Letting go of the fast-food guilt:

Any parent who has ever packed a lunch has been hit with a case of Old Mother Hubbard and her bare cupboard. With SOS written all over your face, you race to the grocery store at midnight or before the bell rings the next morning (24-hour grocery stores are built on the backs of ill-prepared parents), desperate to feed your child.

Guilt takes over as you reach for a pre-packaged “lunch” of white crackers, processed cheese and fatty sausage or beat a path to drop off fast food at noon. The good news is that there are many new “convenience” foods on the market that will help you cover the four food groups in less than four minutes.
“I would still have parents look for foods from all four food groups,” says Sandra Edwards, a registered dietician in Unionville. She says something as simple as crackers and hummus – now available pre-packaged in many deli sections – with a clementine and milk is an easy quick and healthy meal.
Edwards says many healthy foods are now pre-packaged for those times when you’re in a pinch. Carrots and dip, cut up apples and oranges, cottage cheese plain or sweetened with fruit and cheese (cheese strings, cheddar slices, Babybel or Laughing Cow) all come pre-portioned. Even hard-boiled eggs are now available pre-cooked and peeled in plastic bags.
The deli section is actually a good one-stop shop when you’re rushed for time, according to Edwards. She recommends buying small portions of salads and sending them with whole grain crackers and either cheese, yogurt or milk.
“There are some salads that incorporate, for instance, mango and chicken or incorporate specific vegetables,” she says. “That may be a great way to introduce children to different vegetables in a different format. You can buy a carrot salad that’s already prepared or something slightly different.”
Even sliced ham or turkey, with whole grain crackers or pitas, with a cheese string and pre-packaged carrots and dip is a good option, she says.
There are also many good “convenience” foods to keep on standby, for those mornings when it feels like there’s truly nothing to pack: single-serving applesauce or fruit in its own juice (i.e. peaches and pears), tuna and salmon with crackers kits, pre-made burritos or dried fruit bars when there’s no fresh fruit.
Edwards says it’s important to take a tour of the grocery store with your child every now and then, to make a list of likes and don’t likes.
“Have the children pick them out with the parent so they have some buy in,” she says. And don’t be afraid to review the list once or twice a year. “Each child is different and the list does grow.”
However, all of this being said, Edwards reminds parents that convenience foods should still be a once-in-awhile offering because even the healthy products are often higher in sodium and fat than their unprocessed cousins. And don’t forget the big red flag, trans fats.
While Edwards is not familiar with hot lunch programs, such as The Lunch Lady, she’s encouraged that the franchise follows provincial nutritional guidelines when preparing meals. The menu offers whole-grains and portions are kept within the sodium, fat and caloric guidelines for school-aged children.
While dropping off fast food can be a treat every now and again, Edwards says there are many options to make that healthier, too.
“Subs would be a good option. Grilled chicken – pretty well anywhere you can get grilled chicken on a bun and a salad,” she says.
Whatever the lunch, Edwards advises parents to make sure it packs well because convenience or not, if it’s mushy, leaking or bruised, kids just won’t eat it – no matter how pretty the package.

Top palate and parent pleasing healthy “convenience” foods:
• Whole grain crackers, pitas, flatbread
• High protein dips, i.e. hummus
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Carrots and dip
• Pre-cut apples or orange segments
• Individual cottage cheese or yogurt
• Cheese, i.e. Babybel, Laughing Cow or cheese strings
• 100% fruit juice, milk or yogurt drinks