Toddler Nutrition: Healthy lunchbox ideas

Remember, that Toddlers like to nibble on small quantities of food, so try to avoid overwhelming their senses with a tightly packed lunchbox containing giant portions!

Try to add variety, and to avoid wastage, take into account birthdays and cake-and-candy days at school.

Invest in a variety of small plastic containers and make the effort to prepare little tubs of various finger food the night before. Some children like to have their various food groups separated, and won’t touch a food if it has been “tainted” by something else in the lunchbox.

Most toddlers balk at the sight of a whole fruit in their lunchbox, but will eat it if is cut up into little pieces.

In summer, freeze water or diluted 100 % pure fruit juice in a plastic bottle, the night before, so that by the time your little one drinks it the following day, it is still cold and refreshing.

Include a variety of healthy bits:

• Small fingers of raw vegetables such as broccoli, sugar snap peas, baby marrow, cucumber, and carrot
• Chopped up seasonal raw fruit, or a small bunch of grapes
• Cooked corn on the cob
• Boiled egg
• Chopped up cooked, left over roast meat, shnitzel, sausages, lean bacon or chicken
• A few pieces of cold roast or baked potato
• A small tub of cooked pasta with a drizzle of salad dressing
• Chopped biltong
• Wholewheat, rice or rye crackers
• Peanut butter (or any other filling except jam) sandwiches cut into small squares or triangles
• Grated or sliced mozzarella cheese
• Full cream, un-coloured cheese wedges
• Cashew nuts, sunflower seeds and raisins
• Sugar and preservative free fruit bar
• Small yogurt

And every now and then, treat your toddler with

• Small, bite sized chocolate bar
• Handful of crisps or popcorn
• Two jelly babies, or marshmallows

Foods to avoid at all cost

• Foodstuffs that your child is allergic to
• Stimulants (food or drinks that may contain caffeine or sugar)
• Food additives, preservatives and colourants such as MSG, Tartrazine, sodium benzoate and sulphates)

Providing regular fuel

Three main meals and three significant snacks are important in every child’s day (quantity may vary from child to child, so don’t panic if your child is a small eater).

This provides regular fuel for their metabolism and prevents low blood sugar and unhealthy snacking. Keep lunchboxes fun and without stress. Good healthy fresh and seasonal food, good tap water, exercise, sunshine and lots of laughter will be a good start in helping your child get the best out of life.

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Ann Richardson

Qualified nurse and midwife Ann Richardson, co-author of Baby Sense, Sleep Sense and author of Toddler Sense, all bestsellers, has worked in the midwifery and paediatric fields for over 30 years. Ann has been in private practice for the past 22 years, and introduced the first private well-baby clinics, now a well-known phenomenon at Doctors’ rooms and pharmacies across the country.Passionate about her work and dedicated to ensuring that parents have the necessary knowledge to enjoy and rejoice in their children, she regularly lectures to both professionals and parents on various baby and childcare issues, in particular the effects of the sensory system on infant behaviour, and the management of sleeping disorders. Her specialisation is the treatment of “difficult babies and toddlers”, in particular those with feeding and sleeping disorders.She is a regular contributor to childcare publications, TV and radio. Ann is married with two daughters, and lives and practices in Johannesburg.

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