How to Pack Healthy School Lunches This Back-to-School Season

With the pandemic slowly dying down, vaccines getting more accessible, and cases getting less severe, the Philippine government has recently approved the implementation of face-to-face classes for the new school year. For parents, this means once again preparing “baon” for their children. With the virus still around and with other illnesses lurking, the food we prepare for our children must be healthy, so they can boost their immune system and resist getting infected by illnesses. If you’re running out of ideas, we can help you think of healthy meals you can prepare for your children. Here are some school lunch ideas.

Healthy School Meals Ideas

1. Brain-Boosting Food

Food is important in your children’s brain development, so you should let them eat food that will boost their brain power. Nutrients that help with brain development are iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. They can improve your children’s attention and memory. An example of brain-boosting food is pasta salad. Just have any pasta that your children enjoy and top it with chicken bits, bell pepper, tomatoes, and salad dressing. It’s very easy to prepare. For dessert, they can have Greek yogurt.

2. Growth-Boosting Food

As they are in a stage where their body is constantly growing, it is important to support this growth with proper nutrients like vitamin A, protein, and calcium. These nutrients will help children build their bones and muscles. To boost their growth, give your children air-fried chicken breast, milk, and if they are in season, mangoes.

3. Energy-Boosting Food

For your children to have the energy to conquer school all day, give them food rich in B vitamins, carbohydrates, iron, and healthy fats. An example of this is whole grain pasta with tomato sauce. Add a boiled egg, and, for dessert, a piece of banana.

4. Immunity-Boosting Food

Perhaps what worries parents the most is their children getting sick. Prevent sickness by feeding your children food rich in vitamin C, vitamin D, beta carotene, iron, zinc, selenium, probiotics, and omega-3. We recommend salmon sushi baked with vegetables like carrots and cucumber. For dessert, give them a ripe orange.

Tips for Packing Healthy School Lunches

Preparing food for your children daily can be tiring, but if you develop a system, it will be rewarding, especially knowing that you are looking after the health of your children. Here are some tips to make packing healthy school lunches easier.

1. Use a bento box. Bento boxes have recently become popular as they are useful in separating food items and keeping them fresh. It also helps with portioning.
2. Cook food good for a few days. Instead of just cooking just for one school day, prepare food that will last for 2 to 3 days. You just need to store them in the refrigerator properly so they will not spoil.
3. Use containers to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Food tastes better when it is served at its recommended temperature. Cold soup may not be appetizing, so you can store them in a stand-alone thermos. Yogurt and fresh fruits are best served chilled, so you can store them in small coolers with ice.
4. Plan the menu in advance.

Instead of thinking about what food your children will have in the morning of the school day, prepare a weekly meal plan. Aside from saving you time, you also save money as you can buy all the necessary ingredients in one go. This is cheaper than “sachet” or “tingi-tingi” buying. As important as the taste and the nutritional value of the food your children will have in school is the proper storage of the ingredients. You don’t want to serve your child spoiled meat, or fruits that have lost their crispiness. A good refrigerator freezer will help your children fully reap the benefits of healthy school lunches. We recommend getting a unit from one of the top manufacturers of refrigerators in the Philippines—Condura. Condura has its line of Ultima Refrigerators. These refrigerators help you keep your children’s food fresh at a low cost. They use an inverter compressor that allows up to 50% saving on energy consumption. It costs only Php3.38 per day to use based on Meralco Average Daily Rate (PHP 9.9468) from October-December (for the CSD500SAi Model). It is also eco-friendly as it uses a natural refrigerant with low environmental impact and zero ozone depletion potential. You get the best of both worlds as its design and style truly meet function, looking very stylish with its modern slim body and millennium gray finish. For home use, you can go for a refrigerator that is more affordable without compromising cooling performance and durability, like Condura Prima refrigerators. These energy-efficient refrigerators come in various models perfect for starting families or individuals looking forward to a new career. Condura Prima Inverter Refrigerator is the most affordable Condura inverter refrigerator that gives you superior cooling without breaking your bank. It uses inverter technology so you can efficiently cool your food, snacks, and beverages while spending less on your electricity bill. Spend only Php3.58 per day using this ref thanks to its high energy efficiency factor (based on the Average Meralco rate of Php9.9468 per kWh computation of CSD510MNi, October to December 2020). It also uses the natural refrigerant R600a, so you can enjoy guilt-free cooling. A Condura refrigerator is your best choice not only because Condura offers top-of-the-line products, but also because it offers service with malasakit. With Condura, you will proudly and confidently say, “Iba ang Pinoy!” You can buy directly from our online stores (Condura e-store, Lazada Flagship Store, and Shopee Mall) or from our dealer partners’ online stores. Photo by Katerina Holmes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-black-schoolchild-with-biscuit-near-lunch-box-5905690/