A leading dietitian has shared a photo of two lunchboxes, but while they might look similar, one packs a staggering 67 grams more sugar.
Susie Burrell, from Sydney, said meals can look healthy and include the same basic food choices, but it is easy for added sugar to slip into our kids’ lunchboxes when you factor in the packaged snacks.
‘In this photo, I have featured two lunchboxes with different packaged snacks,’ Susie wrote on Instagram.
A leading dietitian has shared a photo of two lunchboxes, but the one on the left packs a staggering 67 grams more sugar (the two lunches pictured)
Susie Burrell (pictured), from Sydney, said meals can look healthy and include the same basic food choices, but it is easy for added sugar to slip into our kids’ lunchboxes
‘The lunchbox on the left has 89 grams of sugars in the packaged snacks featured.
‘This is compared to 22 grams of sugars in the lunchbox on the right.’
Susie added: ‘This is not to promote packaged snacks, but to show how easy it is for extra sugars to slip into our children’s lunchboxes.’
She said that when it comes to her own kids, she typically includes just one packaged snack, as well as a dairy, a piece of fresh fruit and some vegetables – which help to ‘fill out the rest of the lunchbox’.
‘I generally do not pack juice or dried fruit at all,’ she said.
She said that when it comes to her own kids, she typically includes just one packaged snack, as well as a dairy, a piece of fresh fruit and some vegetables (one of her lunchboxes pictured)
The lunchbox on the left with more sugar includes a packet of sultanas, an ‘oaty slice’ biscuit, Apple Splash juice, yoghurt pouch and bliss balls.
The lunchbox on the right contains crunchy fava beans, dried fruit and veg, no added sugar apple juice, a choc slice bar and yoghurt pouch.
‘Check your labels as just because it looks healthy, it doesn’t always mean it is,’ Susie said.
‘It’s recommended that children consume just 20-25 grams of added sugars per day!’
Previously, Susie shared exactly what the perfect school lunchbox looks like, and why she follows her own four-step formula (one of her lunchboxes pictured)
Hundreds of people who saw the dietitian’s post thanked her for sharing the ‘vital’ information.
‘Thank you for sharing! Such a big difference in the amount of sugar. Definitely something I pay more attention to these days when buying packaged snack for my kids,’ one mother wrote.
Another added: ‘This is so insightful’.
Susie’s formula means you should always ensure you have a sandwich, wrap or salad, as well as fruit and veggies, a protein-rich snack and one ‘fun and yummy item’ (lunchbox pictured)
Previously, Susie shared exactly what the perfect school lunchbox looks like, and why she follows her own four-step formula.
Susie’s formula means you should always ensure you have a sandwich, wrap or salad with protein in their box, as well as fruit and veggies, a protein-rich snack and one ‘fun and yummy item’.
For a protein-rich snack, Susie favours yoghurt or cheese, while her favourite ‘something yummy’ foods are healthy chocolate digestives, protein balls, chocolate rice cakes and healthy chips.
This particular week, Susie is feeding her twins two wraps with chicken, cucumber and hummus as their main meal.
The twins will then enjoy some yoghurt, cherry tomatoes, cut-up cucumber, a satsuma and half a banana for their healthy snacks.
Their ‘treat’ is homemade protein balls and healthy chips.
To vary the main meal, Susie said she’ll also make sandwiches with ham and avocado some days.
On others, she’ll do shredded chicken with avocado and tomatoes or a homemade overnight oats bowl.
The most important thing with this element of the box is that it has some protein to keep kids full for longer.