6 Tips for Packing a Perfectly Healthy Lunch

1.) Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold! Unless your child has access to a refrigerator at school, a brown paper bag will not keep his or her lunch cold enough, even with an icepack. Use an insulated lunchbox with an icepack everyday. If you are packing a sandwich for your child, make it the night before and chill it in the refrigerator overnight. If you are packing something hot, such as soup in a thermos, fill the thermos with boiling water first, let it stand for a few minutes, empty the water and add the very hot soup. 

2.) Keep it clean! Don't forget to routinely wash out your child's lunchbox and clean the ice pack to get rid of any bacteria that may have grown there. The "danger zone" is the range of temperatures (40-140 degres F) at which dangerous bacteria may grow on perishable foods. Temperatures below 40 degrees inhibit the growth of bacteria that may cause foodborne illness, while temperatures above 140 degrees F kill most harmful bacteria.

3.) Vary the veggies! Crunchy, sliced veggies make a healthy snack. Raw carrot and celery sticks are classic healthy lunchbox components. Try raw slices of cucumber, bell pepper, and jicama to add some more variety. One cup of raw vegetables is the appropriate serving size.

4.) Focus on fruit! Select fresh fruit that is in season. Some types of fruit that are in season for late summer and early fall include watermelon, plums, peaches, nectarines, and apples. If you can't keep fresh fruit in the house long enough in between shopping trips, keep canned fruit or pre-packaged fruit cups (packed in 100 percent fruit juice) on hand. Dried fruit also makes a great snack! "Fruit snacks" may advertise that they contain 100 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C, but this does not make them a healthy choice. Unlike fruit that is fresh, dried, or canned in 100 percent fruit juice, fruit snacks have many artificial ingredients, added sugars, and lack dietary fiber.

5.) Don't forget dairy! Try to include a serving of cheese (1 oz) or yogurt (8 oz) as a source of calcium at lunch, especially if your child does not buy milk at school. Ideas may include sliced cheese and whole grain crackers, cottage cheese mixed with fruit, a tomato and mozzarella sandwich, a cup of yogurt, or a yogurt based dip for raw vegetables or fruit.

6.) Pack in the protein! Cold cuts may be easy to pack for lunch, but the processing of these meats adds a lot of sodium and artificial ingredients that should be avoided in a healthy diet. Leftover cooked chicken, turkey or ham make great sandwiches or wraps. Look at the food labels to find bread that is made from 100 percent whole grains and has a relatively short list of recognizable ingredients. Peanut butter is another source of protein that can be part of a healthy lunch. The food label on peanut butter is very important; select a peanut butter that does not list partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients. This ingredient has trans fat (even if the food label reads 0g trans fat). A peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole grain bread is a slightly healthier alternative to the classic PB&J.