Packing a lunchbox

by Sonelle van der Linde
In the modern, food-conscious world we are living in, many people consider sugar to be one of the ultimate enemies preventing you from living a healthy lifestyle. Actually, just enough sugar should not be a problem at all, but rather the absence of vegetables, whole grains and fruit. In fact, we all tend to over indulge and crave the moment something is banned.

Sonelle, owner of The Lunchbox and Dinnerplate, graduated as a dietician from the University of the Free State. The 25-year-old already has her own private practice in Bloemfontein and says that her life goal is to make healthy living practical for the lovely people of our city. The Lunchbox and Dinnerplate prepare and deliver healthy lunches, tasty dinners and convenient kiddies' snacks, on a daily basis.

Quick tips for packing a healthy lunchbox. "Think 1,2,3... each lunchbox should contain at least three items and should not take longer than 3 minutes to pack! The first item to pack is a high fibre starchy food for example seeded bread, wholewheat rolls, homemade high fibre muffins, wholewheat pittas or wraps. The second item should ideally be a low fat, high protein item, like a meat filling in the sandwich, low fat cheese wedges, peanuts, nuts, boiled egg, yoghurt or biltong. Third to go into the lunchbox is something fresh! Fresh, cut fruit, cocktail veggies like small tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and sugar snaps. And there you have a balanced lunchbox!" Sonelle says.

We wanted to know about foods to avoid when packing a healthy lunchbox and Sonelle recommended to keep away from sugary drinks, which includes soft drinks, flavoured water, ice tea, fruit juice and reconstituted cold drinks. "Any drink containing kilojoules, (except low fat milk of cause!) should be avoided, we should not drink our kilojoules, they are meant to be eaten." She added that to restrict all sweets and treats are also not the way to go. Include bite size treats occasionally, this will encourage children to develop a healthy relationship with food and how to enjoy it.

For the busy moms Sonelle recommends planning ahead and freezing healthy lunchbox items like high fibre muffins, low fat veggie quiches and homemade fruit snack bars. Jokingly she said: "I know not all of you moms out there are little miss goody two shoes, and that is where I come in! Supplying these freezer friendly options on a monthly basis. All you have to do is place your order and pack these super heroes in for your little soldiers before sending them off to school!"

Contact Person:

Sonelle van der Linde
69 Morningside
1 Isak de Villiers Street
Langenhovenpark
Bloemfontein
South Africa

Contact Details:

Cell: 076 3385367
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