Source: Senior Dietitian, Ng Yiu Fun

Many parents are worried about whether the self-prepared lunch boxes are attractive and nutritious enough for their children, so that when they open the boxes, they will feel like eating everything. Parents also like to check their children’s lunch boxes after school to see if they have eaten everything. First, they want to prove their love and care, and second, they want their children to have some nutrition. But what kind of lunch boxes will make them exclaim, “Wow!” I’m so happy! “I love it!” when they open it.

First of all, we should let children develop the habit of eating without choice. If they can choose all day, they may think that if they don’t like this lunch box today, their mother will make something they like tomorrow. Therefore, they deliberately won’t eat this lunch box, which will force their mother to make a second lunch box that they like. Gradually, they will develop a habit of pickiness.

I have two daughters who are also in elementary school. Our habit is that from Monday to Saturday, they don’t have a choice. Whatever their mother says to eat, they have to eat it. They know they can’t choose, and they have to eat, even if they are hungry. So she rarely complains about not eating certain things. On Sundays, she can have a meal of her choice, go to restaurant A or B for a meal,

or be rewarded with some snacks. Then she will feel that this week she has been well-behaved and obedient.

What can be done to pique her interest just a little? First, if it’s some fried rice or noodles, she would eat a little bit more easily when she opens the lunchbox; for example, if it’s an egg fried rice with meat and vegetable pieces, when she opens it, she won’t feel it’s stuffy and the ingredients won’t stick together, which can increase her appetite. Furthermore, some vegetables, meat pieces, and eggs are actually nutritionally balanced. For example, stir-frying udon with some cabbage or mushrooms and adding some meat slices or minced meat to the udon, with a little salt and soy sauce, is actually a pretty delicious one.