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After school lunches……the struggle is real

I spent a lot of time during January talking about what to pack into kids lunch boxes. We seem to have found a combination of food that all 3 kids are happy with. Breakfasts are also easy most mornings, I am seriously considering getting an egg laying chicken though because we are consuming huge quantities of eggs. The challenge now is lunch after school. 

Jack and Kiara get collected at 13h45 and then come home and need to eat something before dinner. Cameron goes straight from school to swimming so he eats his lunch in the car on the long trip to swimming. The problem is I am trying to find ideas for this meal that are healthy and will full them up. The major problem is Jack and Kiara because the two of them would eat 2-minute noodles or slap chips every day and while those are occasionally ok, they are not ideal for every day meals. 

Jack is not as active as I would like him to be so I am really trying to manage what he eats to ensure it is as balanced and as healthy as it can be which means I am making a few changes in their afternoon meal plan.

So what do we do for after school lunch?

#DAYONE Know Your Yoghurt|HarassedMom

Fruit, fruit, fruit – both Jack and Kiara love fruit so I am making sure they fruit bowl is always full. Fruit is great for when we get home and I am busy preparing lunch.

Raw vegetables – again this is something this two share. Between them they will eat an entire cucumber in minutes. Same goes for peppers and carrots. This is such a quick and easy snack to do for them and obviously really healthy. 

Yoghurt – did you know that calcium needs increase by 75% from when children were toddlers. With my hip issues and the chiro mentioning I may have scoliosis I am very aware of how important calcium is in my kids diet. (Cameron get’s his daily dose in by drinking 2l of milk a day *sigh*). Yoghurt is also a great on the go snack. It is quick, easy and very few kids don’t love yoghurt.

Mini pizzas – these may be on the border between healthy and not but they are a convenient snack for kids after school. Add on some good protein and kids will stay full until dinner time.

Popcorn – Kiara loves popcorn. She makes pots full of it. While it is not particularly filling it is still a good snack between meals. 

Those of you who have been following me for a while will know that we struggled with Cameron’s weight when he was younger. It was a real problem that we had to actively address. South African children are overweight and this can impact their ability to learn, grow and thrive both emotionally and physically. It is our responsibility as parents to ensure that our children are healthy and receive a well balanced nutritional diet. 

To help moms to develop and maintain healthy eating habits join the #DAYONE campaign and take the pledge for Healthy Change. Once you have signed up you will receive tips, recipes and advice on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for your family. Head over to the Facebook page and sign up now, I have!

What are you giving your kids as after school snacks?

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7 Responses

  1. My children love going straight for the junk food when they get home. I’ve actually started giving them oatmeal in the afternoon with fruits because I know they will eat that.

  2. I’m also really battling with lunch times at the moment, I feel like the food is just getting a bit boring. We also do the fruit thing but Aria doesn’t quite manage to chew raw veg yet. And I agree, those mini pizzas (and chicken nuggets) are life savers ?
    Sarah recently posted…February Goals and January HighlightsMy Profile

  3. I’ve also battled with the lack of variety and recently included a few new items to the list:

    Chicken drumsticks – easy to eat in the car and can be eaten hot or cold.
    Baby pork chipolata sausages
    And Biltong – started making our own cos it’s so darn expensive

    I know they’re all proteins but I really battle as I find all the stuff I pack for school is carb based. so these have been good additions.
    Lauren Abdo recently posted…Putting my big girl panties onMy Profile

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