Healthy Lunch Ideas

I don’t know if you have the same creative anxiety that I get when it’s time to pack lunches every day? But it can be overwhelming and boring if you are making PB and J on the daily. My kids don’t make it easy either because my son absolutely could eat peanut butter every day. My daughter doesn’t like it. She would prefer meat. So I try to mix it up and keep it balanced. My one rule is there always has to be some fresh fiber like cucumbers, carrots, sweet red peppers, baby tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries and even zucchini sticks. They need to eat real whole foods, not just processed food like I see in so many school lunch boxes. I always include some type of protein; whether it be an organic cheese stick, yogurt, hummus, almond butter (since peanut butter is not allowed at school), salami, organic turkey rolls or a ham sandwich. I also always include fruit like apple sauce, a banana, frozen fruits (which are very yummy by lunchtime), and fruit leather. Bread is not the main event for me in making lunch for the kiddos.

The most important idea in making lunch successful, is that you keep offering something even if it’s not eaten the first time. For instance, dried dates were not a hit at first, until I offered it with small mozzarella cheese balls. My daughter loves them together. My son is still not wanting to eat any dried fruit. But I’m not giving up yet! I also give enough so they have variety with the vegetables and fruits. Because it’s not processed, they will eat more. If the lunchbox comes home with something left over, I let them have that for snack. It has a freezer pack in it which keeps it cool and they know if they don’t eat it at lunch it will be their snack. That way there is not a lot of waste especially with the healthy foods. What I have found is that most of the time, they will reach for the colorful vegetables and fruit and not even open the little bag of pirates booty because we all love fresh food if we are exposed mostly to it. Have fun with it. But keep healthy the priority.

I had to share this chart that makes pulling lunch together so much easier, and healthier, too! And now that it’s back-to-school time, we could all use a little help!