Image by Jeffrey Beall via Flickr
You could let your child eat the cardboard pizza or his cafeteria serves. Or you could take charge of the 180 lunches your child will eat at school every year. Packing your child’s lunch is an act of love, true, but it’s also a surefire way of making sure she’s getting her daily nutrition. Here are some healthy lunch-making tips for making your child’s lunchbox as nutritious as possible. Happy packing!
- Start Early. If you’re a new parent, start your child out in the school system with a packed lunch every day. Your child will grow up assuming brown-bag lunches are standard procedures. If you’re switching your older child onto bagged lunches, have a talk with them and explain that their lunches will still be yummy– and probably more fun than standard school lunches.
- Take their Input. Does your child have any requests or ideas? Find out their favorite (healthy) foods and incorporate them into the school week. Don’t be afraid to expose them to new things, though!
- Make it Fun. Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of sandwiches– crusts included. Pack “build your own” kits with crackers for peanut butter sandwiches or mini cheese-and-fruit sandwiches.
- Plan for the Week. Why not make a huge batch of granola mix on Sunday, so you’ll have it throughout the week? Make up your “snack bags” of things like carrots or crackers over the weekend, too.
- Don’t be Afraid of the Prepackaged. True, prepackaged foods are often a dead giveaway for unhealthy, processed foods. However, what about individual yogurt or mozzarella sticks? These are quick-and-healthy snacks that kids love.
