Make Your School Lunch Creative and Filled with Nutrients

Make Your School Lunch Creative and Filled with Nutrients

What do you typically pack for lunch? Do you find yourself packing the same lunch every single day or bored with your lunch options and need to change it up? There are many different ways to add fun foods to your brown paper bag to add  variety and plenty of nutrients to enjoy during the day.  It is important to pack foods that are healthy and will give you energy.  Find recipes and other healthy eating tips at http://www.eatright.org/kids/ to give you more ideas for packing lunches. Here a few simple steps and ideas in order to pack a tasteful and nutritious lunch:

·       Let your child help you pack his/her lunch. This will introduce them to foods that are healthy and they will enjoy their lunch the next day knowing that they helped to prepare it.

·       Find a reusable and fun colored Tupperware container to use that your kids will enjoy, as well as, eliminating the use of plastic sandwich bags

·       Packing  your kids lunch will allow for them to have more time to actually eat during lunch time. Most kids have around 20 minutes to eat lunch, so provide them with easy to eat and easy to open packages to save time.

·       Fill their lunch box with small foods that are easy for the kids to handle as well as fun to eat.  For instance, pack the ingredients for a sandwich and let the child put together his/her own sandwich to add some fun to lunch time.

·       Finish up by packing something fun: a sticker, small note, small cookie wrapped in plastic with a ribbon, fruit on a stick, dessert cut into a playful shape.

·       Do not forget the drink to top off the meal. Send water, low-fat milk to add some calcium or 100% fruit juice. Avoid the sweetened beverages that contain excess sugar as well as any soda. According to Registered Dietitians, Mary Mullin and Jo Ellen Shield, sweet soft drinks provide essentially no key nutrients and are sweetened with either sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Excess sugar has been thought to be a link to the rising obesity rates, however there is no scientific evidence to prove this at this time.  The following article further discusses choosing appropriate beverages for children. http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442468566&term=%20beverages

·       Lunch box ideas:

o      Turkey sandwich cut into squares, baby carrots, peel and grapes

o      Peanut butter and jelly tortilla wraps, peach, homemade snack mix (dried fruits, unsalted nuts and pretzels, baked crackers)

o      Turkey wrap or sandwich cut up into pieces, small handful goldfish, small handful pretzels, raisins, strawberries

o      Grilled chicken strips, 5 whole-grain crackers, 3 slices cheese, mixed fruit (grapes and peaches), small salad with tomatoes

o      Pasta salad with vegetables, apple, salad

o      6 small sushi bites, strawberries, snack peas

o      Meat and cheese slices, pasta mixed with pesto, crunchy vegetable sticks, mixed fruit