

Renowned food writer Amanda Grant, author of Healthy Lunchboxes for Kids, says, "As parents we get into this mindset of giving children something because it's easy and we know they'll eat it.

"We need to push ourselves out of that comfort zone. It may take a bit more effort, but the rewards are huge. Break the habit of giving them boring sandwiches. It's easy," she said. with inputs from PA

Lunch box tips

Always add a piece of fruit or vegetable to the packed lunch - it will become habit for your children to eat it.

Vary the fruits and vegetables - ask the children to help you to work through the colours of the rainbow each week/month.

Try offering a dip with vegetables. A small pot of hummus served with carrots always tends to be popular.

If your child comes out of school starving and with food left in their lunch box, encourage them to finish what's left before offering anything else. Some children will deliberately leave the bits they don't like if they think something more interesting might be on offer after school.