Kids eat up nutritious combos
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Olivia Davis 10, shows off her healthy home-packed lunch.
As kids head back to school, many parents will be scrambling for ideas for quick breakfasts and easy bagged lunches. USA Today asked two registered dietitians to give parents ideas for healthful meals to pack at home.
Food that lasts
"Children can't make it three or four hours in the morning on just sugary cereal or pastry," says Elizabeth Ward, Boston nutritionist and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler.
"At breakfast, I try to make sure my kids get a decent dose of protein (egg, cottage cheese, peanut butter), as well as complex carbohydrates like whole-grain toast or oatmeal, fruit and dairy, such as skim or 1 percent milk or yogurt," says Ward, the mother of three daughters aged 9, 12 and 13.
"I like to get my kids involved in preparing their own lunches. For five minutes the night before, we put our lunch together for the next day. It reduces the chaos in the morning." Her suggestions:
Breakfast
• Yogurt parfait: Layer 1 cup low-fat yogurt, 1 cup berries or 1/4 cup raisins and 1 cup whole-grain cereal in a tall glass.
• Scrambled egg pocket: Scramble 1 egg or 2; place in 1/2 whole-wheat pita pocket; add salsa, black beans and grated cheese. Serve with fruit or 8 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice.
• Banana Ants-Under-The Dog: Take 1 white whole-grain hot dog roll, spread with 2 tablespoons peanut butter or sunflower seed butter (good for kids who are allergic to peanut butter), then sprinkle 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries on top. Peel banana and put in hot dog roll. Have with 8 ounces of 1 percent low-fat milk.
• Smoothie: Place 4 ounces plain low-fat yogurt, 1 cup berries or 1 medium banana, 1/2 cup of 1 percent low-fat milk and 2 ice cubes in a blender or food processor. Serve with 1 or 2 pieces of whole-grain toast.
• Hard-cooked egg (or 2), whole-grain roll or toast with jam, sliced apple and 8 ounces of 1 percent low-fat milk. This can also be made into a lunch. You can make eggs on the weekend for the week ahead.
• Quaker Oatmeal to Go bar, banana or other piece of fruit and 8 ounces of 1 percent low-fat milk.
Lunch
• 1 slice of leftover thin-crust cheese pizza, a peach or pear, 8 ounces 100 percent fruit juice and a single-serving bag of low-fat popcorn (already popped).
• Turkey and cheese roll-ups: Wrap deli turkey around string cheese. Serve with whole-grain pretzels, carrot sticks or cherry tomatoes, fruit and 8 ounces 1 percent low-fat milk.
• Mediterranean wrap: Place hummus, tabbouleh and feta cheese on whole-wheat wrap and fold. Serve with a can of pineapple juice, an ounce of pistachios, a carton of low-fat yogurt and a Quaker chewy granola bar with protein.
• Bagel sandwich: Leftover cooked, chopped chicken tossed with grapes and low-fat mayo on a 2-ounce whole-wheat bagel. (You can buy these frozen and keep on hand for lunches.) Serve with a single-serving carton of raisins and 8 ounces 1 percent low-fat milk.
• Whole-grain crackers, hummus, string cheese, single-serving carton of raisins (1 ounce), 8 ounces 1 percent low-fat milk and a Quaker chewy granola bar with protein.
• Hard-cooked egg (or 2), whole-grain roll, single serving of mandarin oranges, single-serving carton of raisins, 1 ounce of in-shell pistachio nuts and 8 ounces of 1 percent milk.
Timing is everything
"With breakfast, it's all a matter of timing," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, New York nutritionist and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
"Breakfast doesn't have to be elaborate. It's quick, not fast food. It can be something like mozzarella string cheese on a piece of bread. If you grab a glass of milk, that would be great.
"A big thing with kids is the lunch can't be smelly. That's why many won't take a can of tuna fish for lunch.
"It's good to interview your kids. Sit down with them and ask them what kind of things they like in their lunch and what they toss in the garbage or trade with other kids. That way you don't waste your time and your money. You can even have a taste test at home. Buy several kinds of low-fat cheese or whatever you want to taste-test and figure out which one they like best," says Taub-Dix, whose children are 13, 18 and 21.
Her menu ideas:
Breakfast
• Whole-grain bagel with 1 tablespoon crunchy almond butter and 2 teaspoons of apple butter, 1 fresh pear and 1 cup of skim or 1 percent milk.
• Greek-style quesadilla: Place 1 seven-inch, whole-grain tortilla on a piece of foil wrap and sprinkle with 1/2 cup low-fat cheese, such as shredded mozzarella-type cheese, and sliced tomatoes, then cover with another tortilla. Carefully place the combo in the toaster oven until cheese melts. Top with 1/2 cup low-fat Greek-style yogurt.
• A whole-grain frozen waffle toasted with 1 slice of part-skim cheese melted on top of it sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, 1 cup of skim or 1 percent low-fat milk and 1 fresh peach.
• 1 cup whole-grain cold cereal (preferably with less than 5 grams of sugar a serving and at least 5 grams of fiber) topped with fresh or frozen berries. Serve with 1 cup skim or 1 percent low-fat milk.
Lunch
• Multigrain bread with 2 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam, melon wedge and 1 cup low-fat yogurt.
• 2 slices of raisin bread with 2 slices of low-fat mozzarella cheese, fresh sugar snap peas, 1 banana, handful of almonds and 1 cup of skim or 1 percent low-fat milk.
• 1 cup of cooked whole-wheat pasta (cooked the night before) tossed with cubes of grilled chicken, carrots, zucchini and pine nuts and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Serve with an individual serving of crushed pineapple in its own juice and 1 cup skim or 1 percent milk.
• Mixed green salad with grape tomatoes, sliced yellow peppers, shredded carrots, 1/3 cup chickpeas, 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds and mandarin oranges and grilled lean meat, such as chicken, turkey or fish, with 2 tablespoons of salad dressing. Serve with 1 cup low-fat yogurt.
