Only 1% of packed lunches deemed HEALTHY

[Tammy]

Some of you may have seen the news recently about a study that showed that only 1% of packed lunches in the UK meet the nutritional standards set for school meals in England. These standards say school lunches must contain protein-rich foods such as chicken and low fat starchy foods like pasta, as well as vegetables, fruit and dairy products.

Here is a link to an article on the BBC website which makes for interesting reading.

Personally, I feel my kids' packed lunches are reasonably healthy - they might not meet the exact standards every day, but I do try and provide a balanced meal for them although that's really quite difficult sometimes! I try to ensure that all the main food groups are included: carbohydrate (bread/roll/crackers/bread sticks/pasta/rice), protein (ham/cheese/tuna/egg), fruit & veg (carrot sticks/cucumber/fruit/dried fruit/tomatoes) and dairy (yoghurt or yoghurt drink). I only put crisps in as a treat (or if I'm desperate and running out of ideas!!) and once a week they have a treat in the form of a chocolate biscuit or jam sandwich or something like that. I know it doesn't necessarily meet the standards, but I work in a school and believe me, some of the lunches I see fall waaayyyy below the standards, so I don't feel too bad at all!

Of course, you could try the rest of this forum for some more packed lunch ideas, for example, here!!

What are your views on this? What do you put in your child's packed lunches?

Tammy x