Grains and cereals are an excellent source of carbohydrates to provide children with enough energy to play and concentrate throughout the day. Always choose wholegrain varieties of grains or cereal products as these have more fibre than processed, white grains or cereal products. This means wholegrains take longer to digest and can provide us with longer bursts of energy.

Some examples of wholegrains to add to your kid’s lunchboxes can include:

• Wholegrain bread (1-2 slices)

• Wholegrain bread roll or flat bread

• Cooked brown rice, pasta or quinoa (1/2 cup)

• Wholegrain crackers (2-3)

Veggies are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fibre which helps children feel fuller for longer and boosts their immune system to avoid getting sick! It’s important to include a variety of different types and colours of vegetables, legumes and beans. Start by bulking up your child’s school lunch with veggies by adding them into their sandwich or adding a serve of raw veggies to snack on during Crunch & Sip or at recess.

Some examples of vegetables, legumes and beans to add to your kid’s lunchbox can include:

• Raw salad vegetables (1 cup)

• Vegetable sticks such as carrot, snow peas, capsicum or celery (1/2 cup)

• Sweet corn (1/2 cup)

• Dried to canned beans, peas or lentils, with no added salt (1/2 cup)

• Cherries tomatoes or sliced tomato in sandwiches (1/2 cup or 1 medium tomato)

Like veggies, fruit is also an excellent source of essential vitamins, minerals and fibre to help children feel fuller for longer and keep healthy in the long term. Try to mostly choose whole fruit rather than fruit juice or dried fruit as these are lower in fibre and can have too much sugar when over consumed.

Some examples of fruit to add to you kid’s lunchbox can include:

• Apple, banana, orange, pear (or 1 other medium size fruit)

• Apricots, plums or kiwi fruit (2 fruits)

• Diced or canned fruit in natural juices (1 cup)

Occasionally:

• 100% Fruit juice (1/2 cup or 125ml)

• Dried fruit (30g e.g. 4 dried apricot halves or 1 ½ tablespoons of sultanas)

4. Dairy and/or dairy alternatives

Dairy foods provide excellent sources of calcium and protein, essential to help children build strong bones and muscles all while helping them feel fuller for longer!

Some examples of dairy and/or dairy alternatives to include in your kid’s lunch box can include:

• Low-fat milk or milk alternative (1cup)

• Low fat cheese (2 sandwich slices or 4 cubes of hard cheese)

• Ricotta (1/2 cup)

• Low-fat yoghurt (3/4 cup or 200g tub)

When choosing plant-based milk or dairy alternatives make sure they contain 100mg of calcium per 100ml.

5. Lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu 

These foods provide an excellent source of protein to help children build strong muscles. They also provide lots of vitamins and minerals, particularly iron which is vital for children for concentration and overall growth and development.

Some examples of how to include these foods in your kid’s lunch box can include:

• Lean meat such as beef, veal, lamb, pork or kangaroo (90-100g raw weight)

• Poultry such as chicken or turkey with skin removed (100g raw weight)

• Cooked fish (115g raw weight) or tin of tuna (100g)

• 2 large eggs

• Cooked or canned legumes or beans such as lentils, chickpeas, split peas with no added salt 

(1 cup)

• Tofu (170g)

Don’t forget water!

Water is the best drink for kids to keep them hydrated throughout the day. Always pack them a water bottle and encourage them to fill it up throughout the day at the bubblers. On hot days you may like to freeze half or all of their water bottle to keep it refreshing to drink and keep the rest of the foods in their lunch box cool. 

Avoid sugary drinks such as cordials, fruit juices or flavoured milks. 

Do not pack soft drinks or energy drinks.