School lunches can be nutritious, help kids maintain their energy throughout the day and fit into a budget.
One nutrition expert offers some tips for cost-effective healthy lunch options.
“All foods belong in our diet, but we need to view them as energy,” said Courtney Cary, a senior registered dietitian at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “For lunch, parents should look for foods that provide the most sustained energy to get their kids through the school day.”
That means staying focused on proteins and carbohydrates, which are basic nutritional building blocks, Cary noted.
Some high-fiber carbohydrate options including whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, beans and fruit. Lean protein choices are canned chicken and tuna, boiled eggs, lean deli meat and yogurt….