Now I know we really don’t want to think about school starting but I figured with about a month to go and a little less for some people, we should get some healthy ideas and inspiration for kid’s school lunches.
I think a large part of making healthy lunches is to be prepared. It’s like anything else, when we don’t plan and we rush, we wind up failing and just throwing anything in their lunch boxes.
Each of you know what your child will and won’t eat so you can adjust accordingly. Sometimes offering small incentives for them to try something new helps and making lunches fun is key too so gather up some different kind of cookie cutters to make their sandwiches fun shapes! I always include fun napkins like Lego theme for my son and Barbie ones for my daughter.
Here’s some ideas:
Main dishes:
Pasta salad using fun shaped pasta. Include items like shredded carrots, edamame, olives, and anything your children will eat. Use either Annie’s Lite Balsamic dressing or just olive oil with a little Parmesan cheese.
Roll-ups:
Organic turkey and cheese rollups. I just purchase sliced organic roasted turkey breast and sliced organic munster. If your kids like greens you can put spinach or lettuce in between the rolls.
Burritos: you can get creative with these! Use whole wheat wraps. My daughter loves Nutella Hazlenut Spread so as long as your school doesn’t have a no nut rule, you can go crazy with these. Here are some combos:
Nutella with strawberries and bananas
Peanut butter with raw honey and bananas
Canola mayo with organic turkey, organic cheese and greens of your choice
Tuna fish or chicken salad with greens of your choice
Cookie cutter sandwiches:
TIP: One of the grossest things of going to eat any lunch is soggy bread. To avoid this, lightly spread butter edge to edge on the bread before adding your meats and fillings!
If you’re using lunch meat, best to purchase organic. I always get lunch meat from
Wegmans. No nitrates, hormones or antibiotics.
Of course there’s the good ol’ PB&J. I purchase organic jams from Wegmans that are delicious and my kids love them! Raspberry, Strawberry and Blueberry.
Tuna, Chicken, Turkey or egg salad: add some crunchy celery, cranberries or sliced grapes.
Overnight Oats are super fun if your kids will eat them. Get them involved and have them help with making it the night before. My kids tend to eat more when they help in the preparation! Check out my post for the recipe! Overnight Oats You can get creative with these!
Yogurt Bowls
I purchase the Organic Vanilla Super Yogurt from Wegmans which is beyond Delish!!!! Greek yogurt is a great option too but sometimes tart for children so you can add pure maple or raw honey to sweeten it! I just put about a cup of yogurt in a ziplock container and then on the side or in the same container add whatever your daughter likes such as fruit, nuts, granola, etc. Wegmans now makes an awesome granola! Blueberry is our favorite!!
Sides/Desserts
If you’re purchasing any chips or fruit cups, fruit bars, etc., be sure to look for the Non-GMO verified label!!
Hard boiled eggs
Snap peas with Greek yogurt dip
Fruit
Indiana Popcorn brand popcorn
Edamame
Organic applesauce
Pretzels
Fruit bars
Simply Sprouted Black Bean Tortilla Chips w/salsa
Rice Cakes alone or with Woodstock Orchards apple spread
Peeled (brand)Freeze Dried Fruit. We like Apple-2-the-core
Drinks
I always back mini water bottles for my kids and you can add fruit to infuse such as sliced strawberries or blueberries!
Sneakz is a great organic drink with a full serving of veggies. Masked by its chocolate flavor, kids will never know!
Wegmans has a great line of organic juice boxes too!
Wishing you a wonderful remainder of summer and the best of luck to all your kiddies for a fantastic 2014/15 school year!!!
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