With today's centrally heated buildings, even cold winters can be hazardous to packed lunches, so the first thing to think about is how to make sure your child's pack lunch is safe.ï¿½ It's therefore worth investing in an insulated lunch bag or box.

There are lots on sale - from pretty girly ones to more macho boy ones - which are specially designed for children.

A good way of keeping the interior contents cool is to include a very cold bottle of water or fruit drink, however you can also fun buy mini plastic ice blocks in a variety of little shapes from cars to fruit which won't add too much weight you your child's lunch box/bag.

Finally, it's a good idea to place softer foods in rigid plastic boxes and apart from the usual Tupperwareï¿½ boxesï¿½ whichï¿½ youï¿½ may already own, there are containers which are specially designed for the purpose.

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Keep Lunch Boxes interesting and Nutritious

You may have heard of a report in August 2009 by the Cancer Research Fund about not giving children ham and other processed meats in their lunch boxes. The Food Standards Authority (FSA), quite rightly issued a statement urging people not to panic. The key to healthy eating is "moderation in all things"ï¿½ and a balanced diet. So ham will be included in this editorial.

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Below are some ideas for your children's lunch boxes. In general, make sure you include carbohydrate in the form of bread, rice, cereals or pasta;ï¿½ protein in the form of meats, poultry, eggs, cheese or nuts;ï¿½ï¿½ fresh produce in the form of fruit and/or vegetables and a drink, you won't go far wrong.

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Although "easy to eat" items such as sandwiches are great, you can make it a little more interesting by simply putting all the ingredients into containers and letting kids make their own concoctions on site.

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Also, try not to include the same protein ingredient every day, for example a balanced weekly menu may consist of the list on the right.

Same goes for fruit and vegetables. If you vary the colours your child will be more likely to get the complete range of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.

Monday - Egg
Tuesday - Sliced Meat
Wednesday - Cheese
Thursday - Chicken
Friday - Fish e.g Tuna

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Ideas for Lunch Boxes and Packed Lunches

Carbohydrates	Mini Pitta Breads,ï¿½ Tortilla Wraps,ï¿½ Mini Bagels,ï¿½ Smallï¿½ Rolls, Sliced Bread, Pasta Salad,ï¿½ Rice Salad, Bulgur Wheat salad
Proteins (separately or combined with a carbohydrate)	Small chicken drumstick, A small wedge of Frittata,ï¿½ Tinned Tuna, Tinned Sardines,ï¿½ Egg Mayonnaise,ï¿½ Hard Boiled Eggs, Slices of Chicken fillet, Grated Cheese, Soft Cream Cheese, Mini Cheeses, Sliced meats such as HAM and Beef, Cubes of Corned Beef,ï¿½ Peanut Butter,ï¿½ Hummus or Bean Dips plus Crackers or Vegetable sticks for dipping
Fresh Produce	Carrot Sticks, Cherry Tomatoes, Slices of Cucumber, slices of Sweet Peppers,ï¿½ Celery Sticks, Whole fresh fruit such as small bananas, pears, apples, kiwi or a few small fruit such as grapes, cherries or blueberries, chunks of melon
Dairy	Fromage Frais, Fruit Yoghurts, cubes or slices of Cheese, Cottage Cheese
Drinks	Water, Flavoured Waters, Fresh Fruit Juices,ï¿½ Squash, Milk or Flavoured milk
Snacks	Healthier snacks include dried fruit such as raisins, nuts, cereal bars, Olives (why not?!)

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One last comment: there is absolutely no point in trying to force children to eat things they don't like. Hopefully, if you started early enough, your child will have relatively wide-ranging tastes by the time he/she goes to school, however, if they don't like wholemeal bread then give them white bread - and if they don't like apples then give them bananas.

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