Medically reviewed in January 2020
More and more parents are reverting to packing lunches until school cafeterias clean up their junk-food acts -- but here's the catch: It's easy to sabotage your own good intentions. Avoid these lunch-box fillers like the measles -- they're not good for your kids' health or their waistlines!
1. Juice drinks: We all know that soda is as nutritious as sugar water, but drinks "made with real juice" aren't much better. Just 1 ounce of raspberry or peach punch, iced tea, and other sweetened fruit drinks can contain over a teaspoon of high-fructose corn syrup -- and it's about as healthy as trans fat. Among other things, the syrup seems to throw off the body's weight-regulating mechanisms. If you wouldn't feed your children pure sugar, think twice about dropping these drinks into their lunch bags.
Better choices: Water, low-fat milk, V8 juice, one of the fruit-veggie juice blends (Vruit, Juice Plus+), or a small container of 100% fruit juice. Real fruit juice is better than juice drinks, but it's still high in sugar and calories, so watch quantities.
2. Cold cuts: Meat sandwiches, although they are the most common lunch-box entrée for elementary school kids, shouldn't be everyday fare. Bologna and other processed meats -- yes, even turkey Lunchables -- are brimming with saturated fat (9 grams, nearly half the recommended daily value), sodium (1140 milligrams, about half the daily max), and preservatives.
Great replacements: Check out these easy, kid-friendly lunch ideas.
3. Fruit-topped whole-milk yogurt: Although yogurt is filled with protein, calcium, and vitamins D and B12, whole-milk yogurt has lots of fat, too -- much of it saturated. What's more, yogurt that's topped (or bottomed) with a jam-like fruit mix can pack almost as much sugar as a candy bar!
Far smarter: Choose low-fat yogurts and pack a container of berries or fresh fruit chunks for your child to dunk or stir in.
4. Fruity roll-ups: Two problems here, unfortunately. First, many brands have only a smidgen of fruit and maybe some fiber. A puree of apples or pears from concentrate makes up about one-third of a roll-up; the other two-thirds are additives and sugar. Second, these stretchy fruit strips are so sugary and sticky that they cling to teeth long after they're eaten, creating the perfect environment for cavities -- especially if your child doesn't brush after lunch. (Do you know one who does?)
Better bet: If your child loves roll-ups, buy all-natural brands, and reserve them for after-school treats -- followed by a brushing.
5. The obvious (or maybe not) potato chips: No matter how much we wish that potato chips counted as a serving of veggies and cheese puffs were a form of dairy, these snacks are as bad as it gets. Consisting mostly of fat and sodium, they're actually worse than empty calories. But that's not the surprise. This is: Potato chips are the #1 lunch-box snack among little kids -- they're given to 55% of K–5 students.
Savvy substitute: Try a new, crispy-thin snack we just taste-tested called Garden Harvest Toasted Chips. Made by Nabisco, these have a satisfying chip-like crunch, are made from whole grains, and have the equivalent of a half serving of veggies or fruit. So why would kids go near them? Because they don't taste, you know . . . healthy.
Your reward for making all those lunches? Kids who get into the habit of eating fiber-rich foods now -- which include all fruits and veggies -- are likely to stick with this healthy habit as adults. If they do, by age 32 their RealAge could be only 29.
