A ll about Lunc h By lunchtime your body has used up the food you ate for breakfast Lunch refuels your body until it is time for dinner Hot or Cold Not everyone eats a hot meal at lunchtime For a lot of people lunch is a selection of cold foods packed at home and taken to school or work in a lunchbox Cold food can be just as tasty as a hot meal and just as good for you too Meat Fish Chicken Eggs and Beans These foods contain protein Cooked meat and fish make good sandwich fillings pages 8-9 Try adding them to a salad pages 12-15 to make a complete meal that will keep you going until dinnertime 4 Fruit and Vegetables You should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day 5-a-day They should make up about one third of what you eat Frozen canned and dried fruits and vegetables all count Try to eat lots of different colored fruits Be Prepared If you take a packed lunch to school prepare as much as you can in advance All the recipes in this book can be made the day before you eat them and kept in the fridge overnight The soup on pages 18-19 can be reheated in a pan Pour the hot soup into a
This family is enjoying a healthy lunch with a variety of different foods thermos and you will have a delicious warming meal waiting for you at lunchtime New Ideas Planning preparing and cooking great-tasting lunches for yourself friends and family is great fun You get to eat well too Think of all the things you would like to make for lunch in the next week Look through this book for some new ideas for recipes Make a shopping list of the things you need To eat a balanced diet try not to eat the same foods every day There are so many fun foods to choose from try experimenting with some new tastes 5
Go Shopping Many people eat bread at lunchtime There are a lot of different types of bread to choose from They have a wide range of tastes and textures Next time you visit a supermarket see how many types you can find Whole wheat or whole grain bread is made from whole grain flour that contains all of the grain including the brown outer layer called the bran layer It contains lots of vitamins minerals and fiber As well as being good for you it also has lots of flavor White bread is made from wheat that has had the bran layer removed Pita bread is a flat oval bread which forms a pocket that can be filled This supermarket has a great variety of different types of bread to choose from 6
Cheese and Yogurt Cheese and yogurt are convenient foods to take in a lunchbox Look at the labels on yogurts and choose the ones lowest in sugar and fat Labels If you go shopping for food look at the food labels Some foods are very good for you Foods that are high in salt sugar or fat are bad for you if you eat them too often Look for low-salt low sugar and low-fat foods particularly if the fat is saturated fat on food labels Supermarkets sell a wide range of foods made in handy sizes to put in lunchboxes Many of these processed foods are high in sugar and fat Some also Starchy Foods You should eat starchy foods every day they should make up about one third of what you eat Examples include a portion of bread in sandwiches or a rice or pasta salad Choose whole grain or whole wheat varieties For a sweet alternative try the flapjack bars pages 26 27 They are made from oats which are another starchy food have artificial colorings and flavorings to make them look more attractive Eat them only very occasionally Chocolate bars and cookies are full of sugar Take a fruity cup see pages 22 23 or take some fresh fruit instead Water You need water for your body to perform well You get some water from the foods you eat You should drink six to eight glasses of water a day more in hot weather 7
