Shattering the Illusion of Unhealthy School Snacks: A New Cookbook Offers Hope

According to a recent release from the National Heart Foundation, it's time to reevaluate the notion that sending children to school with "flattened peanut butter sandwiches, a squashed banana and crumbly sweet biscuits" is a must. The foundation's new book, `Healthy Eating: Kids' Snacks and Lunches', is a 64-page guide that provides parents with fresh and healthy ideas for school lunches, after-school snacks, and meals. The book is a response to requests from school groups, canteens, and parents who felt there was a lack of health information available for children.

Key Takeaways:

• The National Heart Foundation's `Healthy Eating: Kids' Snacks and Lunches' book is a 64-page guide that offers healthy and fun ideas for school lunches, after-school snacks, and meals.
• The book was developed in response to requests from school groups, canteens, and parents who felt there was a lack of health information available for children.
• The research shows that community education, mostly aimed at adults, has little effect on diet, but when the focus switched to schools, children became enthusiastic about healthy eating, which rubbed off on their parents.
• The recipes in the book were developed by `Family Circle' home economists and edited by Sally James, a home economist with a diploma in nutrition, to meet Heart Foundation guidelines.
• The book features recipes for healthy treats, hot lunches, interesting salads, snacks for children to make, and crowd-pleasers, along with time-saving tips for busy parents.
• The Heart Foundation promotes healthy eating by liaising with school canteen groups to improve tuck-shop fare and providing guidelines for canteen groups to make healthy eating financially viable.

Statistics:

• The book features 64 pages of healthy and fun ideas for school lunches, after-school snacks, and meals.
• The research indicates that community education mostly aimed at adults has little effect on diet.
• The book provides recipes that meet Heart Foundation guidelines, which include the use of ingredients that are not expensive or hard to obtain.
• The book features a list of ingredients and their prices to make healthy eating financially viable for canteen groups.
• The Heart Foundation has published two cookbooks in collaboration with Murdoch Books, including `Healthy Eating: Kids' Snacks and Lunches' and `Family Favorites'.

Sources:

• The article is based on a release from the National Heart Foundation.
• `Healthy Eating: Kids' Snacks and Lunches', a book published by the National Heart Foundation, was edited by Sally James.
• Murdoch Books, 213 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060, published the book in collaboration with the National Heart Foundation.