As educators and parents, we know that sometimes it is difficult to find a healthy and balanced menu for the different stages of development and growth of students. Therefore, today we bring you from Logos International School, a private school located in Las Rozas, some tips and ideas for healthy lunches for children to help you get out of the routine and find inspiration.
18 tips for healthy lunches
- Prioritize fresh, seasonal, local / or proximity foods.
- Include vegetables in all dishes and as a main course.
- Use quality animal protein sources such as meats, fish, eggs, dairy products...
- Use vegetable protein sources: give more weight to legumes in the weekly menu, including, in addition to the traditional stew, other preparations, taking advantage of the variety and possibilities they offer.
- To have integral versions of the different food groups.
- Exclusive use of virgin olive oil.
- Avoid breaded, battered, fried...using healthier cooking techniques such as baked pies instead of fried.
- Use varied and healthy cooking techniques that preserve the nutrients of the food to the maximum (oven, stew, grill, steam...).
- Use quality fish (white and blue) avoiding some types of low quality fish such as panga, tilapia, Nile perch, dab... as well as large fish (such as tuna), due to their high content of heavy metals.
- Nutritionally balanced meals, making sure that proteins are not duplicated or triplicated in the same meal (1st legumes - 2nd meat/fish - 3rd dairy dessert) or carbohydrates (1st pasta/rice - bread).
- Incorporate some raw vegetables: varied salads with lettuce, sprouts and roots (beet, carrot, turnip...), beyond iceberg lettuce (of poor nutritional quality), use a variety of vegetables and greens of different colors, the more chromatic, the more variety of flavors and vitamins.
- Encourage vegetable protein in favor of a lower consumption of animal protein often consumed in excess and sometimes a source of low quality (processed meats, sausages...). Suggestion: incorporate one meal a week without animal protein, taking advantage of other foods rich in vegetable protein that are still a fundamental ingredient of our Mediterranean diet.
- Include more legumes in more than one dish per week. In a first day traditional stew (lentils, beans, stew, stew ...) and in a 2nd day also incorporate legumes in new dishes such as lentil bolognese in pasta or lasagna, warm salad of legumes, hamburgers and meatballs of legumes, vegetable pâté of chickpeas "hummus", lentils ... (can also be an option for snacks).
- Withdrawal of bread from meals, offering it at breakfasts and snacks in better quality options (avoiding white bread, sliced bread, milk bread... due to its high content of synthetic yeasts and additives). Use bakery bread "of the day", not previously precooked/frozen.
- Introduce a variety of cereals (oats, millet...) including whole grains, whole grain pasta and rice.
- Variety of tubers and roots: include other tubers such as sweet potato in addition to potato.
- As for dessert, establish 4 days of seasonal fruit and one day of dairy (milk, natural yogurt without sugar or sweeteners). Avoid that the dairy dessert day coincides with the legume day (the calcium of the dairy influences the absorption of iron and other minerals of the legume). Fruit (vitamin C), on the other hand, favors the absorption of iron, improving its bioavailability.
- Alternative breakfasts and snacks (avoiding cookies and industrial options in general). Suggestions: use of various cereals (oatmeal, millet...), homemade cookies and cookies, bread with olive oil, seasonal fruit. Daily consumption of whole fruit is recommended, with juice being an option for some breakfast/snacks (less frequent consumption). If juice is included, it should be freshly squeezed, discarding any type of industrial juice.
6 healthy lunch ideas for kids
After these tips that we have provided, here is a series of healthy and balanced lunches for children that will provide them with the necessary nutrients:
Healthy menu 1
- Rice with beet, onion and carrot sauce.
- Omelette and sautéed mushrooms.
- Natural yogurt.
Healthy menu 2
- Pumpkin cream.
- Chicken stew with leek and onion.
- Seasonal fruit.
Healthy menu 3
- Macaroni with lentil sauce.
- Carrot salad with raisins and cinnamon.
- Seasonal fruit.
Healthy menu 4
- Broccoli puree.
- Stewed veal with leek and fennel.
- Apple compote.
Healthy menu 5
- Lentils with vegetables and rice.
- Baked sweet potato with oregano.
- Seasonal fruit.
Healthy menu 6
- Leek and fennel cream.
- Hake in sauce with onion confit.
- Seasonal fruit.
At Logos International School, a private school located in Las Rozas, we know the importance of a good nutrition for the education of the little ones. For this reason, we have our own kitchen where menus are prepared under the supervision of nutritionists who guarantee a healthy and balanced diet adapted to the individual needs of each student, taking into account allergies or intolerances to certain foods.