By Nicole Williams Smith For parents, back to school heralds a return to the dilemma of what to pack for their children's lunches.

What sounds like a fairly simple task is in fact a challenging one. Parents must to come up with lunches that are interesting and tasty so they will end up student's tummies -- not in a school's trash bin.

Once parents come up with the perfect luncht they must repeat the same brilliance four more times that week. And there are more than 30 weeks in the average school year.

Lunches should provide one-third of a child's daily nutrient requirements and Government nutritionist Betsy Baillie pointed out that healthy students were more likely to succeed.

Getting children to eat healthy food is a difficult enough when parents are standing over their child's shoulders, but the task seems insurmountable when they are not there.

But it doesn't have to be claims Mrs. Baille. The key is starting kids off with proper eating habits and to make it fun and appealing.

Mrs. Baille said healthy lunches, based on the food guide (see chart), need not be boring. She suggestes parents revive traditional lunch favourites by putting a new spin on them.

Sandwiches can get a new twist by using pitas, flat breads, focaccia or fruit breads -- children need several servings of grains (see chart) per day.

If using regular bread, try using a cookie cutter to cut out fun and attractive mini-sandwiches for the kids -- they will be the right size for little hands and make the sandwich inviting.

And don't forget to make good use of pasta salad and left-overs -- great alternatives to sandwiches. Just remember to keep the hot food warm (use a thermos) and cold foods cool (cold gel packs work well).

In addition to fruits and raw vegetable for snacks, Mrs. Baille suggestes popcorn, pretzels, fat-free puddings and trail mix as perfect nibbles for little people.

Parents can also make healthy changes for their children without them even realising it by substituting calorie-reduced or fat-free products like `lite' mayonnaise, water-packed tuna or fat-reduced cheese.

Mrs. Baillie explained why some of children's favourite `junk food' were so bad for them: "A small bag of chips contains three and a half teaspoons of fat. And a Mr. Goodbar has four and a quarter teaspoons of fat and five and a quarter teaspoons of sugar.'' And she warned parents not to be fooled by products claiming to contain `real' fruit.

"Most fruit snacks contain about 30 percent fruit,'' she explained. "But this is equal to about one-and-a-half grapes per package and five-and-a-half teaspoons of sugar. Basically they are just candy.'' Mrs. Baille said that fruit drinks, punches and cocktails were also "fruit impostors'' since most box drinks contained ten percent juice which is equal to about 11/2 teaspoons of juice per 8.45 ounce box drink.

She added that the trendy fruit-flavoured mineral waters have become popular but they also fell into the "impostors'' category.

Many provide between 80 to 130 calories per bottle and contain a lot of fruit sugar, called fructose corn syrup, she says.

She recommendes parents read food labels carefully since juices will have 100 percent fruit or fruit juice on the label.

This fall will mark the second year of the food and nutrition policy in public schools. According to the policy, all foods consumed on school grounds should contribute to the health and welfare of students.

All Primary One parents will this year receive pamphlets on school lunches and the importance of nutrition.

Parents can help the programme by not sending `junk food' for lunch and making sure their child's lunch consists of at least four of the five food groups (see chart).

In addition to setting a good example for their child at home, parents can also give their children a healthy head start each morning by making sure their child eats breakfast.

A 1992 Secondary School health survey revealed one third of the Island's secondary students did not regularly eat breakfast.

The most common reasons for skipping breakfast were lack of time and not being hungry.

When students skip breakfast they miss out on a quarter to a third of their nutritional needs for the day. Those students also suffer from stomach aches, irritability, headaches and fatigue.

Mrs. Baille said breakfast need not be an elaborate production and offered a few quick and easy tips to help children get a good start each morning.

"You don't have to have to eat breakfast-type foods,'' she pointed out.

"Left-overs, crackers and cheese, fruit, bagels or yogurt are all options.'' For more information call Nutrition Services at 236-0224 ext. 259, 385 or 355.

Nutritional food facts The American Food guide suggests the following serving sizes for children between 1 - 3 years of age: BREADS & GRAINS 1/2 slice of bread, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cooked cereal, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dry cereal and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of spaghetti, macaroni. noodles or rice; VEGETABLES 2 to 3 tablespoons of cooked or raw vegetables; and FRUITS 2 to 3 tablespoons of canned fruits, 1/4 to 1/2 portion of a fresh fruit and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of juice.

For children between 4 -6 years of age: BREADS & GRAINS 1 slice of bread, 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry cereal, 1/3 to 1/2 cup of spaghetti, macaroni, noodles or rice; VEGETABLES 1/3 cup of cooked or raw vegetables FRUITS 1/3 cup of canned fruit, 1/2 to 1 piece of a small-sized fresh fruit and 1/2 cup of juice.

For children between the 7 - 10 years of age: BREADS & GRAINS 1 slice of bread, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked cereal, 3/4 to 1 cup of dry cereal and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of spaghetti, macaroni, noodles or rice; VEGETABLES 1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables; and FRUITS 1/2 cup of canned fruits, 1 medium-sized fresh fruit and 3 cup of juice.

FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID -- The food pyramid outlines what children should eat each day based on American dietary guidelines. Keep this chart handy for future reference. Below, three-year-old Zindzi Burchall enjoys munching on popcorn -- considered a healthy snack to put in children's lunches.

HEALTH HTH