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Packing Lunches for Healthy Enegetic Kids · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  As kids return to school, many will be thinking about what's in their lunchbox.
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  My guest today, Dr. Courtney Luecking our Extension Specialist for Maternal and
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  Child Health is here to talk about packing lunches for happy, energetic kids.
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  Welcome, Courtney. Hi, Mindy. How are you?
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  I'm doing great. And I am excited to talk about this topic because I know that
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  packing lunches was always one of those necessary, but always challenging tasks
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  that I had to deal with as a mom.
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  Yes. And oh my gosh, just for anyone listening, we're recording this in the
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  summer, but my My daughter is already asking me about a new lunchbox for the
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  school year. So the excitement is real.
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  Yes, it is. And honestly, we do need a new one because it's all beat up.
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  There's holes. There's just parts chunked out. They get a lot of love and attention
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  throughout the school year.
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  Yes, they do. So let's just start with the lunchbox.
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  What kind of a lunchbox is the best resource to have? Because I'm sure that
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  those old tin lunchboxes that I carried are probably not the best idea these days.
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  Well, it all depends on what you're going to be packing for lunch.
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  Sometimes you have to pack a completely disposable lunch, for example,
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  if there's a field trip or something maybe special happening.
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  But if you're going to be packing things that need to stay cool or even stay
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  warm, so for example, like a soup or something in the winter,
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  you need to make sure that you have insulated gear.
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  So whether that's lunch box itself, maybe an ice pack for things that need to
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  stay cool or a thermos, for example, that can help things stay warm.
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  That's more of that food safety factor as to what will be the better option
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  for what you're packing.
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  Perfect. So once we have our gear ready to go, then what should we put in that box?
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  Yes, here's where the magic happens. So lunch can be a lot of things for different children.
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  It can be exciting. It can be overwhelming.
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  They can get distracted with all the...
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  Chatter or whatever's going on around them. And so wanting to be able to provide
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  them foods that they can refuel, because lunch is an important time during the day for social,
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  but also refueling for all of the learning and playing that they're doing throughout the day.
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  So thinking about a balance, and we say the words balance a lot.
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  And so I want to be clear what I mean by that is children need a mix of protein,
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  carbohydrates, and fats, because what that does is gives them fuel for their
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  bodies and their brains, helps them feel satisfied,
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  and it can help regulate those emotions and energy throughout the day.
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  Okay, great. So, do we need to be concerned about allergies?
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  Maybe your child doesn't have allergies, but what if there are allergies in the classroom?
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  Yes. So, I would say first and foremost, find out if there are restrictions.
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  I know that some schools have policies, for example, they're completely nut-free.
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  Or I know at my daughter's school that there are designated tables for students
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  who have to have nut-free diets.
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  And so one is think about, is it a restriction? Because if it's not,
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  then it would be okay to pack those foods.
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  And you could always let your child know, just like, these are your foods,
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  keep them to yourself if there are concerns about whether there could be allergies,
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  like sharing, for example, bowl foods that shouldn't be shared.
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  Yes. Being able to trade your food was the biggest, most fun thing to be able
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  to do at the lunch table, right?
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  Exactly. Exactly. So what about drinks?
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  Is there a good way to package drinks or should we recommend that they purchase
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  a drink from the cafeteria? Yeah.
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  Either could work. So water is honestly great hydration for kids throughout the day.
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  Milk can also be a useful, nutritious part of a meal.
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  Kids can purchase milk at school if that works for them.
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  But truthfully, just sending like a water bottle, a reusable water bottle,
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  it's a great investment.
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  I look at those as a nice investment. If your child doesn't really like plain
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  water, you could always throw a little fruit in there, maybe a little cucumber
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  if you're You're feeling fancy or something like that, just to slightly change the flavor of it.
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  And many schools will encourage you to send a water bottle so that kids aren't
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  making trips to the refill station too frequently.
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  And so you can keep that in the classroom.
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  Absolutely. And no need to spend extra money on fruit drinks or juice or sports drinks even.
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  Those are not going to be the most sustaining sources of hydration.
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  They might kind of give like a quick burst of energy and then maybe a drop.
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  And so rather keeping the hydration focus on water or milk during a mealtime.
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  And it also kind of keeps that structure and boundaries of what is available
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  to eat and drink at certain times of the day.
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  And we want kids to stay hydrated all throughout the year, not just during the
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  hot summer months and the hot spring months, but all throughout the year.
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  Yeah. And you can actually do that through the types of food that you send as
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  well. So fruits and vegetables can have a higher water content,
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  so can add hydration there.
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  They can also add pops of color to the lunchbox because it's one thing if you
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  open it and it's all the same color.
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  Kids are incentivized by seeing different colors.
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  And so fruit and vegetables are a great way to add a little excitement into a lunchbox.
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  I always told my kids we eat with our eyes just as much as with our mouth.
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  And so if we like what we see, we are likely to like what we eat.
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  Yes. So step one is, is it visually appealing? Step two, does it taste good?
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  So that's where when I talked about fats, those flavorful fats can be really
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  great additions. So a dip, an oil or a dressing for those fruit or vegetables
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  can be a really nice flavor enhancer.
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  So a good sensory experience. Think a crunchy vegetable and a creamy dip, for example.
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  Definitely. And I often use frozen watermelon or frozen grapes as a way to keep
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  the food cold, as well because they would fall just in time for lunch.
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  So it worked out perfectly.
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  Yes. Creative ways to keep it cool and provide more options for what they have to eat at lunch.
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  Before we wrap up, do we have any last tips to provide our listeners?
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  I would say pack at your peak, right? So instead of lunch being an afterthought,
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  because you're like, oh my gosh, we have to leave.
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  And now we're throwing things in. And I'm speaking from experience here.
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  Are you a morning person or are mornings hectic?
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  So if they're hectic, see if you can pack lunches the night before.
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  Does it work to do everything at once. So maybe I have some friends that pack
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  lunches for the week. That's not how I function.
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  It works for some people. Or get kids involved with it so that they can be part
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  of the planning and packing process.
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  Yeah. So, you know, if you can package things in smaller containers,
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  then they can at least go and pull the small containers and put them in the
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  bag or the container that's going to carry everything.
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  Absolutely. Great ideas. And thanks for all of these tasty tidbits that are
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  going to get kids ready for the lunchroom when school resumes.
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  If you are just tuning in, you're listening to Talking FACS,
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  and you can find us wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local extension
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  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
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  Music.