Hey Readers,

I have joined in with #FloraLunchBox Challenge, whereby I will test out one of the Flora food lunch idea for my boys. I picked form the Flora Lunchbox Guide to tailor to my son’s needs. They eat Mediterranean  couscous, bread with flora spread on, tomatoes followed by apple and a yoghurt.

What I liked about Flora website is that it is easy to navigate,  with it’s clear sub category menu at the side.

I found the recipes simple and clear to follow the step-by-step instructions which also includes pictures perfect for the visual learner.

I love the recipe section as it gives a diverse range of chose but for me personally I prefer built you own lunch box as you can pick appropriately for your child’s preference. As some of the food I struggle to give to my children as they are young and they have problems digesting it such as a bagel or pitta bread. I mean they like the idea of the food and even chew it but they really struggle to eat it that they will give up.

I like the variety and the mix and match of lunch ideas and it helps to work around your child’s needs and preferences.

In an ideal world I would love my sons to eat all the vegetables and food but sometimes I don’t have the money to provide it sadly or they don’t like the food or texture. My son is five and only the past few months as he has a grow in his repertoire of food.  That saying I always put on the plate to try the food item.

My boys will eat  one or two fruit and vegetables but most of the time at the moment we would have to hide it in their meals as a way to help get the food into their diet. Such recipes that have been successful is spaghetti bolognese, lasagne etc.

I know as a parent that food and being creative to encourage my sons to eat can be difficult. I want my sons to eat healthy and have variety in their diet but sometimes life is not straightforward.

Food is important and it is a source of energy especially when children are at school all day long running around. It is sad to see that the results from a Flora  that have found only 1.6% of  children receive a packed lunch that meets nutritional standards set for school meal.

Though it does not surprise me what with with the cost of fruit and vegetables is so high in the supermarkets. Time and time again I see offers that are financially better for you but hardly any great deals for fruit and vegetables. Even on line looking at coupons  online to help reduce your shopping cost there are hardly any there suitable for healthy eating. I think is a big problem with how supermarkets profit from unhealthy food that they rather not work to helping it easier for families to eat better and help with reduction of the cost of fruit and vegetables. They would lose out and you question who really benefits from it in the grand scheme of it all.

In the research carried out by Flora half of primary school pupils take a packed lunch to school. Only 1 in 5 of those packed lunch contain any vegetables or salad. Within the lunch box food 52%-60% had too many sweet and savoury snacks which contained saturated fat, sugar and salt that had not the right amount of minerals and vitamins for a child’s diet.

The Lead researcher of the study carried out by Dr Charlotte Evans only found a small improvement from a decade ago with 1.1% passing the standard recommendation of school meals. The minority of children (17%) who eat vegetables and salad had not altered since 2006, it found.

That is why Flora  is good to include in a child’s meal as simple as spreading it on bread as Flora contains lower in saturated fat then butter and contains omega 3 and 6. Every tub contains plant oils, sunflower, rapeseed and linseed oils. These essential fats contribute to the Flomaintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels and are also needed for normal growth and to support the development of children. Flora also recently launched Flora Freedom. This is a 100% dairy free product, which is free of preservatives, artificial colours and flavours, and like the rest of the Flora range is approved by The Vegetarian Society. Therefore there is something for everyone and it is great to put on bread or add to your cooking where cooking it with pasta or on the sweetcorn of your cob.

Cheers for reading X

“This post is an entry for the #FloraLunchbox Linky Challenge, sponsored by Flora. Check out their lunch planner and recipe ideas here <http://www.flora.com/article/category/1104207/healthy-kids >”.