Eating a healthy lunch is important for every school child, but especially so for those children with diabetes. If you're going to pack a lunch, you have more control as you can work with your child to ensure that what you send is something they like and will actually eat, rather than swap or ditch in the trash can. We've given you dozens of recipes in previous issues that your children will like.
When lunch is sold at school, nutritionally in our area schools it runs the gamut from high fat, low nutrient fast foods to nutritionally sound meals. Ask the school for a copy of the menus for the month and review them with your child, helping them to make decisions in advance what they can eat and on which days, they'd be better off to "brown bag it" from home.
A new system in some schools is to have lunch "catered" by commercially successful vendors-fast food places such as McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and so forth. If that's the case in your area, here's some favorite food items with the number of carbohydrate, protein, and fat choices as well as the number of calories it represents. You and your child can use this list to help you choose items which will fit into their meal plan.
Burger King®:
Whopper®-3 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 4 fat, 670 calories
Whopper® with cheese-3 1/2 carbohydrate, 4 protein, 6 fat, 760 calories
Whopper Junior®-2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 2 fat, 370 calories
Whopper Junior® with Cheese-2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 3 fat, 410 calories
Hamburger-2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 1 fat, 310 calories
Cheeseburger-2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 2 fat, 360 calories
Chicken Sandwich-3 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 6 1/2 fat, 690 calories
French Fries (regular order)-1 1/2 carbohydrate, 2 fat, 210 calories
McDonald's®:
Big Mac®-2 1/2 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 5 fat, 570 calories
Cheeseburger-2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 1 fat, 320 calories
Hamburger-2 carbohydrate, 1 1/2 protein, 1 fat, 260 calories
Quarter Pounder®-2 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 3 fat, 430 calories
Quarter Pounder® with Cheese-2 carbohydrate, 3 1/2 protein, 4 fat, 525 calories
Filet-O-Fish®-2 1/2 carbohydrate, 1 1/2 protein, 4 fat, 430 calories
French Fries (regular order)-2 carbohydrate, 2 fat, 220 calories
Chicken McNuggets® (6 pieces)-1 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 2 fat, 320 calories
Pizza Hut:
Thin and Crispy® Pizza (3 slices)
Cheese-3 1/2 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 1 fat, 450 calories
Pepperoni-3 carbohydrate, 2 1/2 protein, 2 fat, 430 calories
Supreme-3 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 2 1/2 fat, 510 calories
Thick and Chewy® (3 slices)
Cheese-5 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 1 fat, 560 calories
Pepperoni-5 carbohydrate, 2 1/2 protein, 2 fat, 560 calories
Supreme-5 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 2 1/2 fat, 640 calories
Taco Bell®:
Bean Burrito-3 carbohydrate, 1 protein, 2 fat, 343 calories
Beef Burrito-2 1/2 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 2 fat, 466 calories
Burrito Supreme-3 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 3 fat, 457 calories
Taco-1 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 0 fat, 186 calories
Wendy's®:
Single Hamburger-2 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 2 fat, 350 calories
Double Hamburger-2 carbohydrate, 6 protein, 3 fat, 560 calories
Single Hamburger with Cheese-2 carbohydrate, 4 protein, 3 fat, 420 calories
Double Hamburger with Cheese-3 carbohydrate, 6 protein, 5 fat, 630 calories
Chili (9 ounces)-1 1/2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 6 fat, 260 calories
Stuffed Potatoes:
Broccoli with Cheese-3 1/2 carbohydrate, 1 protein, 4 fat, 500 calories
Cheese-3 1/2 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 5 fat, 590 calories
Chili and Cheese-4 carbohydrate, 2 protein, 3 fat, 510 calories
Taco Salad-2 1/2 carbohydrate, 3 protein, 1 fat, 390 calories
For nutritional data of items not listed, contact the specific vendor that services your school.
