Do Your Kids' Lunchboxes Get an A+? - Follow the P.A.C.K. to Make the Grade!; New beverages help keep kids hydrated while adding variety to everyday lunches.

ATLANTA -- Kids will soon head back to school with backpacks full of shiny new school supplies. While it's helpful to have a good notebook and pencil, parents need to look in their child's other bag for the key to success at school - the lunch bag.

Lunches that include a variety of foods and beverages help children stay focused, alert and perform their best throughout the school day. Besides providing the nutrients, hydration and energy children need to grow, learn and play, packed lunches can provide fun and variety that inspire kids to eat well and develop lifelong healthy habits. So, how do parents get an A+ for making creative and fun-filled lunches? It's not as hard as you think.

"When it comes to food, kids love variety," said Kim Galeaz, an Indianapolis-based registered dietitian and nutrition-culinary consultant. "So think about not only what your child likes to eat and drink, but about offering different textures, colors and shapes in the same lunch. And get your child involved in the lunch planning and packing; this is one way to ensure that a nutrient-rich lunch will actually get eaten!"

Varying the sandwiches, fruit and vegetables each day is also a great way to ensure your child eats nutritious foods. Selecting a variety of beverages also helps. Three new beverage options for kids, which are also convenient for lunchbox packing, hit the market recently:

--Spring!(TM) by Dannon (R) -- Natural Spring Water (also in a fluoridated version) that comes in kid-sized packages with cool graphics.

--Minute Maid (R) Fruit Falls(TM) -- a refreshing flavored five-calorie water beverage made with real fruit juice, it provides 100 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C and is a good source of calcium.

--Minute Maid (R) Just 10(TM) -- a low calorie, low sugar juice drink made with real fruit juice, it provides 100 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C and is a good source of calcium.

"Proper hydration for kids is important year round," said Galeaz. "All beverages help to keep us hydrated and kids should learn to choose and enjoy many different beverages as part of a well-balanced diet."

According to Galeaz, lunch provides children with about a third of the nutrients and calories they need each day, so it's very important to know what they are eating away from home. By creating fun and enticing lunches, parents can feel confident that their children are eating well. Below are the key elements, easily remembered by the acronym P.A.C.K., that Galeaz says each lunch should include so that kids get the nutrients they need:

--P: Protein (for proper growth and to keep children alert) - Make sandwiches with protein fillings like turkey, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, ham, tuna, hummus, beans, peanut butter or cheese slices.

--A: All Fruits & Vegetables (for vitamins, minerals and other disease-fighting components) - Include at least one serving of fruit and one serving of vegetables in every lunch. Try pears, honeydew, watermelon, cherries, cups of unsweetened applesauce, sliced kiwi, pineapple chunks or dried fruits, in addition to familiar favorites like apples, oranges and bananas. Good lunch-packing veggies include carrot sticks, bell peppers, snap peas, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices and green peas. You can also put veggies like lettuce, slices of cucumber, tomato, peppers or onion on sandwiches. Additionally, one-half cup of 100 percent fruit juice helps toward getting 1 1/2 cups of the daily fruit requirement for kids.

--C: Carbohydrates (for fueling the brain and muscles) & Calcium (for healthy bones and teeth) - Use whole-grain bread instead of white bread. Other choices include tortillas, pita pockets, rice cakes, bagels, muffins or raisin bread, which all come in whole-wheat varieties. For a change from bread, try rice, noodle or pasta-based salads. Milk is a good source of calcium, but you can also include calcium-containing foods like broccoli, spinach, yogurt, cheese and calcium-fortified orange juice. Beverages like Minute Maid Just 10 and Minute Maid Fruit Falls are a good source of calcium and Vitamin C.

--K: Kid-friendly Beverages (for hydration and proper body functions) - One percent or fat-free milk or chocolate milk, fruit juices, juice-based drinks, tomato and vegetable juices, water -- such as Spring! by Dannon -- and flavored waters are the best choices. Providing two selections, one in a lunch box and one in the book bag, will help ensure your child is staying hydrated throughout the day.

A photo of a P.A.C.K. lunch can be downloaded at http://www.springbydannon.com/media/downloads/packlunch.jpg. Sample school lunch menus and more lunch-packing tips can also be found at http://www.springbydannon.com/media/downloads/bts.pdf.

(C) 2006 The Coca-Cola Company. "Minute Maid", "SPRING!" and the Spring coil and Splash designs are trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. DANNON is a registered trademark of The DANNON Company, Inc., used under license by CCDA Waters, L.L.C.

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