A Literary Life

Registered dietitian explains how to pack a healthful lunch for success at school
By Kate Jonuska

In the morning rush of busy back-to-school families, it’s easy for important things to get lost in the shuffle. Things like matching socks, freshly brushed hair and where the car keys are. But while they save time, processed and plastic-wrapped faux food or a few bucks for hot lunch ― which might wind up in the vending machine for all you know ― are never a substitute for a healthy lunch packed at home.

“A healthy lunch is so important because their minds are learning a lot of new things. Feeding the body with nutrients can help them stay alert,” says Marissa Cuevas, a registered dietitian with Colorado Springs Health Partners and the mother of one school age son. “Good nutrition and learning are linked.”

She assures busy parents that a few easy tips can make packing a lunch for your child quick and relatively painless.

No food group left behind
A believer in the dietary guidelines for Americans, called My Pyramid by the USDA, Cuevas makes sure that her son’s lunch contains at least three of the five food groups. (Those five are grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy and protein.)

“The goal is to consume for school lunches nutrient-dense foods. Nutrient-dense foods are the foods that provide a considerable amount of vitamins and minerals but with fewer calories,” she says. Nutrient-dense foods are usually the least processed food possible, the closest to what is was in nature. What nutrient-dense foods aren’t are most snack food products ― soda, potato chips, cookies ― which are both low on nutrients and high in calories.

CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article, which published in the August 2009 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.