Food
Lunchbox snacks
Introduction
How much energy, fat, sugar and sodium in those lunchbox snacks? Try our interactive lunchbox and find out.
Eating healthy food helps children concentrate and learn, so a nutritious lunchbox is important. The problem is you want "healthy" but your kids want "cool".
Our fun interactive lunchbox puts 68 single-serve lunchbox fillers under the spotlight, so you can see how they really add up.
Our lunchbox snack survey
The supermarket shelves are full of convenience snacks to pop in the lunchbox. We were looking for snacks that weren't too high in energy and were low in fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium.
Our product comparison tables list the products we surveyed and whether they met our criteria (see below).
Twenty-nine were worth recommending - these met our five criteria. But three got the "thumbs down" - they met only one of our criteria. These three (Cadbury Brunch Bar Raisin, Tasti Muffin Bakes Raspberry & Yoghurt Duo and Wheelies) were all too high in energy, fat, saturated fat and sugar. They should be treats only.
Taste ... we leave up to your kid. There's no point having the perfect snack swapped for a chocolate bar or thrown in the bin.
While our survey doesn't cover the whole market, you can use our criteria below to see how other snacks stack up.
Our criteria for lunch box snacks
Energy
We were looking for lunchbox fillers with less than 600 kilojoules per serve. That's about the equivalent of a banana - although a banana will fill your kids up a lot more than other products and give them extra fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Size is everything. Solay Multigrain Crisps, Bluebird Original and Eta Ripples 10-packs only got our energy "thumbs up" because they're small. So don't be tempted to put two in every lunchbox.
Fat
Many products were too high in fat and saturated fat. Biscuits, chips and most crackers didn't get our fat "tick". Cheese products were also high in fat and saturated fat - but they also provide calcium so they can be eaten more regularly.
Sugar
Sugar contains energy but very few nutrients. It also contributes to tooth decay. While a number of snacks contained high levels of sugar, in some cases this came from fruit or lactose (milk sugar). Lactose doesn't have the same adverse affect on teeth.
So we set a higher sugar limit if some of the sugar came from real fruit or lactose - or if the product was 90 percent or more fruit.
Flavoured dairy products (such as yoghurt and milk products) tend to be high in lactose but they're also a good source of calcium.
It also pays to check the ingredients list. Flemings Real Fruit Bars Wild Berry Flavoured contain only 31 percent fruit. The bars are topped up with icing sugar, glucose, vegetable fibre and other ingredients. Annies Wiggles Berryfruit Bars, on the other hand, are 100 percent fruit.
Sodium
Crackers, processed cheese and chips are high-sodium options.
Fibre
We didn't include fibre in our ratings, as manufacturers aren't required to list the fibre content. Other items such as wholegrain bread, fruit and vegetables provide fibre - make sure the lunchbox includes these.
The cost of convenience
In some cases you're paying for the convenience of individually wrapped portions. Take packaged fruit - a 140g pottle of fruit costs $1 or more depending on the brand; but if you put canned fruit in a leak-proof container you'll only pay around 50 to 70 cents per serve. Better still, pack a piece of fresh fruit for around 50 cents.
Products compared
These tables list all the products in our survey. Try our Interactive lunchbox to see how the snacks add up as you add them to the lunchbox.
Guide to the tables
Our survey was based on label information. Products are listed alphabetically within ratings. Price is per serve, based on what we paid.
Our criteria
- Energy - less than 600 kilojoules per serve.
- Fat - less than 10 percent and no more than 5g per serve.
- Saturated fat - less than 5 percent and no more than 2g per serve.
- Sugar - less than 15 percent. If some of the sugar comes from real fruit or lactose (milk sugar) the criteria = less than 25 percent; if the product is more than 90 percent real fruit the criteria = less than 10g per serve.
- Sodium - less than 200mg per serve.
Tips for a healthy lunchbox
7 healthy lunchbox tips
- 1. Involve your children in choosing foods and making lunches. Not only does this make it easier for shopping - the food will also be eaten and enjoyed.
- 2. Base the main part of lunch on starchy foods such as bread, pasta or rice. Get creative with alternatives to sandwiches: try pita bread, bagels, tortilla wraps.
- 3. Include some protein such as lean meat, chicken, tuna, cheese, or egg. Nuts are also a good protein source but check your school doesn't have a "nut-free" policy before packing them.
- 4. Have at least one fruit and vegetable in the lunchbox to count towards the 5+ servings a day. Pack fruit and vegetables that are easy to eat ... fruit salad, mandarins, grapes or cherry tomatoes.
- 5. Add a portion of low-fat milk or other dairy product.
- 6. Children need to eat regularly so don't forget to include something for snacking on. Fruit, some crackers or nuts (if the school allows them) are good choices.
- 7. Don't forget a drink. Kids need plenty of fluids to keep them well hydrated. Water is the best choice. Reduced-fat milk is good too. Added-sugar drinks that don't provide the same nutritional goodies as fruit juice should be left out.
Food-safe lunchbox
Food-poisoning bugs can grow quickly in lunchboxes, especially in summer when they sit around for several hours before the food is eaten. Follow these tips to keep lunchboxes safe:
- Wash your hands before making lunches.
- Use an insulated lunchbox (or freeze the drink bottles overnight so they can be used as mini freezer-packs).
- Pack perishable foods like cold meats or egg sandwiches between cold items such as yoghurt.
- Throw out any perishable food left over at the end of the school day.
- Clean lunchboxes with hot soapy water - and dry them thoroughly.
Case study - Tom and Ben
We took a look at the lunchboxes of Ben and Tom.
Ben's lunchbox could be improved by a few small changes.
The fruit drink, fruit and jelly and tiny teddies contribute too much sugar. Changing his drink to water and having sweet biscuits only as a treat would help.
The cheese sandwich, cheese dippers and chippies give Ben too much sodium, fat and saturated fat. Swapping the cheese dipper for yoghurt keeps the calcium but cuts back on the bad nutrients. Swapping the chips for rice crackers or popcorn also helps.
Check out our interactive lunchbox to see how healthy your lunchbox is.
Report by Belinda Allan