Before you know it, we’ll be looking at the 2022 back-to-school season for the kids!
A recent survey from Walmart found that moms consider the back-to-school season a fresh start, even more so than January 1, and that 61 percent of moms resolve to get their families eating healthier during the school year. In addition, nearly half of the surveyed moms felt that their biggest challenge to accomplishing this is the cost of healthier foods.
Food and lifestyle expert Evette Rios has five easy tips to help families pack a healthier lunch, and turn a good lunchbox into a great lunchbox:
- Subtract the fat. Remove unnecessary fat with fat-free deli meats – your kids won’t know the difference.
- Avoid temptation with snacks. Children who eat a poor quality breakfast or lunch may give in to temptation, so offer healthier snacks like nuts and dried fruit, or sneak 20 percent of your kid’s daily fiber into the lunchbox by packing a Nature Valley granola bar or Fiber One bar.
- It’s not juice if it’s not 100 percent. If you are going to serve juice make sure its 100 percent fruit juice.
- Don’t be afraid to give them a sweet treat. Instead of a candy bar or cookies, try packing Go-GURT Portable Lowfat Yogurt. With a fun tube and smooth, creamy texture, these treats are specially made to freeze and thaw by lunchtime.
- If kids help select it or cook it, they’ll eat it. Give them a choice and involve them, but guide their choices. Let them cruise the produce aisle and pick out the fruit they want to eat. Show your children how to cut veggies into bite-sized pieces that they can dip into a favorite sauce. Also, have them make trail mix with low-salt nuts and dried fruits, and portion it into single-serving bags.
Get more ideas for great school lunches at http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Food-Center-healthy-eating.aspx. You can also download the free Walmart mobile app that lets you create grocery lists and get coupons at www.walmart.com/mobile.
YMCA Family Health Snapshot: Parents Not Making Kids’ Health a Top Priority.
