Healthy kids foods for lunch boxes and the mistakes parents will make.

Sandwiches, fruit and a drink. A pretty standard lunchbox, right? Yes, but a few small tweaks can make the world of difference to how healthy it really is.

Most parents do their best to pack healthy school lunches for their kids, but on closer inspection, it looks like not many are getting it right. Sandwiches made with white bread, muesli bars masquerading as a health food and little chocolate treats that are small but completely lacking in nutritional value.

We can all do better, with the help of consumer group Choice.

Choice has applied an algorithm for the healthy food star rating system to children’s lunch box staples. They aim to clearly define what is a healthy lunch box choice and what is not, to help parents make better choices for their children.

”We found big nutritional differences between similar-looking products, and this is critical when it comes to kids’ food,” Choice campaign manager Angela Cartwright told Fairfax. ”Eat it every day, and it can add up quickly.”

So with the Choice star rating system in hand, how do these every day school lunches rate? We

CLICK THROUGH the gallery to find out:

Lunch box sample 1This lunch is made up of a ham sandwich made with wholemeal bread, cucumber sticks and an apple. Choice rates this highly. It's a very healthy lunch and one that children could eat frequently. The focal points would be the brand of butter and the brand of ham used. Butter and margarine brands rate very differently, with some seemingly healthy spreads scoring few stars. Meadowlea scores 2 stars compared to Western Star which receives only 0.5. The star rating of ham depends on whether or not it is salt reduced, 4 stars if it is, 2 if it isn't.

Lunch box sample 2This photo is of morning tea and lunch. Let's leave morning tea out of it (too much sugar) and focus on the lunch - a vegemite sandwich with butter on white bread, an Up & Go and a Le Snack. Wholemeal bread scores more stars than white. Grain bread is the top pick by Choice, with Tip Top 9 Grain Bread receiving 4.5 stars. Once again, spreads vary wildly and there is concern over the salt content of Vegemite. When it comes to Up & Go, Choice has expressed concerns over health claims about the product, questioning the fibre content and health benefits of all liquid breakfasts. In their investigation into savoury snacks worth eating, Choice worries about the amount of saturated fat in popular Le Snack cheese products and rate them much lower than the Le Snack salsa variety which is a much healthier choice.

Lunch box sample 3In this lunch box we have a ham and butter sandwich on white bread, grapes, watermelon and chocolate cake. Choice points towards grain breads as the best choice when it comes to kid's sandwiches, low sodium hams and careful selection of butter spreads. When it comes to spreads, Choice focuses on the fat and sugar content. The lower these counts, the more stars awarded. Thumbs up to the grapes and the watermelon however chocolate cake isn't deemed a worthy lunch box choice, with little to no nutritional value whatsoever. Healthier baked goods rate much more highly such as healthy mini muffins, baked using low fat, low sugar ingredients with as much fibre as possible.

Lunch box sample 4This lunch consists of a jam and butter sandwich on white bread and a Milky Bar. Choice would point to the high sugar content of both of these choices, with little to no protein whatsoever. The white bread should at least be wholemeal. Choice recommends making healthy sandwiches with high protein fillings such as eggs or chicken and freezing them each week. They will defrost by lunchtime. Chocolate as a treat isn't a good choice. Choice awarded 3 stars to Uncle Toby's Chewy Apricot Muesli Bars. Freedom Foods Free Oats Chewy Apricot Bars received 4 stars.

School lunch box sample 5In this lunch box we see a cheese and butter sandwich on white bread, a good selection of fruit, crackers and fruit juice. Once again, Choice awards the most stars to grain and wholemeal breads and favours Meadowlea over Western Star. When it comes to sliced cheese, the lighter the better. Bega Tasty Sliced received 1.5 stars compared to Bega Country Light which received 4 stars. The number of stars awarded to products such as crackers and juice vary depending on the fat and sugar content of the crackers, and the sugar content of the juice. Milk is a better choice than juice, but give flavoured milk a big miss. Devondale Moo Chocolate Milk received 3 stars compared to their plain skim milk poppers with 4.5 stars.

School lunch box sample 6This lunch consists of a tuna sandwich on white bread, with a spread, a green apple, a peach fruit cup and Tiny Teddy biscuits. Choice rates high protein sandwich fillings highly but would recommend low fat and low salt varieties of tuna. White bread receives 3.5 stars compared to 9 grains which scores 4.5 stars. Choice recommends fruit cups that are packed in their own juice with no added sugar. Tiny Teddy biscuits receive a low rating due to fat and sugar content and should not be included every day.

Want more? Try this:

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