At OneLife Suffolk’s Summer Clubs, we want to support children to become happy and healthy eaters by encouraging a positive relationship with nutritious foods.
We want to support children to try new foods and pick up new healthy habits. Therefore we have provided some guidelines and ideas of what to pack in your child’s lunchbox for our Summer Clubs.
Guidelines:
- Try to include as many fruits and vegetables within the lunchbox as possible. These could be carrot sticks, apples, bananas, cucumber sticks, baby peppers or baby tomatoes.
- Add a portion of protein – this could be chicken within a sandwich, hummus with carrot sticks or tuna within pitta breads.
- Include a starchy food – this could be a cold pasta salad with tuna and sweetcorn, a sandwich or crackers with hummus or a low-fat spread.
- Try to include a source of dairy – this could be a yoghurt pot or drink, a mini cheese or a slice of cheese in a sandwich.
- And of course, a drink – this could be a fruit smoothie, water or no added sugar squash.
As we want to focus on nutritious foods, there a few items that we advise not packing for the club days. These include:
- Nuts due to allergies
- Chocolate bars and biscuits
- Pastries
- Energy drinks or fizzy drinks
An example of a Summer Club lunchbox would be:
- Tuna mayonnaise and sweetcorn sandwich – Tuna Mayonnaise & Sweetcorn Sandwich | Recipes | Change4Life (www.nhs.uk)
- An apple or a portion of strawberries
- A low-sugar yoghurt pot
- A bottle of water with no-added-sugar squash
- Carrot sticks with a small pot of hummus
If you have questions or concerns about our lunchbox guidelines, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Alternatively, visit the Change4Life website for recipes and ideas for lunchboxes: Lunchbox Ideas | Recipes | Change4Life (www.nhs.uk)