Childhood obesity has been declared an epidemic threatening American children, and first lady Michelle Obama has tried to make improving school lunches a key part of the national response. Meanwhile, food manufacturers are spending billions of advertising dollars every year to push their products into the breakfast bowls and lunchboxes of American children.
Caught in the middle, parents are left trying to figure out what to do. Well, the food pyramid, which has been updated by federal experts, lays it out for everyone: lots of vegetables and fruit; some proteins from meat, fish or vegetable sources; carbohydrates from bread, pasta or grains; with a little sugar, oil, salt and so on.
How does that translate to packing lunch? Take it from registered dietitian Sheila Flavin, who has 20 years’ clinical experience, taught graduate nutrition courses and raised three children.
• Know the standards. “You have to have a protein source: peanut butter, or hummus, if you’re vegetarian,” Flavin said. “Tuna fish, or lower processed cold cuts like ham, turkey or even roast beef.”
They absolutely need carbohydrates, Flavin said, like bread, cooked pasta or crackers. A calcium source, like milk, cheese or a lower-sugar yogurt. Fruit, like a fruit cup or piece of fruit; vegetables, such as carrot sticks; or both.
Flavin isn’t a prude when it comes to lunch-packing. “I think lunch should could contain a treat,” she said. “A couple cookies or some pretzels, something like that.”
Or a juice box. While other authorities consider it a fruit serving, “I count it as a treat,” she said. “Excess calories, minimal nutritional value.” In a time when “most kids are getting too many calories, and too much sugar,” she said, those decisions add up.
The emphasis is on limiting —not eliminating — sugar. Flavin suggests feeding children a lower sugar cereal like Cheerios, and if you have to, letting kids add a teaspoon of sugar. “A little bit of sugar is fine,” she said. “You will always put in less sugar, less salt and less fat than the highly processed products from manufacturers, in general. That’s my approach.”
Wise food selections are available in Norfolk, Virginia at Food Lion, Farm Fresh, Fresh Pride and the commissary.
Sharon’s site: http://www.babykidscanread.com
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