We are in the final weeks of the school holidays and soon it will be all system go and back to school. Which also means school lunches! Arrrgh! I can tell you that without a doubt school lunches are the thing I like making the least, and I’m sure plenty of other mums around the country feel the same way.
Why? A lot of mums work, are time poor and want foods that are easy and convenient, right? We get very worried about our kids not eating, so we put anything in there just so they won’t go hungry. Enter the packaged foods.
“Well, at least they will have something to eat”, is what I hear so often. Because we all want to do the right thing for our kids, we try and choose the healthier option. But, did you know that a lot of the items we perceive as healthy are high in sugar and have added colours, flavours and additives? These can all be detrimental to your child’s health, behaviour and learning, so you want to avoid them as much as possible.
One item in particular is yoghurt! Manufacturers have taken a traditionally healthy product and, I believe, turned it into junk food. Most yoghurts that are marketed to kids are very unhealthy, but I’m going to show you some better options.
Always buy full fat yoghurt as the low fat or fat free versions will be loaded with sugar and flavours, and anyway, it’s the fat that fills you up and can be used as fuel. Any plain yoghurt is going to be the healthiest choice, but unless your kids have grown up eating plain yoghurt it may be tricky getting them to eat it, so this is what I do.
Start with plain organic full fat/Greek yoghurt and add a small amount (roughly ½ teaspoon) of pure maple syrup or honey, and/or some vanilla powder *
Add fresh or frozen berries (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry etc) or chopped fresh fruit like strawberries. You could also add stewed apples, passionfruit, banana or our favourites, mango, nectarine & peaches. Yum!
I also like to add nuts and seeds but am aware that most school are nut free. Sunflower seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, chia seeds are all great to add to yoghurt to make it more nutrient dense.
Once they get used to eating this version you can reduce/stop adding the honey/maple syrup.
This does not take very long at all, I promise! On the weekend you can cut/stew or blend enough fruit for 3 days and have it in the fridge, then on Wednesday do the same for the rest of the week. I sometimes put half the container of plain yoghurt (500g) into another jar, add the vanilla and sugar and its ready to go, just add the rest.
My favourite brands of plain yoghurt are Barambah, Jalna, Maleny Dairies, Gippsland, five:am.
If you want to buy readymade small tubs, I can recommend the pot set Jalna flavoured yoghurts.
If you can’t tolerate cow’s milk, try some sheep or goat yoghurt. Meredith Dairy is a good quality brand.
Another one on the market at the moment is coconut yoghurt, but beware it can be just as bad as some of the flavoured yoghurts. Some of the brands are sweetened with xylitol and the jury is still out on whether this is ok or not. I personally don’t eat it.
Tip: Find nice containers to take it in, how lunch looks is very important to most kids. For the younger kids these reusable pouches are different and fun http://littlemashies.com/. and http://www.mylilpouch.com.au/. You can even freeze them in the warmer weather.
*Vanilla powder I use is Loving Earth brand. Its 100% vanilla powder & I only use about 1/8 of a teaspoon. The jar lasts me months, and it a lot. Available at health food stores and online https://lovingearth.net/vanilla-bean-powder-777.html
Five shop swap tips:
- Nearly all flavoured yoghurts on the market are not healthy, especially “kids” yoghurts.
- Start your kids on natural yoghurt from an early age, that way they will eat it.
- Stay away from low fat, fat free, no added sugar & the words “natural flavour” or “flavour”.
- Don’t’ get sucked in by the marketing on the front, read the ingredients list, that’s what is important.
- Organic doesn’t necessarily mean helathy, as that probably only refers to the milk and there could be artificial flavours or refined sugar in there.
