Seaweed signals lunch box snobbery

Now competitive middle-class mothers are engaged in a battle over the contents of their children's lunch boxes.

Food-savvy parents are advised to feed their offspring aduki beans and "seaweed sachets".

The trend is being encouraged by Mumsnet, a social networking website for mothers, and comes at a time of mounting concern over children's eating habits at school.

The site advises: "Don't forget that what you pack is open to scrutiny - not just by other kids but by other mums. So if your child is going to a friend's house after school, make sure that's not the day you give in to Fruit Shoots and Gregg's sausage rolls.

"Stick a few stray aduki beans/ arugula [rocket] leaves/seaweed sachets in the lunch box. Your child might be a tad confused but your position as Alpha Mother will be assured."

Mumsnet's other recommendations include trying a themed lunch, such as falafel with hummus, pitta bread and vegetables or a portion of Greek salad with feta cheese and olives.

Another suggestion is to involve children in preparing their lunch, for example by helping to cook flapjacks packed with seeds and dried fruit.

Nutritionist Natalie Savona, author of Wonderfoods For Kids, said parents should offer food that was fresh, familiar and took "seconds" to prepare, such as cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks.

She urged mothers to be patient if their children were fussy and refused to eat more than white bread and crisps.

"Unless their diet is ridiculously dangerously restricted for a very long time, I think the best thing to do is not to make too much of a fuss," she said.

SNACKS OF AN ALPHA PARENT

Try a themed lunch: Such as falafel with hummus, pitta bread and vegetables, or mini samosas, or a small portion of Greek salad with feta cheese and olives. Get your children involved in preparing their lunch: For example, by helping to cook a batch of flapjacks packed with seeds and dried fruit - on the basis that anything they've helped prepare is much more likely to get eaten.

Ask what their classmates eat: They might be prepared to eat different foods if one of their friends likes it. Add an ice pack to keep food fresh: Gel-filled icepacks are preferable because the water-filled ones are too heavy. Alternatively, freeze tubes of yoghurt or fromage frais to help keep food cool.

Ideas for a perfect packed lunch: Chicken drumsticks, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, potato salad, fresh fruit, little box of raisins, water or fresh fruit juice.