Think outside the lunch box for healthier school lunches
State Point Media Wire

Your kids aren't the only ones headed back to the routines of school. For many parents, the dawning of a new school year means back to mornings of packing school lunches.

With the growing problem of childhood obesity, parents today need to plan better, more healthful lunches.

Here are some great ideas for easy, healthful "lunch box makeovers" from pediatrician Mary Ellen Renna, author of the new book "Growing Up Healthy the Next Generation Way: Add Years to Your Child's Life and Life to Your Child's Years."

• Don't focus on giving your child a "meat" sandwich (many parents tend to focus on the meat portion of their child's lunch for fear that he or she is not getting enough protein). Instead, try his or her favorite vegetables with low fat cheese or tofu, served on a whole wheat bread.

• Beans are a great source of protein, fiber and nutrition with minimal saturated fat. Make a great-tasting bean dip, and cut up some whole wheat pita triangles for a healthy lunch-to-go.

• Nuts and seeds are portable, healthy snacks that are perfect for lunch boxes. They are loaded with protein and packed with energy. Ounce for ounce, pumpkin seeds have almost as much protein as beef or chicken, with a lot more of the good fats... even some of the amazingly hearthealthy omega-three fatty acids.

• What your child drinks with lunch each day is just as important as what he or she eats. Send your child to school with water, low-fat milk or a fruit juice box - but make sure that the juice box is made from only 100% juice, and is fortified with calcium, as well. Many juices contain only minimal amounts of real fruit juice and instead are filled with a lot of sugar.

• Juice boxes are also a great way to keep your child's lunch cold throughout the day - freeze a juice box the night before, use it as an ice pack ... and by lunchtime, it will be perfectly defrosted and ready to drink.

For more healthful school lunch ideas and tips from Dr. Mary Ellen Renna on keeping the whole family fit, visit www.appleandeve.com on the Internet.