Fueling your child’s body can help them function better in school.
There are several techniques you can use to get organized and provide healthy meals and snacks during the school year. But what about lunches?
A healthy lunchbox is full of:
- Colorful foods
- A variety of foods from all groups (proteins, fruits & vegetables, and whole grains)
- Nutrient-dense
- Delicious
Here are some ideas to try:
- whole-grain wraps
- hard-boiled eggs
- grape tomatoes
- trail mix
- sliced apples with almond butter (as long as there is not a nut restriction)
- hummus and veggies
Create a healthy lunch plan for the week and have all of those items on hand, this way you avoid the stress of “What am I going to pack today?”
- Pre-chop fruits and vegetables in the beginning of the week.
- Place food portions for meals in bags or containers ahead of time: things like crackers, fruits, cheese portions.
- Use frozen vegetables in a pinch if running low on fresh produce.
- Use left-overs from the night before.
- Make lunch while you are making another meal, like breakfast in the morning or dinner the night before.
Other ideas include:
- Cute foods up. Use fun toothpicks to make fruit kabobs or use cookie cutters to create shapes.
- Provide dips for foods such as salsa.
- Mini things up. Make finger foods or mini sandwiches using crackers or small buns.
The main elements needed to create healthy lunch day in and day out are:
- Preparation
- Organization
- Thoughtful approach
- Creativity
Find out what works for you and stick with it. Stay inspired by reading recipes, trying new foods, and looking at other lunchboxes Moms post online.
And don’t forget to enlist the kids to help with meal preparation. By doing so you will significantly up the odds that they will eat what you pack and make.
What one tip can you apply to make packing lunches or snacks easier?
Leave a Reply