Marc Wellness International Blog

Welcome to the first Friday Q & A Day! As promised we would dedicate a blog on Friday to answering questions “Parents want to know about childhood or family health and wellbeing”.

Thanks to all the parents who have submitted their questions. We have a bunch of emails that have come through with loads of questions and we hope to answer as many as possible through the following Fridays until the end of May.

Q: “What should I be putting in my kid’s lunchbox every day as a snack? At the moment I give them a piece of fruit, chips or a chocolate bar. I would like some more ideas of how I can get more healthier foods into their lunchbox and slowly get rid of the chocolates and chips. It is just really hard because that is what the kids want chips and chocolates. Thanks.” Janice, Wollongong Hi Janice,

Thank you for your question. It is important to place a variety of fruits and vegetables in the lunchbox on a daily basis. First of all it is great that you are placing a piece of fruit into their lunchbox. Here are some ideas of how you can include more fruits and vegetables in your kids lunchbox:

- Make it fun for the kids & easy to grab! Cut the fruit up into different shapes such as cubes, triangles or use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Just by cutting the fruit into pieces makes it easy for the kids to grab and eat, whilst also making it fun.  - Dunk & Dip! Cut up some cucumber, carrots or celery into small sticks and include cherry tomato. Then place all the vegetables into a container. In the middle of the container add a dip such as hommos or cheese. Make it fun for the kids and so they can dunk their food into the dip.  

- More than just cheese and crackers – When packing cheese and crackers as a snack option, opt for a cheese that you can cut yourself instead of pre-packaged. This way it gives you the freedom to choose a healthy cheese option and also to include add ons. Use a container from home and cut up some cheese and include cherry tomatoes, cucumber (cut into circles) and include crackers. That way the kids are getting more then just cheese and crackers. In regards to chips and chocolates, it is important to identify the difference between a treat and a habit. For example a chocolate bar that is included in the lunchbox on a daily basis equals 5 chocolates a week and that is not including any extra chocolate snacks after school or on the weekends. So if it is daily it is a habit. So it may take some adjusting at first but we would recommend chocolates or chips to be as an occasional treat in the lunchbox. Look for healthier snack options to include instead, such as fruit, yogurt with fresh strawberries, cheese and vegetables with crackers, homemade muffins, biscuits with vegemite and cheese, dunk and dip!

**Place your comments below to share with us some healthy lunchbox ideas you place in your kids lunchbox!** 

Q: “My kids don’t eat enough vegetables. I have a 6 year old and 3 year old, how can I possibly get them to eat more vegetables? I try to get them to eat vegetables at dinner but it always seems a struggle.” Anne, St KildaGreat question Anne. It is really important to ensure we encourage our kids to eat more vegetables and for them to know that vegetables as part of their daily diet and this is normal. We can do this by including vegetables in the diet on a daily basis through all meals.  Here are some ideas of how kids can eat more vegetables throughout the day and in general.

Firstly add some vegetables at lunch or as a snack:

- Mix it in a wrap! Make a wrap (or a sandwich), add your child’s favourite filler such as chicken or ham and mix some vegetables into it such as avocado as a spread instead of butter, grated carrot, lettuce, tomato, cucumber. Cut the wrap into small pieces which are easy to grab. - Make some muffins and add real fruit or vegetable ingredients such as grated carrot, mashed banana with sultanas, apple, apricot, pumpkin.

Add more veges at dinner:

Vegetable Soup Make a pot of vegetable soup (there is a recipe in a previous blog) and place the soup through the blender. That way the vegetables are mixed in the blender and when the soup is served the vegetables are definately there but not necessarily seen.

Pasta is another great meal where you can cut vegetables into small pieces and add it in the pasta sauce such as broccoli, carrot, celery, eggplant.

Make the vegetables fun on the dinner plate. Make a smily face with the vegetables such as the eyes are potato, nose is zucchini, mouth is corn and hair are peas! 

Add a side salad Make a side salad a common side dish at dinner. So it is something that children are use to. 

Cook the vegetables a different way Try cooking vegetables in a variety of different ways such as grilled or steamed adding different flavourings or toppings.

Grow your own - If you have a backyard, start a little vege garden. This is fun for the kids and interactive. They will learn about where vegetables come from and how they grow. Plus, they will also get to eat their vegetables once they are grown!

**We would love to hear some of the ideas and ways you encourage your kids to eat more vegetables. Share with us your ideas in the comments below**

We hope you enjoyed the first edition of Friday Q & A Day. If you have a question about family fitness, health or wellness to include in Friday Q & A Day! then email us at: richardjoey@pleasemumdontsupersizeme.com

Have a wonderful weekend!

Richard & Joey Marc