I knew it would happen eventually: my eight-year-old is finally asking for sandwiches. Not just any sandwich, mind you, it has to be avocado and tomato. Perhaps it’s all the activity of the past week on holiday at Whakatane and Lake Rotoma. We’ve been boogie boarding at the beach, water skiing, biscuiting, kayaking, swimming and jumping off scarily high rocks into the lake – fun! All that water and sunshine sure stimulates the appetite but I think the recent call for avocado and tomato sandwiches is just an age thing.

When my son was three one of the workers at the child care centre he attended told me off one day: “You need to give your child sandwiches for lunch. Crackers are not healthy.” Looking back I should have been a bit bolder and explained why I only gave him crackers. These weren’t any old crackers. They were Vita-Weat crackers which are actually healthier than many breads. I like the ‘9-grain’ variety but if I can’t find them at my local supermarket I get the ‘Original’ variety. Four ‘Original’ Vita-Weats have 2.6 grams of fibre – more than two slices of white bread. They have less sodium than bread and no preservative. Most supermarket bread has preservative which I prefer to avoid.

I thought he might get sick of crackers but for the past five years they have been his staple packed lunch. I stick them together with peanut butter (the no added salt or sugar variety) or Vegemite – a favourite for most Aussie and Kiwi kids but quite inedible for the uninitiated! They also taste great with hummus or avocado. If you have a child who refuses sandwiches unless they have jam or honey on them, try these crackers. With low salt peanut butter they provide lasting energy, protein and fibre -  and they don’t go soggy.