Talking FACS
Back to School Edition: Packing Lunches Kids Will Eat
Host: Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support, University of Kentucky
Guests: Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist and in Food and Nutrition
Marisa Aull, Assistant Director, Nutrition Education Programs
Episode 11
0:00 Welcome to Talking FACS; what you need to know about family, food, finance and fitness. Hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program. Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families and communities to improve quality of life.
O:20 Mindy McCulley: Hello and welcome back to Talking FACS. I'm your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support sitting in for our regular host, Dr. Jennifer Hunter.
Today, I'm pleased to be joined with my guests, Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf, who is Extension Specialist in Food and Nutrition and Marisa Aull, who is the Assistant Director for the Nutrition Education Program, and we are going to be talking about Getting Back to School and Packing School Lunches. So, thank you all for joining me today.
0:50 Marisa Aull: Thanks for having us.
O:51 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Good. Excited to be here.
0:52 Mindy McCulley: Let's just kick it right off. So, what should a child's lunch look like?
0:57 Marisa Aull: Well you might want their lunch to kind of follow again, MyPlate. And we think about MyPlate in terms of kind of that physical plate and what they should be eating when they're sitting at home, but the same really goes for school lunches.
And so, for kids around 4-13, 1½ cups of fruit, 2 cups of vegetables, 5 to 6 ounces of grains, you want to make those whole grains whenever possible, 4-5 ounces of protein and 3 cups of dairy.
1:28 Mindy McCulley: Great. What are some suggestions that we might include in that lunch?
1:30 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Yes. So, there are a lot of common items that you typically see in a child's lunchbox. Kind of those things we think of as being raw vegetables. So, those baby carrots sticks, maybe celery sticks, sliced cucumber, crackers.
There are so many different types of crackers that you can find in the grocery store. It can be a little overwhelming. Maybe try to look for some that are whole grain cracker or made from kind of a unique ingredient. So, there are crackers that are made of beets that are a fun color. You just try to let them explore different types of crackers.
To incorporate some dairy into their diet, as Marisa mentioned, we’re looking at three cups of dairy, but cheese slices or cheese cubes. Put those pull apart cheese sticks, string cheese are also good things to keep in there, as well as yoghurt or the low no-sugar-added pudding cup could be an option as well.
And there always fruit. Kids love fruit. It's naturally sweet. There are a lot of different types of fruits that are easy just to get kind of throw in the lunchbox, that require very little prep. So, a banana, an apple, grapes, things like that.
2:36 Mindy McCulley: So, we were talking, before we started recording, packing lunches has become a real production, almost. Hasn’t it?
Yes. You know, my children are quite old, compared to yours. And so, we didn't do all of this. But maybe talk about some of those things that children might be interested in having, but maybe that we could substitute in.
2:57 Marisa Aull: I think when I was growing up, your typical packaged lunch from home was a turkey sandwich, a bag of chips and an apple or maybe a small treat. Kids really have sophisticated palates and we want to make sure we're encouraging that.
So, things like cut vegies with hummus, bringing those to school, having seasonings that are low in sodium, so that they can season their veggies as well, giving them items that they choose.
And so, using them as part of the process, letting them go grocery shopping with you, letting them meal plan, letting them look at recipes or things that they might be able to take with them that will, not of course, things that need to be heated up or kept super cold, but thinking kind of those food safety things as well. But let's let them be part of the process.
3:47 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: And that also, alleviate some of the stress on the parent.
3:50 Marisa Aull: Yes.
3:51 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: That you have to plan it and you'd be frustrated that you're wasting food dollars, because you're putting together these meals for them, but maybe they're not eating them.
So, really allowing them to be a part of the process can kind of help make it more enjoyable for everyone, essentially.
4:04 Marisa Aull: Things you can purchase, that are fairly low cost, that will allow, for example, the bento-type boxes that have the spaces for different items. It is almost kind of like a nice, little portions as well, the smallest one, you could put kind of the special treat in that one and use the larger kind of containers for your fruits and veggies in your main meal.
4:26 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Instead of purchasing– maybe you don't want to buy that lunchbox or something, but there are things you can do also to kind of mimic that as well. So, a good one is using cupcake liners and filling that. That’s a nice little size to put either trail mix you make at home or put your carrot sticks in there and that's about the size of a serving for a child.
So, there are things like that you can do if you don't want to purchase a new lunchbox or one of those trendy bento-box style lunchboxes too.
4:56 Mindy McCulley: Right. And we always have to think about food safety. So, what are some tips that we might use for parents to keep the food?
5:01 Marisa Aull: Well, just being mindful, of course first, of what time your child eats lunch. I mean, their times vary from like 10:30 till sometimes 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. So, being mindful of what time your child eats is maybe much.
And also noting that most cafeterias don't have access to refrigeration for your child's lunch and also a microwave. So, sending items that need to be microwaved is not going to allow your child to enjoy their lunch and the item that they take. And how about some great ideas for things you already have at home that can also be used as part of your lunch?
5:35 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Right. So, the freezer can be your best friend in this case too. So, instead of going out and purchasing all the freezer packs and things like that. Well, if you're packing a beverage with their food anyways, maybe one of those small water bottles; freeze that overnight and then stick that in there and use that just as a natural ice pack or even freezing 100 percent fruit juice boxes, and a personal favor are there’re some fruit that you can freeze. So, I love frozen grapes as a snack or a treat. Well, freezer those overnight, stick those in the lunchboxes. They’re still probably going be pretty cold and they can be a natural–
6:10 Mindy McCulley: Frozen watermelon is good, too.
6:11 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Yeah. And then also, they're bringing home leftover food, that food waste from maybe there was too much food or lunch went by too fast because they were socializing or whatever, when in doubt, throw it out, when they get home from school.
6:24 Mindy McCulley: Perfect. I think it is going to be a fun experience for a lot of families, and we hope that it's not a challenge, but do you have any last suggestions, just to wrap things up.
6:35 Marisa Aull: I think making it fun, and not stressful of course, but that preparation and planning is really key to kind of a successful school lunch for both of you. Your child gets the things that you want them to be eating and then also that they actually eat it and enjoy it. But there's lots of ways to, you know, stick up a note in there sticky note that says, “Have a great day”.
If they're trying something new for the first time, put a sticker in there and say, “After you try this, even if you don't love it, stick your sticker on and be proud of what you’ve done”. Little things like that that don't cost a lot of money, but really kind of brighten their school lunch.
7:10 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Yeah, that's great. And just a couple of thoughts that I have is getting them involved in the process. Let this be a natural way to start having conversations about how food is important for our health and nutrition. And tell them “This is going to make you stronger. This is going to allow you to run faster at recess” or something like that. So, kind of just kind of get that idea in their mind early.
And the last thing is, you know, these are kids and their nutrition in their food requirements are not as large as an adult. So, when you're packing their meal, don't pack the meal to look like what you want to eat, because they’d probably needs a little bit less. So, just kind of keep portion size in mind when you're putting food in their lunchbox.
7:47 Mindy McCulley: That sounds great from both of you. So, thank you for joining me. And I know we'll have you back again soon.
7:53 Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf: Thank you so much.
7:54 Marisa Aull: Thank you.
7:56 Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition, health, resource management, family development and civic engagement. If you enjoy today's podcast, have a question or a show topic idea, leave a ‘Like’ and comment on Facebook @UKFCSExt. Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu or contact your local extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. We build strong families. It starts with us.
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