Packing School Lunches? Keep This In Mind

Can you believe it’s back to school time again? All parents know, it takes a lot to help your child smoothly transition back into the classroom. And it’s also likely that school lunch planning is near the top of that list.

While convenience often reigns supreme, there is one tip to remember that should supersede convenience whenever possible.

Keep an Eye on Processed Foods

The appeal of processed foods in school lunches is obvious. Processed foods are quick, easy and often cheap. 

While cutting them out completely may be tough, keep this in mind: A growing amount of research is clearly indicating that ultra processed foods are harmful. An analysis of studies that was published this year found that high ultra-processed food intake was associated with poor heart health, obesity, and increased risk of common mental disorders.¹ 

In fact, a recent paper featured in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that there is a “need for public health initiatives to promote the replacement of ultra processed foods with unprocessed or minimally processed foods.”²

Ultra-processed foods are ready-to-eat foods that are low or devoid of nutrients and high in calories, artificial ingredients, sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats.³ 

Processed foods aren’t just potato chips and junk food. The category includes: 

• anything baked such as pizza, cakes, and pastries
• sodas and sweetened drinks
• frozen or ready-to-eat meals
• breakfast cereals
• sausages and sandwich meat. 

These are foods kids often like, but can be harmful when consumed regularly. 

Unprocessed Foods for Kids

When building those ever-important lunches, consider focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables or foods that have only a few ingredients. The more ingredients in a packaged food item, the more likely it contains added colorings, preservatives, and other harmful items. 

The National Center for Health Research offers the following tips to help your child eat more unprocessed foods:⁴

1. Plan lunches in advance and even ask your child to help with the selection and preparation while giving them healthy options to choose from.
2. Try to avoid purchasing processed foods or don’t have them readily available.
3. Have healthy options like grapes, apples, berries, or other fruit readily available to your child.
4. Choose whole grain breads and cereals that are high in fiber.
5. Avoid fast foods and fried foods whenever possible.

Unprocessed snacks for kids can include:

• Air-popped popcorn
• dried fruit
• nuts
• unprocessed cheese bites
• hummus with pita bread, cucumbers, carrots, or cherry tomatoes.

Reducing the number of processed foods in your child’s school lunch may not be easy at first, but trust us—it will pay dividends as they grow.

References

1. Lane MM, Gamage E, Du S, et al. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ. 2024;384. https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-077310
2. Khoury N, Martinez M, Garciduenas-Fimbres TE, et al. Ultraprocessed food consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors in children. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(5). https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818951
3. Smith J. How do processed foods affect your health. Medical News Today. 2023;May 24. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630
4. De Bravo B, Zuckerman D. How do I get my child to eat healthier foods? National Center for Health Research. Accessed 2024, Jul 16. https://www.center4research.org/get-child-eat-healthier-foods/