Making the grade

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Registered dietitian Gina Sunderland prepares some healthy lunches for her sons Joel, left, and Reid.

It's supposed to give them the energy and brainpower to get through their school day.

But it turns out that your kids' lunch could be zapping their energy -- and worse, even harming their long-term health.

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"Sometimes, out of desperation, we just want to quickly assemble that lunch, throw it in the fridge and have it ready to go for the next day," says registered dietitian and mother of two Gina Sunderland, who often counsels clients who give in to their kids' desire for packaged, processed foods.

"Many of these things are dismal when it comes to their nutritional profile. They are little of anything other than sugar and fat and refined flour. Almost no nutrients, lots of calories."

Are you guilty of loading your kids' lunchboxes with items that are doing them more harm than good?

Here are some lunchbox items that don't make the grade along with some A+ alternatives to get you back on the honour roll:

DUNKAROOS

What Is It? A packaged cookie and icing snack that's been in grocery stores since the 1980s. Cookies and icing are packaged separately so kids can dunk/bathe their fun-shaped biscuits into the sweet icing before devouring.

Why It Gets a Failing Grade: "Those cookies are almost just pure sugar and fat -- which is really quite disgusting," says Sunderland, noting that many parents consider their peanut-free status a symbol of health and safety. The truth? Eating Dunkaroos -- like so many other packaged snacks aimed at kids -- "is almost like mainlining sugar," says the dietitian, who points out that the body stores excess sugar as fat and also tends to overwork the pancreas. Other negatives? Dunkaroos contain no fibre and are a hidden source of hydrogenated oils, also known as trans fats. Feeding your child these types of lipids will lower the good cholesterol that protects his arteries and raise the bad cholesterol that narrows his arteries. That's a recipe for a future heart attack.

A+ Alternative: "Why not revisit that lost art of doing some baking with your kids?" asks Sunderland, who recently spent a weekend cooking up a some treats with her kids. Her advice: Use ingredients such as whole grain flour, steel cut oats and dried fruit to arm cookies with vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. Cutting back on the sugar content in a recipe -- and making each cookie smaller -- will also help create a healthier treat.

WHITE BREAD

What Is It? Whether in the form of hamburger buns, hot dog buns, french bread, pitas or sandwich slices, this category of food includes breads made with white flour, also known as enriched flour.

Why It Gets A Failing Grade: White bread is made with highly processed flour that has been stripped of most of its nutrients during the manufacturing process. "Why start a kid out on white bread?" asks Sunderland, noting that kids who grow up eating healthy whole grain bread tend to like it -- and may even consider white sandwich bread mushy, flavourless and unappealing. Its lack of fibre tends to help it hit the blood stream quickly, thereby raising blood sugars too fast. An even more alarming fact about white bread? It leads to constipation -- an experience no child should have to endure, says Sunderland, who has counselled kids as young as age three with their parents. "It's awful to have kids who are straining on the toilet. A lot of that has to do with the lack of fibre."

A+ Alternatives: Choose whole-grain breads that contain at least three grams of fibre for every serving. Keep in mind that Health Canada says that the "adequate intake" of fibre for a child aged one to three is 19 grams daily, and 25 grams daily for kids aged four to eight.

PROCESSED CHEESE SLICE

What Is It? A pre-cut, glossy and floppy cheese square that's the perfect size to fit on sandwich bread. Cheddar cheese spreads have a similar nutritional content to processed cheese slices. According to Michigan State University's Dairy Review, processed cheese is "a dairy product that is produced by mixing and heating of natural cheeses with emulsifying salts to produce a homogeneous plastic mass."

Why It Gets a Failing Grade: These highly processed cheese products contain more sodium than most hard cheeses, says Sunderland. (Sodium raises blood pressure and can create conditions for an unhealthy heart). "The same goes for Cheese Whiz. I can't imagine making kids a Cheese Whiz sandwich on white bread and sending them to school and thinking they are going to have the nutrition they need to get though a busy day."

A+ Alternative: Try pre-wrapped cheese sticks. "They are fun, friendly, portion-controlled, a great source of protein, calcium -- and they're dental safe," says Sunderland, who suggests parents choose items that contain less than 10 per cent of the daily allowance of sodium per serving.

JUICE BOX

What Is It?: Handy little box of juice that comes with a straw.

Why It Gets a Failing Grade: Juice boxes -- and juice, in general -- are not the best beverages for kids, mainly because of their high sugar content. Even unsweetened juice is loaded with natural sugar, which has the same effect on the body as added sugar. Consider that one cup of unsweetened apple juice, for example, contains the same amount of sugar as a can of regular pop -- and sometimes more. As well, juice contains no fibre, so its sugar is absorbed into the blood quickly. "Fruit juice is a processed food. You take the fruit. You squeeze it. You get the juice. You throw away the skins and the pulp where tonnnes of the nutrients are," says Sunderland, noting that even though juice is better than pop due to its vitamin C content, it's still not a great lunchbox choice and can lead to insulin spikes and hunger. Take note that the added 120 or so calories that come from a cup of juice don't contribute to a feeling of fullness. These calories can add up fast and lead to weight gain.

A+ Alternative: "You're far better off just purchasing the fresh fruit. I think a Tupperware container full of fresh raspberries and blueberries is equally as enjoyable and tasty. When you have that whole fruit, you have the benefit of all the nutrients and all the fibre that's innate in the fruit," says Sunderland. Pack water for a zero-calorie, zero-sugar thirst quencher. Or try water flavoured with a drop of juice. Milk is also a nutritious, filling option.

STORE-BOUGHT MUFFIN

What Is It? Popular, portable baked good that is often made with healthy-sounding ingredients such as bran and blueberries.

Why It Gets a Failing Grade: Even though the muffin has garnered a reputation for being full of fibre-loaded bran, the truth about the store-bought muffin is more dismal. "They are more like cake," says Sunderland, noting that many varieties have very little fibre and tend to be "mammoth" in size and "chock full of fats." That means that a single muffin can exceed 400 calories. Add butter and the caloric load climbs. Keep in mind that grocery-store muffins are often hidden sources of trans fats, which scientists have shown can hinder the body's ability to utilize ALA, an Omega 3 fatty acid kids need for optimal brain development.

A+ Alternative: Make your own muffins, says Sunderland, who recently baked up some small blueberry orange muffins with her kids. "We used a nice, high-fibre whole-wheat flour." Individually wrap and freeze to create a lunchbox-ready snack that stays fresh. If baking isn't your strong point, read labels carefully to make sure the muffin you're buying is lower in fat and sugar while high in fibre.

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Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 12, 2011 D1