What
your children eat during the school day not only affects their health and
wellness, but proper nutrition can benefit them academically as well. Take care
to pack lunches and snacks that will serve your children well on both counts.
With
that goal in mind, think “superfoods.” Superfoods are specific foods loaded
with unusually high amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Supermarkets are full of inexpensive, easy-to-pack superfoods that make great
additions to your child’s more traditional lunchbox favorites.
This
school year, consider introducing these three to your child’s repertoire:
Seaweed
Seaweed offers the
broadest range of minerals of any food on the planet. It contains 10 to 20
times the mineral concentration of land plants, as well as protein, fiber
iodine, vitamin K, folate, magnesium, iron, and calcium, and measurable amounts
of vitamins C and E. And a serving has only 25 to 100 calories.
“Seaweed
is nature’s perfect snack. It’s easy and fun to eat, gluten-free, vegetarian
and naturally low in calories and sodium,” says Annie Chun, seaweed fanatic and
co-founder of GimMe Health.
How
do you get kids to try this nutritional powerhouse? Roasted seaweed snacks are
available in many health food stores and come in single servings, making them
easy to pack in a lunch bag. They make a great substitute for high-fat snacks
like potato chips.
Nuts
A
small handful of almonds or walnuts pack a wallop of protein, fiber, vitamins,
minerals, and omega-3s. Eating just a serving a day may help lower cholesterol,
prevent diabetes, fight cancer, and even boost brain power. Recent studies also
suggest that eating nuts helps promote a healthy weight.
While peanut butter is
certainly delicious and a great source of vitamins, almond butter has different
dietary benefits and its own great taste. So if you normally pack a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich, send an almond butter and jelly sandwich instead.
Almonds can also be a great alternative for kids with peanut allergies.
Berries
It
makes no difference whether they’re black, blue or red, berries are a
powerhouse of antioxidants and phytochemicals, which are proven cancer
fighters. They’re also an excellent source of vitamins A, C and E, as well as
calcium and folic acid.
Mix berries into yogurt
or oatmeal to create a nutrition-packed meal. Or add a serving size of dried
fruit with no sugar added to your child’s lunch bag. Mix with almonds or
walnuts to make a healthy trail mix.
Between reading, writing
and arithmetic, you can impart some great wisdom to your children at lunch time
— great taste and great nutrition can go hand in hand!
Article provided by Statepoint.net