Fruity lunch box favourites

FRESH fruits make a great addition to your child’s lunch box — they’re healthy, naturally sweet, and nutritious and, unlike veggies, children love them. Unfortunately, often when you cut and package some fruits for your little ones, by the time they are ready to dig in, oxidation has occurred, making the fruits appear brown and unappealing.

Nobody knows better than us parents that children tend to eat with their eyes, and chances are your child — who would have otherwise gobbled up his/her fruits — will either dump them or leave them untouched in their snack pans for you to dump later.

What fruits can better weather air exposure and the beating received during transportation? Try packing these lunch box favourites:

Otaheite apples

These apples, even after being sliced, do not usually change colour, and as such are a great lunchbox addition. If you’re going for American apples, though, pack them whole in the lunch box because they will go brown if you slice them and kids won’t enjoy the solution too much — which is to add lemon juice to keep the brown away.

Grapes

These fruits are bite-size and are very easy for children to handle. You can alternate between yellow and green grapes because kids like the variety of sweet and tangy tastes.

Oranges

Children love oranges, even if they are a little tangy. Even if you slice the orange to remove the seeds it still retains its colour. Note though that some oranges may get a little dry on the surface after being cut

Mangoes

Mangoes don’t tend to get brown. If the mangoes are overripe and loosely packed they might get squished, so choose firm, ripe mangoes that are not overripe.

Bananas

Slicing up a banana will mean a brown, unappealing fruit snack, but if you intend to give your child a whole banana then what you can do is use a piece of plastic wrap to cover the stem of the fruit. This will keep the fruit fresher for longer.

Pineapples

Cut pineapples into slices or chunks and they should then be ready for the lunch box. They retain their mellow-yellow or rich yellow colour and they don’t squish easily. So if your child loves pineapples, let them take advantage of this sweet, tropical fruit.

Watermelon

A nice chunk of watermelon is a good lunch kit addition, and it will retain its pink-red colour. Outside of the nutritional content, it will also provide added hydration for your little movers. Other fruits in the same family that you can also add are honeydew and cantaloupe.

Plums, cherries

If your child understands how to eat the fruit from the seed and discard the seed afterwards, these can also be offered without problems. They are also easy to handle and don’t usually change colour.

Dried cranberries/other fruits

You can also consider adding dried fruits to your child’s lunch kit, especially if you have packed other foods such as yoghurt or if you have made a fruit salad. When buying dried fruits, make sure to choose ones that do not have added sugar.