Lunchbox Blues

Ding dong! The school year is well and truly underway and while our children's days are again filled with English, Maths and Science, leaving you with plenty of free time to play online bingo games, one thing you certainly won’t find on the school menu is the infamous ‘Turkey Twizzler’.

After TV chef Jamie Oliver's nationwide campaign for healthier school dinners, the government has now enforced certain guidelines in our children's school canteens, including a restriction on deep fried foods and ensuring meals are served with at least two portions of fruit and veg.

But all this change has led to a rumoured 400,000 pupils avoiding the canteen and their healthy eating program. Sound familiar? So do your kids now want a packed lunch instead? Well fear not, Littlewoods Bingo has come up with some great lunchbox tips all injected with that important, and subtle, health kick.

Making sandwiches? We all know that brown bread is healthier than white but if the kids won't eat it, what can we do? Ditch them both! Why not replace the traditional sandwich with a tortilla wrap or a seeded bagel? Fill with low fat fillings like tuna, chicken and turkey, topped off with a little bit of salad and light mayonnaise. Hey presto, healthy and interesting.

Need a quick and easy snack? Move away from the crisps! Why not swap them with unsalted nuts, pretzels or even plain popcorn. Or there are a lot of baked crisps out there now.

Got younger kids? Get them involved in the process! Over the weekend, why not make some homemade muffins. They're a great way to sneak some extra fruit into them. You can even make savoury muffins and trade them for the crisps.

Got a thirst for it? Remember fizzy drinks often disrupt children's sleep, leaving them tired during the school day. Why not consider water, milk or 100% fruit juice? Or get them making their own fruit smoothies - a very clever way of getting a couple more vitamins and minerals into them.

At the end of the day, kids don't like change so you might have to make changes gradually to avoid those temper tantrums. Try swapping one unhealthy thing for a healthier one each day, then return that to the lunchbox the next day and switch something else. It's a good way of keeping everything in moderation.

A small change can make a big difference, but playing Littlewoods Bingo could make a massive difference in you win a bingo cash prize. Get playing online bingo games today and who knows, maybe your luck will be in!