Don’t Get Sucked in by Nutritional No-No’s in Your Child’s Lunchbox

Don’t be tricked by labels that promise health benefits, or fun, colorful packaging that your son or daughter will love. Fruit roll-ups seem like the childhood dream food, but they have three types of sugar listed in the first five ingredients and some brands also have trans fats and artificial colors, which may lead to hyperactivity in some kids.  Choose all-natural fruit leathers with simple ingredient lists and no added sugar or artificial colors.

Juice pouches have attractive packages, but water and high-fructose corn syrup are the first two ingredients on some versions containing only 10 percent juice. Opt for either 100% juice drinks, or better yet, drinks that have water as the first ingredient and juice as the second ingredient. These will be lower in calories and sugar.
 
Packaged lunches include all the fixings like crackers, cheese and lunchmeat, or even pizza or chicken nuggets, along with a drink and a treat—but they are loaded with saturated fat, salt and sugar.
 
Yogurt-covered raisins may sound like a healthy combination, but they’re more of a candy-like snack because the yogurt is mainly oil and sugar.
 
Granola bars are actually very high in calories, taking up an even higher percentage of a child’s ideal caloric intake for a day. Grade-school kids only need around 1,400 or 1,500 calories.
 
eMeals Healthy Lunch Plan is a great way to incorporate fabulous lunch box friendly recipes. Having your lunch plan done for you will eliminate unwanted stress, wasted money, and frustration. You can use the discount code SCHOOL for 20% off of eMeals and get rid of those nutritional no-no’s today!