With it being back to school time, I have been watching with great interest what is being marketed as back to school foods. My view on this is beware the words “Lunchbox Fillers”, or back to school tasty snacks or anything remotely like this. Why? Because what you’ll find is mostly packaged food which are likely to contain added sugars, salt, and additives or preservatives. These do little to assist the health of your child, but may also affect concentration and behaviour.
Many parents call these “sometimes foods”, but for many children, they have become Lunchbox Fillers. Having a “sometimes food” as a lunchbox filler may well be OK if it was only one sometimes food, once a week.
I have lost count of how many teachers have expressed concern directly to me about what they see when children open their lunchboxes. I’ve lost count of how many times teachers have told me they have to help open packets of food for kindergarten children. I have lost count of how many times teachers have spoken to me about what behaviour is like in the classroom after children have eaten these lunchbox fillers.
Mums and Dads, please know you are NOT depriving your children of a ‘sometimes food’ or ‘treat’ if you do not include these lunchbox fillers in their lunchbox. When you pack real food instead of these fillers, you are giving them the best opportunity to be able to concentrate in the classroom.
I know it is difficult because everywhere we turn, these foods are being marketed to us as the answer to feeding our kids at school. They are being marketed as “Making lunchboxes easy!” But these foods are mostly simple carbohydrates (refined sugars) with low nutritional value. They give an energy burst, but do little to help keep your child full, or help with brain function. They are not foods that help with getting to the top of class, or help with homework. Many also contain additives and preservatives which can affect some children (and adults) too – eg. asthma, eczema, dermatitis, learning difficulties, behavioural issues, hyperactivity, sleep disturbances, headaches and more. This post What Numbers Mean by Tanya from Additive Free Pantry provides a great overview of Additives and Preservatives.
This Big W Catalogue includes:
- Uncle Toby’s Choc Chip Wholegrain Lunchbox Bars – contains 5.7g sugar (1.4 tspns), 16 core ingredients, although some of these core ingredients are made from several ingredients, not to mention it also has the catch-all ingredient of Flavour.
- Nestle Milo To Go Drink – contains 4.7g of added sugar (a little over 1 tspn). I did not get to the shops to look at the ingredients on this, so I can not comment on the amount of ingredients in this product.
The Aldi Back to School Lunchbox Foods & Snack Page on their website:
I do have to acknowledge Aldi for a few things here – firstly, they have apples and bananas listed as snacks – yay to real food! They have also removed artificial colours from their range of products. Whilst this is a good step, there are still colours which are derived from natural sources (plant or animal) that can affect some people, like the colour Annatto (yellow to pink) or 160B. I do not know if Aldi use this colour but please check the additives and preservatives and don’t rely on them being “natural” as a safeguard. (Read my recent post The 5 Secrets of Natural Flavours.) I have not been to Aldi to check the packaged products, but I would be interested to see what gives the rice cakes the cheese or chicken flavour, and also how much sugar is in those bars.
The Coles Online Page for Lunchbox Fillers
Again, I am pleased to see real food on the first page of lunchbox fillers. But I still express concerns about the packages being advertised. Let’s take the Coles brand peaches in mango jelly tubs (not in this picture), they are marketed as Natural Colour and Natural Flavour which we know can be made of lots of ingredients. The natural colour Annatto (160B) is used in this product, which includes symptoms of skin conditions, behavioural problems and hyperactivity – perfect for the classroom! (I’m joking, of course.)
Woolworths Magazine
Well where do I start here?! Hmmm… This magazine was sent to me by one of our supporters because she was gobsmacked. Her message went something like this: “I’m not sure if you’ve seen this, but even our daughter said ‘Are they for real?'”
BBQ Shapes – there’s not a lot of sugar, so that’s commendable. But there are 22 ingredients with the catch-all Natural Flavour. And then there is Flavour Enhancer 635 – this concoction is called Disodium 5′-ribonucleotides. It’s actually banned in some countries. Symptoms include allergic and hyper-sensitive reactions, asthma, behavioural problems, gastrointestinal ailments, headache and migraine, hyperactivity, skin ailments (eczema, dermatitis, etc) and sleep disturbances. There are other additives in this product – but I think the above two are enough, don’t you?
Devondale Chocolate Moo Milk – the Nutritional Information Panel lists the 200ml serving has 18g (4.5tsp) of sugar. Some of this will be natural sugars from the lactose in the milk. Research indicates there is about 9.4g of lactose in 200ml of regular milk, so this means there is approx 9g of added sugar – that’s 2.25 tspns. The strawberry Natural Flavour 120 causes some issues for children – it’s called cochineal and is made from scale insects (hence it is natural). This colour is used in many foods including to colour foods like sausages. We know from past experience if our son had yoghurt or milk with this colour in it, he would get a rash up his arms and on his face. It can also cause hyperactivity, asthma and more.
I am going to stop here because I think you get the picture. These foods are not really going to take children to Top Of The Class or assist with their homework. And when you take a closer look at this magazine spread, this is actually a promotion for these products. You can get free designer labels when you purchase participating products. I wonder how much money exchanged hands for that little promotion?
Do not look at lunchbox fillers in isolation. Think about what’s going to be eaten across the day – breakfast, snacks, dinner. Then think about across a week. If you include lunchbox fillers, find ones which are additive and preservative free. Your child’s teacher will thank you, and in the long run, so will your child.
My Tips For You
Our mission is to Transform Children’s Health, One Lunchbox At A Time – this involves raising awareness about the state of children’s health (27.4% of children in Australia are now overweight or obese, which then leads into chronic health issues).
Our goal is to share information which may assist you to feel empowered to make better food choices for your family. Here’s a few simple tips for you.
- Make your lunchbox fillers colourful real foods. Put a few varieties in for a colourful, enticing lunchbox.
- Get your kids involved in what real foods to pack – give them a choice but you provide the options. For example, say which would you prefer in your lunchbox this week – carrots and corn or capsicum and beans (choose vegies yourself of course).
- If you’re going to add a packaged lunchbox filler, do your homework – read the ingredients list first. Follow my 5 simple steps to reading packet labels.
If you want a helping hand making healthy lunchboxes which are quick to pack and are also additive and preservative free, then you may like to join the community of like minded parents doing The 5 Minute Healthy Lunchbox System™ eCourse.