Guide: What To Put In Your Child's School Lunch, And What To Avoid

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) The new school year is just around the corner, which means the dreaded season of packing school lunches is upon parents across metro Detroit.

Tossing a bag of chips, juice drink, and cookies in a bag with an easy sandwich may be the temptation, but better planning will help your kids not only eat better, but learn better, according to Christa Byrd, a clinical dietitian at William Beaumont Hospital.

"We get caught up in the quick easy to grab things, toss them in the lunch and don't the affect on our children -- their behavior, their learning, their blood sugar," she told WWJ's Dr. Deanna Lites.

Here are her tips for a successful school year.

• Know that food impacts learning

"We want to make sure they don't have an empty stomach," Byrd said. "When they're hungry they're not thinking about school work." That means breakfast is a priority, so make sure they're up in time for a waffle with peanut or almond butter, a low-fat breakfast sandwich, eggs, low-sugar oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, or low-sugar cereal.

• Avoid artificial dyes

There are more and more studies on the impact food dyes have on kids, Byrd said. In Europe, a lot of dyes are banned or have warnings that say they cause hyperactivity in kids under 9  years old. "They're studying the connection between these food dyes and neurological actions and are finding that the food dyes can cause issues," she said. "There was one study that said 73 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD who eliminated the food dyes saw an improvement in symptoms."

Not all dyes are considered problematic, she added, saying on pre-packaged food look for words like "natural red 4" "amarnth" and "Red S," "Red C," and "Red 2." If you see them, don't pack that item in a child's lunch.

• Candy

Anything that causes a sugar rush causes a glycemic index issue, she said. "You want foods that have a love glycemic load," she said, to avoid the blood sugar spike and drop that leads to hyperactivity followed by a sleepy, unfocused and cranky child. In lieu of candy, pack yogurt, which has a good mix of sugar and carbohydrates, or add sweet berries to the lunch box.

•  Chips

They also raise blood sugar quickly, leading to the inevitable crash. Replace chips with something crunchy like snap peas and carrots.

• Watch out for high fructose corn syrup

This cheap form of sugar increases bad cholesterol and raises blood sugar. It's in a lot of packaged foods, but manufacturers are starting to choose more natural sugars instead and label products as "high fructose corn syrup free." Look for those items.

• Skip the juice box

"They're pretty much as much sugar as pop in a lot of cases," Byrd said. She recommends filling a container with water and frozen fruit, which melts during the school day to sweeten the water and change the color of the water.

• Add protein

Carbs are easy to grab and pack, but instead use turkey jerky, almonds, homemade trail mix, hummus, string cheese, to add protein to their day. The fuel keeps kids going all day.

• Include snacks for later

Sometime the single lunch meal isn't enough to keep them full all day, especially for kids who play sports, so add snacks they can pull out of their locker later. Think about things like grapes, an apple, orange or banana.