Packing a Healthy Lunch Box…easier than you think!
With school starting, school lunches are back on our “parents’ to do” list. You want to ensure your child has a healthy lunch. After all, studies have shown that a nutritious lunch helps kids perform better in school. At the same time, you want your child to actually eat the lunch! Do you pack a healthy lunch box for your child? Do you give them money to buy their lunch at school and cross your fingers they select a healthy lunch? Do you buy some pre-packaged, grab and go meals that cost more, and are these even healthy? This article will provide you with some specific ideas that make it easy to create healthy and tasty school lunches that get your child eating healthy.
Summer vacation, it always goes by too fast. Yet there is excitement in the air. Your child is in a new grade and settling in with his new teacher. You’ve connected with families you haven’t seen over the summer and your child is happy to see old friends. You’ve noted the date of back-to-school night in your calendar and you have begun to review the list for volunteer activities. Suddenly it hits you – that one word which you had forgotten about since the end of the last school year: LUNCH!
You want to pack nutritious lunches for your kids but you know it isn’t going to be easy. You want to provide healthy sandwiches or at least a quick and balanced meal that your kids will actually eat. You’ve been here before and recall some of the frustrations. Either you pay for the cafeteria lunch and hear about the awful food, or you discover your daughter hasn’t even taken a bite of her lunchbox sandwich and had only one bite of her apple. This is one reason some parents opt for pre-packed lunches that can contain too much fat and sodium. Or maybe you toss in a bag of potato chips – because it feels better knowing your son got something into his tummy. Oh yes, getting your child to eat a nutritious lunch can seem like a battle. But does it have to be? Really? With some easy, quick lunch ideas you can get your child eating a nutritious meal without all the headaches!
Schools’ Cafeteria Policy and Healthy Lunches
First, give yourself a pat on the back for making nutrition a priority. It is important to teach kids healthy habits even when they are away from the home. And schools are there to help you! This is one of the reasons Congress established the new school lunch guidelines requiring all schools with a federally-funded meal program (e.g. National School Breakfast or Lunch Program) to develop Wellness Policies by 2007. (Check to see if your school has a wellness policy). The Wellness Policy addresses nutrition and physical activity at school. Unfortunately, Wellness Policies may not be enough as schools struggle with small budgets for food service. Thus, quick, easy processed foods (think chicken nuggets and French fries) can still be offered at school.
I recall counseling a few families who struggled with their school-age children. They were so used to eating pizza, hot dogs, and chips at school that this is all they wanted at home for dinner. I recommended packing a brown bag lunch at least two times a week to slowly introduce healthy lunches.
The Easy, Fun and Healthy Lunch Box
Get your kids to help you so that healthy lunches are a family affair. It starts by looking to include healthy foods from the five food groups.
Here is a list of healthy lunch ideas for kids:
- Get out the cookie cutters – no not for cookies, but for sandwiches. Kids love food in shapes. You can make a star-shaped sandwiches or even one shaped like a pumpkin. Surprise them with different shapes over the week. Serve sliced ham, chicken, tuna or egg salad sandwiches. Some kids love mustard and mayo but some kids may just want a pickle with it. Go with what your child likes. Similarly, some kids don’t like peanut butter but will enjoy cashew or almond butter as a spread.
- Serve sliced meat rolled up into tubes and offer the bread separate (some kids just aren’t into sandwiches). Similarly, tuna salad can be offered with crackers. Remember, bread doesn’t have to be sliced bread; offer bagels or tortillas. Even just plain sticky rice or couscous can be a hit.
- Toothpicks can add some fun too – kids love bite-sized food. So make a mini-sandwich and place a toothpick in it. You can get toothpicks with fun designs at party stores.
- Other bite-sized food includes cucumber and avocado rolls (many grocery stores now have a section of Japanese food). Or make your own roll: Use Korean roasted seaweed (this has a nice sesame flavor to it) and sticky rice (these are simple versions of kimbap”. Just roll up the rice like into a mini-cylinder shape. Have your sons help you make it the night before.
- Tea sandwiches: These are bite-sized sandwiches. Although adult versions usually have spices and onions, you can make your child a cream cheese tea sandwich with very thin cucumber slices. If you want more ideas on tea sandwiches check out: www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,finger_sandwich_ideas,FF.html
- Use leftovers for school lunch. If your child ate the beef stew last night for dinner, serve it up for lunch. Either use a thermos after heating it up in the morning or just serve it cold (place an ice pack in the lunch box though to prevent food illness).
Easy, Fun Kids Lunch Box Ideas
Of course, some kids are on a sandwich strike. Here are some other healthy lunchbox ideas:
Pasta: Use mini-penne or bowtie pasta. Just throw on some pasta sauce. If you make it the night before, add a tsp of olive oil to prevent sticking. Explore other noodles, particularly some of the Asian soba or rice noodles. You could even use the Top Ramen® noodles (just skip on the flavoring packet because the sodium level is quite high). Use these thin, curly noodles and serve with peanut sauce or just plain. During winter months, use a thermos to serve up warm noodles (boil them in vegetable broth and use about 1/3 of the liquid for added flavor).
Burritos: Just use mini-tortillas and serve with beans and cheese. Many kids don’t need to have their foods warmed up to enjoy. Similarly, offer baked beans and a tortilla separate; many kids like to enjoy food separately and may not enjoy pinto or black beans. Although if they do like beans, try a garbanzo and kidney bean salad.
Breakfast for lunch? Make pancakes on Sunday and freeze the leftovers. You can warm them up and pack them up for a fun lunch. Scrambled eggs or a sliced boiled egg can be a hit too (remember the ice pack though).
Fruits and veggies are always a part of a nutritious lunch. To make it more fun, include a dip, even if this means ketchup. Serve mini-carrots or jicama with ranch dressing, slightly steamed broccoli with light mayo, sliced apples (use lemon juice to keep them from browning) with peanut butter. Try frozen peas and corn, usually favorites of kids. Offer half of a sweet potato with a sprinkle of brown sugar or even slice it into circular shapes, Take advantage of tropical fruits such as mango slices or kiwi (easy to scoop out with a spoon).
Interested in more healthy kids lunch ideas? This month we have a new printable: healthy school lunch ideas pdf.
Kids and Healthy Lunch Box
Useful Links and Tools
Tips for eating healthy foods in the school cafeteria
Printable list of healthy lunch box ideas
Fun, healthy messages lunch cards Fun Free Printable – Healthy Lunch Agreement
Kids’ Printables – Eating Healthy Lunches Tracking Sheet Schools’ Lunch Room Policy
Solutions For The Uneaten Lunch Box
If you do pack a nutritious lunch and find it barely touched or realize that the cafeteria lunch is ignored because your daughter is starving when she gets home from school, relax. Children like to be social and get out and play, ignoring their stomachs. Studies have shown that schools who schedule recess prior to lunch have less plate waste (i.e., more food is consumed after playtime). You could become an advocate for your school and work with the PTO to change the lunch period. However, this is a big task and could really big an uphill battle.
The easiest thing to do is just offer these healthy lunch ideas at home for a healthy after-school snack. Rather than threaten them to eat their school lunch, just serve up healthy snacks when they get home (grapes, sliced peaches, nectarines, low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, etc). They may not grab the orange, but if you have it peeled and ready on the plate when they arrive, you may be surprised that they want more. Offer grapefruit with sprinkled sugar along with a grapefruit spoon (kids get a kick out of utensils like this).
We don’t want eating healthy foods to be associated with nagging. So keep your discussions positive. Keep healthy snacks on hand and avoid having chips, soda, and cookies in your pantry. It takes awhile to form habits and food associations. But consistency is key. Feed your child healthy, tasty foods regularly and your kids will start to crave and eat healthier foods on their own.
Have a great school year, one that is full of healthy, nutritious school lunches!
Written on August 2009
Last updated: August 2009
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