Parents across the UK have been offered a simple, NHS-approved strategy to encourage their children to eat more vegetables. The key, according to official health advice, is to include a popular and tasty dip in their daily packed lunches.
The Simple Lunchbox Swap for Healthier Kids
On its Better Health website, the NHS has published a series of healthier lunchbox recipes designed to be quick and easy for busy families. A central piece of advice is for parents to "always add veg" to their child's meal. Suggested options include cherry tomatoes, or sticks of carrot, cucumber, celery, and peppers, all of which contribute to the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables.
The crucial tip, however, lies in how these vegetables are served. The NHS explicitly recommends that adding a small pot of reduced-fat hummus, or a similar dip, can significantly help children to eat their vegetables. This simple addition makes raw veg more appealing and fun to eat, tackling a common parental challenge.
Beyond Veg: Completing the Healthy Lunchbox
The guidance doesn't stop at vegetables. Parents are also encouraged to pack a portion of fruit. The NHS suggests chopped apple, peeled satsuma segments, strawberries, blueberries, halved grapes, or melon slices for ease of eating, with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent browning. For a convenient cupboard staple, a small pot of tinned fruit in juice (not syrup) is also deemed a perfect lunchbox item.
However, the NHS advises generally avoiding processed fruit bars. Instead, dried fruit like raisins, sultanas, and dried apricots are highlighted as a cheaper and often healthier alternative. The caveat is to keep dried fruit to mealtimes to protect children's teeth.
The Wider Context of Family Nutrition
This lunchbox advice fits into the broader Eatwell Guide, the UK's model for healthy eating. The guide recommends that most people, including children over the age of two, should base meals on higher fibre starchy foods, include dairy or alternatives, and consume proteins from beans, pulses, fish, eggs, or meat, while choosing unsaturated oils and drinking plenty of fluids.
The NHS notes that most people in the UK consume too many calories, saturated fat, sugar, and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fish, or fibre. Encouraging healthier habits from a young age through simple swaps, like adding hummus to a lunchbox, is a step towards addressing this imbalance and establishing lifelong positive eating patterns.
