How to pack the perfect school lunch

If you've ever found a soggy sandwich tucked away in your child's backpack, it's safe to assume they didn't find it all that appetizing.

But why not? Perhaps you're the long-suffering parent of a picky eater. Or maybe your child is on a hunger strike against your bland bologna on rye.

Every child has its preferences and perhaps special dietary needs and there are always school rules to follow,so packing the perfect lunch is a subjective affair. Still, you can come close with a nutritious, allergen-free, smartly packaged andeven educationalmeal.

Here are some pointers.

What not to buy

Beforeyou put the same old ingredients in your shopping cart, it may beworth thinking about the items that should be left on the shelf.

Increasingly, parents are being asked to put safety first, as about six per cent ofCanadian children are affected by food allergies.

Health Canada offers many resourcesfor those who want to learn about common allergens, and notesthat the foodsmost likely to trigger severe reactions are peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, soy, seafood, wheat, eggs, milk, mustard and sulphites.

Parents should always check whether their child's school bans these or other foods. Thekids who are allergic to them could suffer everything from skin irritation to life-threatening reactions and so anything that maytrigger those reactions has no place in the perfect lunch.

From a nutritional standpoint, there are also a few items that should seldom or never go into childrens lunch boxes. They are often the brightly packaged but nutritionally deficient products that seem marketed directly to pint-sized shoppers.

Registered dietitian Beata Blajer, who conducts nutrition workshops at schools and daycares, cautions against juice boxes, soft drinks, candy, sugary cookies, salty snacks and white flour-based breads.

"They're convenient and kids like them, so parents just give in," said Blajer, who works at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont.,and also runs a private practice.

So, what shouldwe consider for the perfectlunchbox?

Main course

There are several variables that go into planning the centerpiece of your child's meal. Nutrition is key, but so too are portion size, food groups and variety.

A kid-friendly adaptation ofCanada's Food Guideprovides a few more specific ideas.

• Eric, seven,gets asandwich made with a whole wheat pita. It contains 30 grams of chicken,shredded lettuce, tomato and a little bit of mayonnaise.
• David, 10, gets a hamburger. It contains a 90 grams of hamburgeron a whole wheat hamburger bun, lettuce andtomato and fruit salad on the side.
• Isabelle, 12, gets a homemade whole wheat pita pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, diced chicken, mushrooms and peppersas well as a large kiwi on the side.

Of course, busy parents don't always have time to make home-cooked favourites in the morning, so dietitianssuggest meal preparation is easier when you plan ahead.

"I make enough dinner so it will last us for lunch the next day," said Blajer, adding that one of her staples is whole grain pasta with chicken and real vegetables in the tomatosauce.

Paying attention to how much your child eats at the dinner table is also a good way of tailoring their portion size especially because younger children often have small appetites.

It is also an opportune time to try out new meal ideas, as kids tend to reject unfamiliar food the first time they see it. Health Canada advises parents to be persistent.

"The more often children are exposed to new foods, the more likely they are to accept them," it notes in itsHealthy Eating Guide for Children.

Also, remember to read labels, because many foods contain trace amounts of the allergens thatcan cause severe reactions. Avoid labels with warnings that say "may contain."

If your school's allergen policy restricts popular snack ingredients like peanut butter, Canadas Food Guide recommends hummus or apple butter instead.

Blajer added that sunflower and hempseed butter could fill in for the often-banned peanut butter, but it's always important to double-check the safety of substitutes with the school in question.

Drinks

Parents shouldavoid sweetened, low-nutrient beverages, like those with less than 100 per cent fruit juice, as well aslemonades, regular soft drinks, and sweetened coffees or teas.

Energy drinksand beverages with caffeine or caffeine-like ingredients which the Canadian Medical Association Journal has even referred to as "drugs delivered as tasty syrups" should also stay out of the lunchbox.

Instead of juice boxes and pop cans, Blajer recommends nixing fruit juice, or "sugar water," in favour of a smoothie made with real fruit.

She also suggests sending your kid to school with a water bottle in tow.

If that seems far too simple, consider that in places like Nantes, France, school lunch programs only serve water. Since 2005, vending machines with soft drinks have been banned in French schools.

Some of the drinks recommended by Health Canada includetwo per cent milk and low-sodium vegetable juice.

Snacks

Time-crunched parents who would like to compare the sugar, salt and fat content in some of the most popular snack foods cancheck out our interactive chart.

The database features170 foods that can be filtered and sorted according to your specifications, including one large banana, an 85-gram serving ofbaby carrots and several brand-specific items.

Some snacks recommended by Health Canada include:

• A fruit cupor carrot sticks with dip for seven-year-old Eric
• Ahomemade muffin (with non-hydrogenated margarine) or an English muffin with cheese or 10 grapes for 10-year-old David
• Anapple or15 cherriesor two cups of popcorn(with melted non-hydrogenated margarine) for 12-year-old Isabelle

If your kid lovescheesychips, perhapstrycheese slices andwhole-grain crackers. If chocolate and icing coveredsnack bars are a staple, maybe sub in acustommunchie mixinstead.

"Kids can make up their own munchie mix. The kids really enjoy it because they can tailor it to themselves and they feel like they're having fun," said registered dietitian Shannon Crocker.

Crocker suggests ingredients like whole-wheat cereal squares, dried fruit, popcorn and seeds that aren't an allergy concern at your child's school.

Container

Environmentally conscious parents, or those that have litterless lunch programs at their schools, may give extra thought to the reusable lunch boxes they send to school.

A recent study by the Lysol and the Global Hygiene Council suggests parents should disinfect containers each day, rinse them with warm water and then refrigerate them after preparation.

"A lunch box is supposed to keep kids' food safe, but in some cases, the lunch box can do the exact opposite," said Dr. Donald Low, the chief microbiologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.

"If lunch boxes are not cleaned daily, small spills and crumbs can lead to bacteria growth and spread to ready-to-eat food, potentially causing children to get food poisoning or sick with diarrhea."

Researchers also recommend teaching kids thorough hand-washing techniques and how to wipe down their table before lunch.

Food for thought

Another thing you may want to consider for your child is a bit of food for thought, asthe perfect mealin your household maycontain the seeds of identity and family values.

Perhaps you are teaching your kids aboutlocal, organic orfairly tradedfoods.

Maybeyou think it'simportant for your child to understand their meal in a global context like whetherwhat they are eating has roots in the culinary traditions of another country.

Toronto writer Andrea Curtis' recently published bookWhat's for Lunchis all about how and what schoolchildren eat around the world.

She lists a typical meal for aCanadian childas a cheese sandwich, a package of mini-cookies, a small bag of baby carrots, a fruity drink and a small yogurt.

Although the writer says this meal is representative of what many Canadian children eat, she does not think it is necessarily an optimal meal.

"Canada is one of the few developed nations in the world that doesnt offer a national nutrition program for school-age children," she notes, adding that parents have a lot on their plate when planning meals.